ESSENCE ATKINS

When I look in the mirror, what do I see? I see a strong, independent, working woman who is very much in love and very happy with the reflection in that mirror.

I am very happy. Extremely, blissfully so. Even in my pain, I'm happy. I like crying. It makes me feel alive. Challenges, when you're in a tumultuous situation, are an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to get closer to God, an opportunity to find and kind of reform yourself, and to figure out what really matters and what your priorities are. Not that I'm welcoming tribulation, but I find that it is beneficial.

What online dating did was offer me the opportunity to go out with a bunch of different people from different industries; I really didn't want to limit myself with people who are in the entertainment industry.

Reality TV is really just based for sensationalism. So, it's extreme versions and extreme caricatures of personalities.

Just the desire to play a mom, wanting to play someone actually closer to who I am and where I am in my life. People are used to seeing me play the single, hot girl, which has been fun, but at the same time, this role is more akin to my natural proclivities.

Everyone was like, "Why do you need to meet someone on Match.com?" My response was, "I certainly don't need to meet more of the same broke, acting class guys that I'd been dating my whole life." I needed to change that whole paradigm. So, I decided to meet some corporate guys and see how that worked. So, I went on Match, but I didn't put a picture up, because I'm on television, and I didn't want anybody contacting me for the wrong reasons. So, I had to do the hunting, as it were. I didn't anticipate meeting my husband online, but there he was. And it all worked out!

Challenges, when you're in a tumultuous situation, are an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to get closer to God, an opportunity to find and kind of reform yourself, and to figure out what really matters and what your priorities are.

After 35, I felt like I'd been in these relationships; some were great, some weren't so great, but they weren't right partnerships.

I attended Professional Children's School in Manhattan because my ballet and modern dance schedules were intensive and had started to interfere with regular school hours.

I like to make Arroz con Gandules, rice with pigeon peas. My husband loves it. It's a Puerto Rican dish my mother taught me.

I like to make Arroz con Gandules, rice with pigeon peas. My husband loves it. It's a Puerto Rican dish my mother taught me.

After 35, I felt like I'd been in these relationships; some were great, some weren't so great, but they weren't right partnerships.

I attended Professional Children's School in Manhattan because my ballet and modern dance schedules were intensive and had started to interfere with regular school hours.

What online dating did was offer me the opportunity to go out with a bunch of different people from different industries; I really didn't want to limit myself with people who are in the entertainment industry.

Challenges, when you're in a tumultuous situation, are an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to get closer to God, an opportunity to find and kind of reform yourself, and to figure out what really matters and what your priorities are.

Reality TV is really just based for sensationalism. So, it's extreme versions and extreme caricatures of personalities.

Just the desire to play a mom, wanting to play someone actually closer to who I am and where I am in my life. People are used to seeing me play the single, hot girl, which has been fun, but at the same time, this role is more akin to my natural proclivities.

I am very happy. Extremely, blissfully so. Even in my pain, I'm happy. I like crying. It makes me feel alive. Challenges, when you're in a tumultuous situation, are an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to get closer to God, an opportunity to find and kind of reform yourself, and to figure out what really matters and what your priorities are. Not that I'm welcoming tribulation, but I find that it is beneficial.

When I look in the mirror, what do I see? I see a strong, independent, working woman who is very much in love and very happy with the reflection in that mirror.

Everyone was like, "Why do you need to meet someone on Match.com?" My response was, "I certainly don't need to meet more of the same broke, acting class guys that I'd been dating my whole life." I needed to change that whole paradigm. So, I decided to meet some corporate guys and see how that worked. So, I went on Match, but I didn't put a picture up, because I'm on television, and I didn't want anybody contacting me for the wrong reasons. So, I had to do the hunting, as it were. I didn't anticipate meeting my husband online, but there he was. And it all worked out!