Andrea Michelle Howard was born on January 23, 1985, and grew up in Pennsylvania. She’s an Aquarius—no wonder she’s so unique! From a young age, Andrea was fascinated by all things related to beauty. She even posted an old photo on Instagram showing off her manicured nails. Always stylish, right?
In 2002, when Andrea was 17, she found out she was pregnant. There have been rumors that her child’s father is former NBA player Gilbert Arenas. However, in a since-deleted Instagram post, Andrea revealed that when she was seven months pregnant, the father of her child was imprisoned and sentenced to 10 years. She gave birth to her son, Nico, in December 2002. In the deleted post, Andrea mentioned that Nico was named after his father but carries her last name.
Can we get a list of all the “Nicos” in jail? Sure, I can help with that. All the “Nicos.” Thank you. Oh, it’s spelled K-N-I-K-O, like the character from New Jack City. Wait, that’s Nino! I was playing detective over here. Now I understand why he’s in prison.
Without receiving any child support, she started stripping to make ends meet. That might sound wild to some. Later on, she decided to switch gears and pursue a singing career, moving to Los Angeles. But according to The Shade Room, her voice just wasn’t enough to make her a star. Thankfully, that’s not a problem I have.
She also tried modeling and appeared in music videos, but The Shade Room reported that big fashion designers weren’t interested in her, and many men’s magazines turned her down because of her figure and long neck. Drea, nicknamed “Giraffe” Michelle, eventually found connections with editors and video directors who got her roles in music videos with artists like Jay-Z, The Game, and Kanye West. Finally getting the recognition she felt she deserved, she started moving in different circles and had relationships with numerous celebrities.
When she wasn’t in LA, she was working in Philadelphia. But what kind of work? And where was her son while she was out dating celebrities, shaking it in music videos, and working in Philly? Sadly, he was often home alone. Unbelievable, right?
In 2011, a Philadelphia news outlet reported that Drea’s son, Nico, would come home from school to an empty apartment and spend nights alone while Drea was working an hour and a half away in Philly. On December 16, 2011, Nico called 911 at 2 a.m., telling dispatchers he was home alone. He said he had called his mom earlier in the day, and she said she was going to a tanning salon and would be home soon. She never came back, and Nico said he tried calling her about 20 times without any response.
When officers arrived at the apartment, they described it as looking like it had been completely ransacked. Women’s bras and panties were scattered everywhere, a small dog was in a cage, and there were dog feces and urine all around the apartment. “Oh, hell no,” Nico exclaimed as he began telling the authorities what he’d been going through. According to Nico, he would get off the bus after school and walk to their apartment complex. He had to wait for another resident to either leave or enter the parking garage gate so he could get inside. Nico said his mom left the apartment door unlocked and kept microwave dinners for him in the freezer.
While the police questioned him, Nico got hungry, grabbed a TV dinner from the freezer, and stood on the counter to reach the microwave. Police called Drea’s mom, who picked Nico up and took him to her home. However, the police report indicated that Nico was eventually placed in child protective services while the authorities investigated further.
The police reported that Drea didn’t return home until 8:45 in the morning. She was arrested on child endangerment charges and released on a $25,000 bail. Since she was a first-time offender, she was sentenced to two years of probation, family counseling, and 40 hours of community service. When Drea appeared on Basketball Wives, her castmates heard about the allegations and labeled her a deadbeat mom. Drea denied that her son was ever taken away from her, but online investigators found the police report, exposing her lie. The internet, as usual, was undefeated.
Drea remained unfazed and took to Twitter, writing that the haters kept her motivated. She also expressed excitement about moving her mom and son to LA to be with her. At that time, her child was under her mother’s care.
As a cast member of Basketball Wives, Drea’s personal life continued to be exposed. Blogs eagerly dug into her past, but Drea insisted she had changed. However, some felt she was still “chained to a Chain of Fools.” Before belting out lyrics, she might want to learn them first.
During a radio interview, she was asked if she still considered herself a “hoe.” She replied, “I don’t think I’m considered a hoe anymore. I haven’t been with anyone in the last two or three years.” But let’s be real, girl, your past doesn’t just disappear. What is she even talking about?
