Sasha Gates is many things: beautiful, talented and intelligent; a mother of 2 and the wife of NFL mega-star Antonio Gates; a singer, philanthropist and businesswoman. But the one thing I never thought Sasha would be is coy. While we chat about the second season of E!’s WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends of Sports Stars), the usually outspoken woman is teasingly quiet about Season 2 specifics. It seems since last year’s premiere of the E! series, Ms. Gates has learned about the business of show. Smart girl. She’s just kidding about not sharing, of course, and while she doesn’t want to spill too much of this season’s drama, she excitedly hints at what to expect, dishes on her music career and shares what it takes to be a WAG.
Channel Guide: How is the drama going to be different this season?
Sasha Gates: We have a couple of new girls and we are a bunch of strong, independent, opinionated women, so it’s inevitable that when you get them in a room, you’re going to butt heads. We have two new girls and we’re figuring them out. It’s going to be different; the same kind of drama, just different drama. That’s all a surprise when you tune in.
CG: What was your reaction when you watched Season 1?
SG: Honestly, I really enjoyed watching it. It’s hard to watch yourself, first of all. I’m looking at myself and I’m like, “you know what, I don’t mind the show at all. It’s very entertaining!” I’m really looking forward to watching the second season. I can’t wait to see how everything unfolds. There are just so many things that happen in our lives, it’s hard to put it all into one episode. It will be interesting to see, I’ll be watching it for the first time, you know? I’m really looking forward to that.
CG: As the group’s leader, how are you using your success to serve as an inspiration for the other girls?
SG: It’s not something that I think about. I’m just being myself. When people call me “Queen WAG,” I’m like, “Oh wow, really? I’m the queen? Well great, I’ll take the name, why not?” I just feel like I’m similar to them in many ways, but I’m also very different because being married is very different from being single.
Watch Sasha explain last season’s most infamous comment
I’m just myself. I’m very confident in my own skin. I’m naturally a role model without even trying to be. I live my life true to who I am. I try to keep it real to who Sasha really is. I think people admire that. I know that if I be all who I can be then I don’t have any regrets.
CG: Have you given Tia and Sophia any WAG words of wisdom?
SG: One of the things I always say is, “You have to have thick skin to be in this type of world.” There are people who are going to be looking at you just because of who you’re dating or who you’re married to. You got to be able to stand on your own two feet. We deal with groupies. We deal with our men being on the road all the time. We deal with them possibly getting injured. I’m sitting at the edge of my seat all the time when I watch the game, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I hope my baby comes home in one piece!” It’s a lot and you have to be ready for it.
You have to have thick skin and you have to know what you’re signing up for because it’s not easy dating somebody that’s in the limelight. Being a WAG automatically puts you in the limelight, but if you know what you’re signing up for, then you can be ready for it.
CG: What is a misconception that people have about WAGs?
SG: I think people think we possible have all this money — that we kick our feet up all day and drink champagne and go shopping. Yeah, that comes with it, but there’s more to us than just being the name of our significant other. We’re strong, independent women that have our own things going on as well. Our men are strong and in the limelight, and I think they picked us because we are amazing too. We’re women who stand behind our men for a reason. People think that it’s easy — I can be the woman that represents this man — but it doesn’t always last.
One of the things you’re sharing on this season of WAGS is your love of music.
Yes! Music is something that I’ve been doing since I was in high school. I gave it up for a little bit because I have two kids now and I’m not in LA anymore. I have my husband who’s like my third child, [laughs] I take care of him like he’s my baby too.
Then I thought, “Why am I going to give up my dreams?” … I feel like as women, we tend to give up the things that make us who we are when we get married and have kids. Being a wife and mother is just one part of who I am. There are so many hats that I can wear and music is one of them. I love it with a passion.
My husband’s like, “Babe, you don’t have to work, you don’t have to do anything.” I’m like, “Baby, I want to hit the lottery twice.” I want to know what it feels like to make money too and contribute to the pot. I feel like that’s setting a good example for my daughter. I can’t sit down and twiddle my thumbs and say, “Oh wow, I live in a nice, beautiful home and we have all this money.” No. I want to be able to know what it feels like to make that money on my own too, instead of inheriting it from my husband. I will never be that way.
Tell us about your two singles.
I have two singles out right now. The first single is called “Oh Yeah My Hitta.” It’s one of my favorite songs. I wrote it for my husband. The second song is called “Go Hard.” That song is about, in life you go hard for what you want out of it. You go hard at the gym, you hard when you’re studying, you go hard when you’re cooking dinner and trying to get it ready for your kids. Anything that you want to achieve in life, you’ve got to go hard to get it. This song is about me going hard.
Sasha, since you go hard in everything you do, how do you prioritize?
You just jump off the building and you figure it out on the way down. The first step is just doing it. A lot of people are so stuck in their head, “okay, how am I going to figure out how to do this?” For me, I have to just dive in it because I know once I dive in it, there’s no turning back. I challenge myself and I’m not the type to just start something and not finish it. Me jumping in, it challenges me to finish it.
The love behind what you do is important. I do things because it comes from my heart and I really want to do it. When you love something, it’s not easy to quit it. I juggle it all and I figure it out. You don’t get to really prioritize because everything is a priority. Of course my kids and my husband come first, but everything else that I’m doing, I make that a priority as well. You just fit it in when you can.
CG: What’s a moment from Season 2 that you can’t wait for your fans to see?
SG: We go on this trip and we play this really funny game and it’s like woah!!! That’s all I have to say.
WAGS > E! > Sundays at 10pm ET/PT beginning June 26
@WAGSonE #WAGS
