Photo: Courtesy of Bedroom Kandi
If you don't know Kandi Burruss from Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta, you'll certainly know her songs. The singer/songwriter is a music industry veteran with two Grammys to her name for TLC's "No Scrubs." (She also wrote Destiny's Child's Grammy-nomitated hit "Bills, Bills, Bills.") Now, the musical reality star is taking on yet another industry: Luxury adult toys.
Through hosting her weekly web series, Kandi Koated Nights, Burruss discovered her passion for talking to women about their sex lives—and helping them make it better. In partnership with boutique adult toy company OhMiBod, the star recently launched her Bedroom Kandi collection of five intimate products—one of which even vibrates to your favorite songs when you sync it to iTunes.
We caught up with Burruss to find out which toy is her favorite, how to navigate sex-toy taboos, and what kind of vibes we can expect from her new Bravo special, Kandi Factory. Read the full interview after the jump.
Bedroom Kandi aside, do you have a sweet tooth for actual candy?
Kandi Burruss: I don't. It's so funny—I've heard it all my life: "Kandi doesn't eat candy?" The only candy I'll eat is a Kit Kat. I like the crunch I guess.
Why did you decide to create your own toy line?
I'd been doing Kandi Koated Nights for a year, which created an online following of people who like to talk about sex and relationships. And I've always had a couple of toys myself [laughs] so I knew there was a need for them. A lot of women are shy and don't want to admit to using toys, so I wanted to make a line that women didn't feel ashamed to say they owned. It's sad that the majority of women have never experienced an orgasm because you have to know how to please yourself before you can tell someone else what you like.
Few celebrities put themselves out there to champion women's sexuality—so what made you so vocal?
I'm very outspoken anyway, so it wasn't a conscious decision to champion sex—it just kinda happened that way. I guess I didn't feel the need to put out yet another perfume. I didn't know what people were going to think about the toys, but surprisingly so many people come up to me asking where they can get them. I've even seen preachers' wives buy everything we sell!