On the Couch: The Story of Black Love

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Black Love Founders Codie and Tommy Oliver (Photo by Daniel Leka)

This week, we debuted “On the Couch: The Story of Black Love“ on the Black Love+ app, YouTube, and social channels to offer some insights into our journey as the creators of the “Black Love” docuseries. In September 2014, after knowing each other only a year, my husband Tommy and I started interviewing couples about what it takes to make a marriage work. We set out to answer questionsu we had before getting married — and to put a face to the reality that we knew was possible despite the media telling us it wasn’t. Black people can have healthy, loving, long-lasting relationships. But just like anyone else’s relationship, longevity isn’t without hard work.

Since then, we’ve learned about the work relationships require from more than 250 couples as well as in our own relationship. We got engaged after 6 months of dating, business partners after 1 year, married after a year and a half, and parents after being together 3 years in total. Actually, we had our first son less than a month after licensing the “Black Love” docuseries to the Oprah Winfrey Network. That word “license” is an important one, because it means we own the show. As such, the success or failure of the show is a burden we have willingly carried for a longer-term greater benefit, but it means that we have been responsible for the marketing, live events, press, and more. That work is not unlike the work that goes into a marriage. We have to take full responsibility for the outcome of “Black Love” as well as our own black love.

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In an attempt to deepen the conversations around love in our community, we launched BlackLove.com and the first Black Love Summit in 2018 in the middle of “Black Love” season 2 and one month before having twin boys. Right now, our kids are ages 5 and 3, “Black Love” is going into season 6, this year will mark the 5th annual Black Love Summit, my husband has built a TV and film production company called Confluential Films (and directed two documentaries) and we are filled with gratitude at the impact our work continues to have.

Codie and Tommy Oliver with their sons, Aristotle, Brooks and Langston — Black Love Founders Codie and Tommy Oliver (Photo by Daniel Leka)

Personally and professionally, my husband and I are committed to uplifting the Black community from the inside out. That means centering and celebrating our stories so that we, as Black people, recognize our greatness. We work to foster an environment at home where our children can be unapologetic in their Blackness and we create content so they can see that beauty reflected back at them. We appreciate brands who consciously work to do the same. When given an opportunity to sit “on the couch” and share our journey with our “Black Love” family, we were thrilled to highlight some of the Black-owned projects we use every day as a family, all of which can be found at Target. Buying from Black business owners and supporting Black-owned goods is critical for our family and Target’s Black Beyond Measure portal makes it so easy to search for whatever I need. From toys for my kids to furniture and appliances, you can’t imagine how giddy I get when I can get what I need and also browse diverse products that I know come from Black creators and designers.