Flavor of Love
Flavor of Love is an American reality television dating game show starring Flavor Flav of the rap group Public Enemy.
While not a direct spin-off, the show was a result of Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav's failed relationship on Strange Love, as well as The Surreal Life. Those two series as well as Flavor of Love have aired in repeats on TV Guide Network.
The third season of Flavor of Love began on Monday February 11, 2008 at 9/8c.
On May 14, 2008, it was announced that Flavor of Love 3 would be the final Flavor of Love. After 3 seasons, Flavor Flav chose to not marry or date any of the winners from any of the three seasons. Instead, it was revealed that he would marry Liz, the mother of his seventh child, Karma, on the Season 3 reunion show.
The show was a ratings success for VH1. The Flavor of Love 2 finale was the second highest-rated non-sports basic cable show of 2006.
Show format
The show was part of VH1's Celebreality lineup and its format is similar to that of The Bachelor. Twenty different ladies compete for Flavor Flav's heart as they live together in a mansion in Encino, California. He is helped in his quest by his bodyguard and chauffeur named "Big Rick." He was also assisted by his mother, as well as his former romantic partner Brigitte Nielsen in the first season, and Tiffany Pollard in the second. The show also helped spin off a string of similar VH1 "Love" shows, including I Love New York, Rock of Love, and Real Chance of Love. There were secondary spin-off shows featuring contestants on Flavor of Love, such as , and I Love Money.In the show, each contestant is given a nickname by Flav and is referred to by that nickname for as long as she remains in the competition, as Flav says he can remember nicknames more so than real names. Flavor of Love features a clock ceremony where contestants who are not eliminated receive gold clocks to wear around their necks with their picture and nickname behind the hands of the clock. When a contestant is eliminated, her real name is then revealed, followed by a champagne toast.
There are a few basic elements of the show's format that have been consistent through each season of production. Throughout the season the contestants compete for intimate dates with Flav by competing in various challenges. Also, Flav brings the few remaining women's parents on in the third or second to last episode. Finally, the season finale takes place in a tropical destination. The two finalists and Flav spend the last two days at a luxurious resort preceding his final decision.
The week following the finale an all-cast reunion is typically aired. The host, La La Vazquez, spends this time reviewing the most memorable moments and interviewing the contestants after they have seen the season. This is also when the viewer finds out if Flav is still with the woman he chose and what they have been up to since the season wrapped.
VH1 has also introduced an internet component into the show. Viewers can create profiles, interact with contestants and other fans, and stay current with news at flavorofloveworld.com. In season 3, fans even got to vote online to elect five of the contestants, though Flav sent four of them home in the premiere episode.
Series overview
Cast
;Flavor FlavWilliam Jonathan Drayton Jr. is the bachelor looking for love.
;Hoopz
Nicole Deannae Alexander is the winner of the first season. After the show, she started acting and modeling. Hoopz and Flavor Flav broke up soon after the show ended. She has since gone on to compete in the VH1 series I Love Money, winning the grand prize of $250,000. She dated Shaquille O'Neal.
;Deelishis
Chandra Davis is the winner of the second season. She has her own line of jeans called D-Cut, and will participate in a 2009 national tour of the Vagina Monologues with an all-black cast, most of whom are also former reality show contestants. Davis also appeared on I Love Money 3 along with Buckeey.
;Thing 2
Tresha is the winner of the third season. Tresha entered the competition with her sister Trisha. Although Tresha eliminated in episode 12, she was brought back in episode 13, and subsequently won the competition. She was dumped on the reunion show when Flav decided to reunite with Liz, the mother of his son Karma.
;Liz
The mother of Flav's youngest child, Karma. Flav said she was the right one the whole time and proposed to her on the reunion show of Season 3.
;Big Rick
Big Rick is Flavor's assistant and bodyguard. He and Flav met in 2004 while in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel Casino while shooting for Flav's other show, Strange Love. Big Rick used to work at a detention facility in Florida.
;New York
Tiffany Pollard was the runner up of both the first and the second seasons. After the show, she appeared on her own reality dating show, I Love New York, which aired for two seasons, as well as New York Goes to Hollywood and New York Goes to Work.
;Pumkin
Brooke Thompson finished in third-place on the first season. She gained notoriety after spitting on Tiffany Pollard shortly after her elimination. After the show, she received the Best Fight Award at the Fox Reality Awards in 2006. She now has a clothing line called Pumkin Apparel, which includes a shirt that reads “Pumkin spit on me and I like it…”
She appeared on and I Love Money. She has also appeared on Judge Jeanine Pirro, the Family Feud as a member of the Gardiner family, and Playboy TV's "Foursome" in 2009.
;Saaphyri
Saaphyri Windsor was disqualified in the first episode of season two after fighting with another contestant. After the show, she appeared on, winning the competition. She currently has her own lip balm line called Lip Chap and her own brand of weave hair called Saaphyri's Ultimate Indian Hair. She placed fifth on VH1's I Love Money 2. It can also be noted that Windsor holds the record for being the only contestant in the series that did not receive a nickname.
;Buckwild
Becky Johnston appeared on Flavor of Love 2. She threw her shoe at Tiffany Pollard during the After the Lovin' reunion, almost hitting New York. After the show, she appeared on and I Love Money 2.
;Toasteee
Jennifer Toof appeared on Flavor of Love 2 where she was eliminated on the show's fourth episode after Flav discovered she had posed in a pornographic magazine. After the show, she appeared on and the first season of I Love Money.
;Black
Candace Cabrera is the runner-up on the third season.
;Bootz
Larissa Aurora appeared on Flavor of Love 2. After the show, she appeared on. Later on, during the show's reunion special, she got into an argument with Charm School's "headmistress"' actress Mo'Nique. In Flavor of Love season 2 she finished in fourth place.
;Buckeey
Shay Johnson appeared on Flavor of Love 2. After the show, she appeared on. Then later was a contestant on the unaired 3rd season of I Love Money 3, along with Deelishis.
;Myammee
Angela Pitts appeared on Flavor of Love 3. After the show, she won I Love Money 2
;Hottie
Schatar Taylor appeared on Flavor of Love, where she gained notoriety for trying to microwave a raw chicken. After the show, she appeared on.
;Serious
Cristal Steverson appeared on Flavor of Love. After the show, she appeared on and worked as a temporary radio personality for Hot 107.9, where she interviewed Crunk&B trio, Taurus.
;Smiley
Leilene Ondrade appeared on Flavor of Love. After the show, she was the runner-up of and later appeared on I Love Money 2.
;Wire
Jesselynn Desmond appeared on Flavor of Love 2. After the show, she appeared on the VH1 Big Awards''.
;Like Dat
Darra Boyd appeared on Flavor of Love 2. After the show, she appeared on.
;Krazy
Heather Crawford appeared on Flavor of Love 2. After the show, she appeared on. In Flavor of Love season 2 she finished in third place.
;Goldie
Courtney Jackson appeared on Flavor of Love. After the show, she appeared on. In Flavor of Love season 1 she finished in fourth place.
;Rain
Thela Brown appeared on Flavor of Love. After the show, she was the first contestant to get expelled on
;Nibblz
Domenique Majors appeared on Flavor of Love 2. After the show, she appeared on the first season of I Love Money, where she was eliminated on the second episode, placing 16th.