Basketball Wives’ newest addition to their cast, Liza Morales, is the ex-girlfriend and three-time baby mama of NBA star Lamar Odom.
Executive producer and fellow cast member Shaunie O’Neal vouched for Morales, saying that she “has a great story.” Audiences are wondering exactly who Liza Morales is.
Here’s everything you need to know about Liza!
Who is Liza Morales?
Basketball Wives is not the first time Liza, 41, has been on reality TV; audiences may remember when she was featured in the program Starter Wives Confidential in 2013. The show’s premise was similar to Basketball Wives, except the women on SWC knew their husbands before the money and the fame from the NBA.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Liza Morales’s net worth is a total of $3 million. Now, how did she make her money?
Well, Morales is currently sponsored by the CBD goodies company Lock & Key Remedies. But this is not just a sponsorship to her; Liza actively uses Lock & Key’s products for her diagnosed depression.
She is also sponsored by blk. Water.
Morales used to own an eco-friendly baby clothing line called Rich Soil Baby.
Although she has been more than busy with her business ventures, being a mother to Destiny, 23, and Lamar Jr., 19, has been the most important thing in Liza’s life.
On Liza’s Instagram (@truliza4u), which has over 11,000 followers, she posted about the struggles of being a single mom.
She captioned, “As a single mother I have given you both my all. Yes, I worry too much, fail at times, and sometimes just don’t get it at all. But I have tried my hardest to teach you both to be kind, loving and humble human beings. I have had to learn many mistakes in front of you. As a young mom, I have grown up with you. At times I feel hopeless by the constant knock downs, but I want you to remember the woman who ALWAYS got back up. Keep Going!”
Liza hopes that she can use being on Basketball Wives as a healing process.
Her description on VH1’s website reads, “Liza is ready to start fresh with a new chapter in L.A. — but can she fully close the book on her past?”
Morales’s long, tumultuous relationship with Lamar Odom
Liza Morales and Lamar Odom were high school sweethearts; they met at only 15 years old! The couple was briefly engaged in 2000, but they never finalized their marriage.
Today, there is virtually no communication between the two and they only speak through lawyers.
She told Wendy Williams, “The kids are older, so it’s not that we need to coparent, right?”
Morales revealed that their relationship was turned upside down when she and Lamar’s son, Jayden, suffered Sudden Infant Death Syndrome at only 6-months-old.
“When we lost our son in 2006… people were telling me, ‘You really need to watch him. Um, he’s getting out of control.'”
Of course, she’s talking about Odom’s widely publicized drug addiction, which even led to him overdosing in 2019.
“For a long time, we hid. Because there is a stigma attached, there’s a lot of pressure… a lot of stress and trauma on the kids. And it’s a constant work,” she admitted. “But the kids love their father. They want him well. I want him well!”
After their relationship ended, Lamar started dating Khloe Kardashian and the two married after a month in. Odom informed her about it over text.
“The text message was like, ‘I’m getting married.’ And I knew he was seeing her, ’cause they were all over the blogs and all over the websites. And, obviously, I was devastated. We were not together, but obviously I deserve better than a text message.”
Morales revealed that the money they put away in their children’s 529 plans, which was supposed to be used to pay their college tuitions, had disappeared. She inferred that Odom took the money while he was in the midst of his crippling addiction.
Since then, Liza has worked hard to move on and provide for her family.
Basketball Wives airs on Tuesdays at 9/8c on VH1.