Vanessa Williams joins Rylan this week on How to Be in Love to reflect on her relationships, independence and life after loss.
Speaking ahead of her West End run in The Devil Wears Prada, Vanessa shares what she’s learned from three marriages and divorces, and why love is no longer her focus.
“I don’t feel like I need to be married,” she says, adding that after her mother’s death last December, “Now it’s like, what do I do?”
She tells Rylan she’s open to love again, but only on her terms: “I would never give up my independence. I don’t want to take care of somebody.” Laughing, she adds: “Most of my friends are fabulous gay men, like the cast of The Devil Wears Prada!”
The episode explores her historic 1983 Miss America win, the backlash that followed, and the racism she faced at age 20.
“As soon as I won, I realised my scope of life was different to the rest of America,” she says. She recalls headlines about her white boyfriend and the fallout from private images shared without consent, leading to her resignation.
Yet there were bright spots. She met her first husband while hiring a publicist during the scandal, describing him as “a knight in shining armour”. Rylan and Vanessa also discuss her second husband Rick Fox, whom she met while he was on a date with Tyra Banks. “That was the end of that date!” she laughs.
Her third marriage, to Jim Skrip, was more about practicality. “He was very traditional. I probably shouldn’t have gotten married another time,” she admits.
Rylan: How to Be in Love is on BBC Sounds and iPlayer from today, Wednesday 30 July.
