La La Anthony: Life After Professional Athletes (FBF)

Episode of Call Her Daddy · October 30, 2026 · 52 min

La La Anthony tells Alex Cooper about her rise from radio intern to MTV host, friendship, her NBA marriage and divorce, and dating today.

Summary

In this throwback episode of Call Her Daddy, Alex Cooper interviewed La La Anthony about her career and personal life. Anthony recounted obtaining a fake ID at 15 to join a radio station's internship program in Atlanta, earning a spot on air alongside Ludacris, moving to Los Angeles for a radio job that raised her salary from about $18,000 to $90,000, and being recruited by MTV, where she hosted TRL. She described the difficulty of pivoting from hosting to acting and her sense of responsibility to bring Black music and culture to MTV. She also discussed chronic burnout and her mentoring work with young men at Rikers Island through Pastor Tim Johnson's Fatherless No More initiative.

The two discussed friendship at length. Anthony said she values honesty delivered without judgment, keeping friends' secrets, and supporting rather than competing with friends, and argued a friendship should end when it consistently causes stress rather than adding positivity.

Turning to her marriage to an NBA player, Anthony said the move to New York and its intense scrutiny marked the start of the marriage's decline. She and Cooper, who had dated a New York athlete, joked about sleepless nights worrying about infidelity on road trips. Anthony said she never turned a blind eye to cheating, that crossed boundaries led to her divorce, and that the experience taught her how strong she is, though it changed her view of love. She described co-parenting well with her ex-husband and wanting to set an example for her son.

On her current life, Anthony said she was not seriously dating, was mostly approached by much younger men, was not on dating apps, and would probably not date a basketball player again. She named family orientation and humor as must-haves, lying as a dealbreaker, and said she would tell her younger self that no one can please everybody.

Chapters

0:03
Introduction and sunglasses banter
Cooper welcomed Anthony and introduced her many roles as broadcaster, actress, producer, author, advocate and mother.
1:56
Fake ID and radio beginnings
Anthony described lying about her age to become a radio intern at 15 and landing an on-air role with Ludacris, then a higher-paying job in Los Angeles.
7:42
Getting to MTV and TRL
Anthony recounted MTV calling her at the radio station, interviewing Tyrese as an audition, and the cultural reach of TRL.
10:35
Career pivots, representation and burnout
Anthony discussed struggling to be seen as an actress after MTV, representing Black culture on the network, and her constant burnout.
14:11
Mentoring at Rikers Island
Anthony explained her work with incarcerated young men through Pastor Tim Johnson's Fatherless No More initiative.
16:51
What makes a good friend
The pair discussed honesty, discretion, avoiding jealousy, and when to end a friendship.
23:11
Life as an NBA wife
Anthony reflected on being called the first lady of the NBA, how New York scrutiny strained her marriage, and how she met her ex-husband.
27:22
Cheating culture and sleepless nights
The two compared experiences of infidelity worries, wives-and-girlfriends dynamics, DM tips, and following one's gut.
39:07
Ending the marriage and its aftermath
Anthony explained why she left her marriage, what she learned about her strength, and how her view of love changed.
44:55
Dating now
Anthony discussed younger suitors, dating discreetly, athletes, dating apps, setups by friends, and her non-negotiables.
50:30
Advice to her younger self
Anthony said she would tell her younger self that not everyone will like her and she must find her own happiness.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

