Yandy Smith-Harris and Mendeecees Harris have been experiencing some bumps in their relationship lately. In a video circulating social media, the reality television couple sat with a counselor to discuss their marital issues. During the session, Smith revealed that Mendeecees hasn’t been wearing his wedding ring.
“I feel like once we get to a place where respect is restored, then we can wear the ring,” Mendeecees said before explaining himself at request. “My concept of wearing a ring is people together, as one. I’m trying to get there.”
Yandy then asked Mednecees whether it’s the together part or the one part he’s trying to get to and he responded, “both.”
The discussion is part of a sneak peek of an upcoming Love and Hip Hop episode: Atlanta, which the couple have been on since 2011.
The couple got engaged on the show when Mendecees proposed in 2014; however, he went to prison in 2015. They tied the knot in a lavish TV wedding special in 2015 before the entrepreneur began serving his sentence in 2016. That said, Yandy and Mendeecees never got legally married until after he was released from prison in 2020 due to issues around child support on Harris’s part.
“I have a union with Mendeecees, but I did not go into a partnership with Mendeecees and the government,” Smith said during an episode of LAHH a few years back.
Regarding what drives the couple’s recent marital issues, the entrepreneur feels Smith doesn’t respect his authority and makes decisions without including him. In April, during an episode of the show, he admitted that he and his wife have reached a ‘dark place’. When asked by a producer whether commitment is holding the marriage together more than love, he responded,
“Absolutely. 1000%,” he admitted. “It’s supposed to be forever, but it doesn’t have to be forever.”
The couple has a blended family and shares five children–two of which they had together. The other two children are from Mendeecees’ previous relationships, and Yandy adopted the fifth.