Despite all the negative attention, guys were still willing to take their chances. In an interview with Inside the Huddle, Drea shared how she met Orlando Scandrick through mutual friends while he was playing for the Dallas Cowboys. She admitted she was initially disappointed because he was only 5’10”, but they had a good time during their first meeting at a nightclub and even went out for breakfast afterward. Staying out all night again? And where was Nico while you were out having breakfast? Did you bring him any food this time?
Orlando told Inside the Huddle that after meeting Drea, he thought she was cute but had a terrible attitude. Regardless, they started dating around 2013. True to Drea’s style, drama ensued from the start. She hinted on Instagram that the mother of Orlando’s twin daughters was causing behind-the-scenes drama. Then, her Basketball Wives co-stars accused Orlando of cheating on Drea with Jackie Christie’s daughter, Chantel. Oh, this is messy.
Orlando revealed that during a brief breakup with Drea, his friends tried to set him up with Chantel. They chatted for a few days, but when Chantel arrived at his home, he was immediately turned off. He said, “All I remember is she has a mole, she’s brown-skinned, and she’s chubby, and none of that is my type.” Clearly, his friends were out of their minds. He even passed Chantel off to one of his friends. Besties, don’t let anyone treat you like a backup plan. If you didn’t choose them, don’t get chosen. What do they think this is, Build-a-Bae? Absolutely not.
Drea decided to stand by Orlando because she was confident he would never be interested in someone like Chantel. She believed she was his ultimate woman because she weighed 119 lbs and had a model’s physique. Sure, she’s shaped like a model, but what about her brain? Orlando even offered to pay her twice her Basketball Wives salary to leave the show, so Drea stepped away from the reality series and eventually launched her own web series called “BlaDrea.”
In August 2014, Drea announced their breakup. Shortly after, the NFL suspended Orlando for the first four games of the 2014-2015 season due to a failed drug test. According to TMZ, Orlando claimed he unknowingly took Molly while on vacation in Mexico with Drea. Sports fans blamed Drea for everything, prompting her to issue a statement on Twitter, insisting she wasn’t at fault but would support Orlando through the ordeal.
After a few more breakups, Drea announced their engagement in June 2015. She proudly showed off her $400,000 7-carat diamond engagement ring but told People magazine they were in no rush to set a wedding date. Just a month later, Orlando called off the engagement. He told TMZ Sports that, in hindsight, proposing was a poor decision. He said he was eager to move on with his life and get away from Drea. Well, goodbye then.
The dramatic saga of Drea and Orlando’s engagement had everyone asking, “What on earth happened?” According to an insider who spoke to blogger Love B. Scott, Drea allegedly bought her own engagement ring and had her PR team leak the engagement story online. Shockingly, Orlando never actually proposed, and for months, he was reportedly trying to figure out how to escape from Drea. The source even claimed that Drea was practically squatting in his house, refusing to leave.
Drea clapped back at these rumors in a statement to TMZ, saying, “I was just involved in a circus and didn’t know I was the clown.” She denied all allegations about buying her own ring and faking the engagement. But just a few weeks later, Orlando filed a restraining order against her. He claimed that two months before their supposed engagement, Drea got physical with him and pepper-sprayed him during an argument. He also accused her of throwing candles at him and knocking pictures off his walls. In a separate incident in July 2015, he alleged that she threw a porcelain jewelry holder and books at him, and even threatened to throw bleach in his eyes. Drea was also accused of tossing his clothes into the bathtub and the swimming pool. The judge granted the protection order, requiring Drea to stay at least 100 yards away from Orlando. What a mess.
A month after Orlando revealed his side of the story, Drea told Power 106 radio station that they were back together. Really? To justify their chaotic relationship, Drea said, “We’re Black and in a relationship. Black people in a relationship, they feel me.” No, Drea, not everyone feels you on this one.
Once again, their happiness was short-lived. Days after announcing their reconciliation, Drea posted photos on Instagram showing her trashed bedroom, accusing Orlando of destroying it. She called him the “cornball of the year” and claimed he was trying to make her look crazy. Their relationship was clearly toxic.
Orlando had other issues to worry about. A few weeks after their public spat, he tore two ligaments in his right knee and had to sit out from playing. With more time on their hands, Drea announced in January 2016 that she was pregnant with their baby boy. Shortly after, the couple split again. Drea revealed on Instagram that Orlando’s trip to Vegas forced her to end things. They welcomed their son, Drew, in April 2016, and their relationship seemed to stabilize, finally bringing some peace.