La La Anthony
Anthony recounted obtaining a fake ID to get a radio internship while underage.
“I live in the hood and I know how to get a fake ID. So I got a fake ID. And then I got the job as an intern”
Listen from 3:05 · Radio broadcasting careers
La La Anthony
Anthony said her move to a Los Angeles radio job raised her salary from about $18,000 to $90,000 a year.
“i really was making 18 000 i went from making 18 000 to 90 000 i was like”
Listen from 7:08 · Radio broadcasting careers
La La Anthony
Anthony said being known as a Black MTV host made it hard to be taken seriously for acting roles.
“there's definitely not a lot of black MTV hosts. I was known as a black girl on MTV, so it was like the acting side didn't really want to give me that shot”
Listen from 11:21 · Total Request Live
La La Anthony
Anthony said she came to see her role at MTV as a responsibility to bring her culture and music to the network.
“maybe I have a responsibility here to bring my culture, more my music, diversity to MTV”
Listen from 12:16 · Total Request Live
La La Anthony
Anthony said she believes in second chances for incarcerated young men and in equipping them for reentry.
“So I'm all about second chances and also giving them the tools they need”
Listen from 15:04 · Rikers Island
La La Anthony
Anthony argued that a friendship should end when it no longer makes you feel good and causes stress.
“I think it's time to end a friendship when it's no longer making you feel good”
Listen from 20:38 · Friendship
La La Anthony
Anthony said moving to New York and its scrutiny marked the beginning of her marriage's decline.
“Now that I look back, that was kind of the start of the demise of the marriage”
Listen from 24:20 · Marriage and long-term partnership
La La Anthony
Anthony observed that as she has gotten older, mainly much younger men pursue her.
“when you get older, only younger guys want to date you. It's the wildest thing”
Listen from 25:54 · Dating standards
Alex Cooper
Cooper said she expected committing to an athlete would ease her anxiety, but it did not.
“once I was his girlfriend and it was committed, I thought I was like, I'm going to sleep better at night”
Listen from 27:56 · Infidelity
La La Anthony
Anthony said she focused on her own crumbling relationship rather than other couples' cheating.
“I can't worry about what everybody else has going on. Like, I gotta work. I gotta save myself”
Listen from 31:54 · Infidelity
La La Anthony
Anthony argued social media gives people too much access and she does not want to know everything about her partner via DMs.
“And I think we're getting to the point now where it's too much access. Everyone has something to say about everything”
Listen from 33:51 · Social media and self-presentation
Linked moment · 35:54Skip to 35:54 using a listen link in the info box.
La La Anthony
Anthony advised that happiness should not depend solely on being in a relationship.
“So you just gotta figure out your happiness whether you're in a relationship or out and realize that the happiness shouldn't revolve only around the relationship”
Listen from 35:54 · Marriage and long-term partnership
Alex Cooper
Cooper said people should stop publicly opining on celebrities' relationships and keep such views private.
“We have too much access to give our opinion on stuff. Write it in your group chat”
Listen from 38:47 · Fame
La La Anthony
Anthony said she would have divorced even outside the public eye because boundaries had been crossed.
“I do think I still would have came to the same conclusion because some boundaries were crossed that I just couldn't”
Listen from 40:15 · Divorce
La La Anthony
Anthony said the divorce changed her view of love, though she is trying to stay positive.
“Has your view of love changed? Yes, it has. And I hate to say that”
Listen from 41:48 · Divorce
La La Anthony
Anthony said she is not on dating apps but knows they can work because her father married someone he met on one.
“my dad married the woman he met on a dating app. So I've seen where it can work”
Listen from 48:28 · Online dating
La La Anthony
Anthony said being set up by friends is the best way to meet someone.
“that's the best way because I feel like my friend knows me, knows what I like”
Listen from 48:52 · Dating standards
La La Anthony
Anthony named lying as her dealbreaker in a future relationship.
“I won't tolerate lying like liars. I'm just like, no matter what it is, I respect you more if you're just honest”
Listen from 50:19 · Dating standards
La La Anthony
Anthony said she would tell her younger self that no one can please everybody and must find their own happiness.
“you have to realize that no matter what you do, you can't please everybody. You have to like. find your own happiness and please yourself”
Listen from 51:09 · People pleasing

People

In the conversation

Alex CooperAmerican podcaster and media entrepreneur, host of Call Her Daddy
La La AnthonyAmerican television personality, actress, producer and former MTV VJ

Discussed

Carmelo AnthonyFormer Knicks forward
LudacrisRapper who co-hosted Atlanta radio with Anthony early in her career
Tyrese GibsonSinger and actor whom Anthony interviewed for her MTV audition
DJ ClueDJ who introduced Anthony to her future husband
Tim JohnsonPastor running the Fatherless No More initiative at Rikers Island
CiaraSinger and friend of Anthony, cited as happily married to an athlete
Russell WilsonNFL quarterback joining CBS as an analyst
Kim KardashianReality star and businesswoman pursuing a law license

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From the publisher

La La Anthony joins Call Her Daddy to talk about her career, how to be a great friend (keep secrets) and how she’s stayed grounded and classy af while navigating a shared life with a professional athlete. La La tells the story of getting a fake ID at 15 years old so she could begin working as an intern in radio. She reflects on her journey from radio personality to MTV host to actress and producer. La La is the ultimate best friend to some of the most famous women in the world, and Alex and La La discuss all things friendship. Should you give your friends the truth even if it hurts? How do you know when it’s time to end a friendship? The duo dive into dating (athletes), love, marriage and divorce. La La opens up about her time as an NBA wife, the sleepless nights and a culture of cheating. She discusses the early days of her marriage, her decision to divorce, her current dating life, and whether she’ll ever date another athlete again.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on November 1, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Relationships·Careers