(Photo: Latina Magazine, August 2013)

Evelyn Lozada sure is doing her best to pave a better image for herself since the Basketball Wives backlash. The reality TV star's latest conquest is Latina magazine's August issue, in which she discusses her abusive relationship with former husband Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, her misbehavior on VH1's popular reality show, and why she decided to change.
On her feelings after the violent abuse of her ex-husband during an argument:
"At that point, I knew my life would never be the same. I knew the world was going to laugh at me and be mean and nasty and blame me for everything. But I had no choice. I had to go to the hospital."
On her behavior during the filming of Basketball Wives:
"I'm not going to blame VH1 — whatever I put out there, I put out there. When we were in the middle of an argument, I wasn't thinking, 'Maybe this is going to be hurtful.' I was thinking, 'You're not gonna beat me in this argument!'"
On the public reaction that she somehow provoked her husband's abusive behavior:
"A lot of people connected my previous actions on the show to this. If they were talking about the incident on the news, there would be a clip of me acting a fool on Basketball Wives. I never lifted a finger at him."
On why she plans to start a foundation dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence called Pain Is Not Love:
"I get e-mails every single day from women who are still with their abusive partner and they're like, 'I need help.'"
However, the decision to choose Lozada as the magazine's latest cover girl has been met with some controversy. There have already been criticisms on Latina's Facebook page wondering why the publication has decided to spotlight someone considered to be a negative role model, while others are asking the public to give Lozada a chance to make amends for her past actions.
To read the full interview, check out Latina's August issue when it hits newsstands July 9. Plus, go behind the scenes of the star's cover shoot.
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