But then came 2017. An anonymous source sent Baller Alert a photo allegedly showing Orlando’s bedside with herpes medication. The image quickly disappeared from the internet. Months after Drew’s first birthday, the financial cost of their relationship surfaced. Court records showed Orlando was earning nearly half a million dollars a month, while Drea made about $33,000. In July 2017, the court awarded Drea over $24,000 per month in child support.
This rollercoaster of a relationship has been a wild ride. Let’s hope for everyone’s sake that the drama has finally come to an end.
Let’s jump to December 2017. Drea took to Twitter to complain about Nico’s homework. Nico, who was 13 then, had to recite a four-minute speech at home every day, and Drea had to sign off on it. While Drea was all for helping with his homework, she felt the teacher was being a bit much by requiring her to sign the sheet every day. After listening to the speech twice a day for a month, she refused to sign it one night. She tweeted, “Today, he doesn’t get points because I don’t want to sign it. It’s not my homework, but it feels like it.” What do you all think? Girl, you don’t want to know what we think. Okay, we think you’re still a deadbeat mama, like always. That’s what we think.
Twitter didn’t hold back, and the backlash was so intense that Drea deleted her tweet. Despite having a seemingly happy relationship for a couple of years, Orlando was noticeably absent from Drea’s 36th birthday the following month. She deleted all traces of him from her Instagram, and they unfollowed each other. By then, Orlando had bounced around several teams and was cut twice by the Eagles, with his final release in October 2019. People wondered if Drea would stay by his side or find another athlete with deeper pockets. She addressed this on her Instagram story, saying, “If anyone has anything to say about me or the guy I used to be engaged to, save it. We don’t care. I have been single the entire month of December.”
Orlando moved on with WNBA player Dearica Hamby, who gave birth to his fourth child, a baby boy named Legend, in March 2023. According to sandrarose.com, Dearica had to inform her husband that Orlando was the baby’s father. Hold on, you’re just going to gloss over that? Oh, we caught it.
After moving out of Orlando’s house for good, Drea bought her own home in 2020. When people accused her online of using child support checks to buy the property, Drea took to Twitter to assert that she doesn’t receive any support from anyone. As for the 2017 child support order that RRG dug up, our research shows that both parents can mutually agree to terminate a child support order early in California. However, there’s no record of such a request in their court files.
You’re probably curious about what Drea’s eldest son, Nico, has been up to lately. Well, in August 2021, he enrolled at Georgia State University, and from the looks of it, he’s living his best life. Go, Nico! We’re proud of you. Wait, is that him showing off a bit?
Drea has moved on with NFL player Tyrod Taylor, and in 2023, she was spotted with Houston Rockets shooting guard Jalen Green. By now, people were used to Drea dating athletes, but what really made everyone take notice was the 17-year age gap between her and Jalen. The fact that Jalen is only 10 months older than her son Nico added to the buzz. As people raised concerns about their relationship, they also wondered if Jalen knew about Drea’s past. During a chat with The Shade Room in September 2023, Drea mentioned she was open to having another child and wasn’t too worried about being in a relationship to do so. She said, “I’m very non-traditional. I think you can co-parent without being in a relationship. Maybe two people just decide, ‘Hey, you want a kid? I want a kid. Let’s have a kid and see how it goes.'”
People had mixed reactions. One person commented, “The fact that some of you are okay with deliberately creating broken homes is wild to me. It’s sad.” Another wrote, “She mentally matches her baby daddy’s age.” Ouch.
In January 2024, rumors started that Drea looked very pregnant while watching one of Jalen’s games. Then, on International Women’s Day in March 2024, 39-year-old Drea announced that she and 22-year-old Jalen were expecting a baby girl. This will be Drea’s third child by a third man, and Jalen’s first child. Some people online praised Drea for securing her future, especially with Jalen’s $40 million rookie contract. But others questioned what she could have in common with someone so much younger and expressed disappointment in Jalen for having a child with a woman who has been controversial for years. There were also concerns about Drea’s past parenting issues. Hopefully, this baby will be well taken care of. Do you think Drea will raise this baby on frozen dinners, or will she learn to cook homemade meals? Let us know in the comments