The ladies of Love & Hip Hop are constantly entertaining us with their drama, but sometimes there's nothing funny about it. Such is the case with one of the show's original cast members, who has opened up about past physical abuse from boyfriends that got so bad, it made her "just hate men" for a long time.

Somaya Reece starred in the original New York version of the franchise, and is now a cast member on the dating reality show Famously Single. During one of the show's therapy sessions, she broke down and talked about the horrific abuse she suffered, and explained that's why she now mostly dates women. 

"A boyfriend set the tone of every other man I've dated after that," she said, without naming names. "That guy, my boyfriend, did beat me. It was horrible. I tried to break up with him a couple of times, it just wasn't easy. And then he was like, 'If you're not going to be with me, you're not going to be with anyone.'"

She continued, "And he just beat me so bad and I fought as much as I could and the only thing I remember is that he was beating my head into the ground."

After a lot of therapy and soul-searching, Somaya said she's been able to come to terms with her past abuse. "The most important thing I've learned is not all people are bad. I know I'm not a bad person — I didn't deserve it," she said. "I deserve a good person in my life and I'm not going to settle until that comes. I have a lot of love in my heart and I would love to share that with someone."

She then went on to explain her attraction to women. "I loved women since I was seven, I just didn't realize it and couldn't identify that that was what it was," she said. "I had never heard the word gay or lesbian. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't know what I was feeling."

Asked if she sees herself with a man or a woman long term, she concluded, "I believe love is love — it doesn't really matter to me."
We wish her all the best in finding it after all that she's been through.
See another L&HH couple who has miraculously worked through drama on BET Breaks, above.