Tae Heckard
Actress and model Lashontae ‘Tae’ Heckard was born in Seoul, South Korea, on 14th April 1978, and is of South Korean and African-American descent. After spending her childhood in Seoul, Tae moved to the USA sometime in the late 1980s, and subsequently worked odd jobs before becoming a public figure. As far as we’re aware, Tae didn‘t pursue a college degree, preferring instead to get a head start in the workforce.
The curvaceous starlet’s body has undergone numerous changes in the last few years, with some fans becoming concerned in 2021 due to what they considered her ‘excessive’ weight gain; however, as recently as May 2023 she claimed a healthy weight of 56kgs (125lbs), and to be 5ft 4ins (163cms) tall.
Career
Despite being a relatively late bloomer in the entertainment industry, Tae took the urban music scene by storm with her first video vixen gig in 2003, also the year she played the main love interest in Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey’s “I Know What You Want” video.
The single itself peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remained in the Top 40 for months. From then on, Tae’s star was on the rise: shortly after collaborating with Busta and Mariah, she reprised her role as a mysterious love interest for the music video of Dru Hill’s successful single “I Love You”.
Three years later, Tae landed her first movie role with an appearance in “ATL”, starring model Lauren London and rapper T.I. In 2007, she wowed viewers yet again by showing off her best dance moves for Ne-Yo’s “Because of You” music video.
Between 2006 and 2015, Tae appeared in 12 episodes of the urban series “The Game”, bringing to life lively characters such as Jasmine and Sheila. In 2012 also she played Rochelle Davis in the dramedy “Back Then” and had a minor appearance in the music video for Keyshia Cole’s “Trust and Believe”.
After giving birth to her so faronly child in November 2015, Tae took a necessary five-year hiatus from the entertainment industry, easing her way back in with a small recurring role in the urban comedy series “#BlackAF”. Since then, the model has returned to her video vixen roots with appearances in the music videos for “I Got You” (Trippie Redd and Busta Rhymes) and “Where I Belong” (Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey).
Personal Life
Tae’s first public relationship was with Monique Blanton, whom she began dating in 2006. The two women married in 2008, but reportedly separated in 2011; during this time, Tae took on Monique’s last name and they managed to keep their relationship as low-key as possible. According to urban blogs, Monique was working as a stripper in Washington, D.C, and went by the stage name of ‘Rabbit’.
Although Monique didn’t file for divorce until 2014, in January 2013 Tae went public with her new love interest, the award-winning rapper Nelly. A year later, Nelly was spotted canoodling with his ex-girlfriend Ashanti, who is known for her lengthy and fruitful music career which peaked in the early 2000s.
Tae didn’t take the news well, as she began posting cryptic messages on her social media when it was reported that Nelly and Ashanti had reconciled. Given that Nelly had originally left Ashanti to hook up with Tae, there were also rumors that the musician had been playing both sides without either woman being aware.
Another possibility is that Tae became romantically involved with Nelly long before they made their relationship public – the video vixen and the rapper met way back in 2006, and she’s said to have tattooed his nickname on her lower back.
One of the messiest chapters in Tae’s love life ensued months later, when she entered a relationship with Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings. Brandon and Tae were introduced to each other by model and musician Teyana Taylor, who was Brandon’s fiancé and considered Tae to be one of her closest friends.
https://twitter.com/taeheckard/status/510184671549087744
Tae and Brandon both received their fair share of flack when they began dating, and Teyana herself said that she wished Brandon the best, but felt betrayed by Tae. ‘My issue isn’t with Brandon. I’m not even upset because I know him. My issue is with Tae because we were friends,’ Teyana divulged in a radio interview.
When Tae became engaged to the athlete in May 2014, media outlets had a field day upon discovering that she was still legally married to Monique. Although the model eventually divorced the stripper and legally changed her surname back to Heckard, she and Brandon broke up in August of the same year amidst rumors that she had hooked up with her old flame Nelly.
Brandon had plenty to say about the situation, Tweeting: ‘She tried to play me lol’ and ‘If you ain’t married to her, she’s everybody’s “GIRL”’. The rumors that Tae had cheated on the basketball player with Nelly intensified when Brandon posted another Tweet asking where Ashanti was at, although by then, Ashanti and Nelly had broken up yet again.
Nevertheless, Brandon and Tae worked things out long enough for the model to become pregnant. Despite breaking up for a second time in 2015, it became clear that the couple couldn’t stay apart from each other when they reconciled mere months later. Their son, Brandon Byron Jennings, Jr., was born on 1st November 2015; however, little is known of the youngster, as both parents make sure to keep him off social media.
The exact date of Brandon and Tae’s final breakup is unknown, but in July 2019, it was reported that the point guard was trying to blackball his ex-fiancé from joining the cast of the “Basketball Wives” reality TV franchise. ‘Why is my 41yr old baby mama trying to get on basketball wives! Ur not even a basketball wife,’ an incensed Brandon posted on Snapchat.
Despite trying to leverage her status as Brandon’s ex-fiancé to get her foot in the reality TV scene, Tae had already moved on to her next partner, NFL player Stefon Diggs. The couple began dating in late 2018 but kept their dealings as lowkey as possible, perhaps due to this being Tae’s second relationship with a much younger athlete. (Brandon and Stefon are, respectively, 12 and 14 years younger than the model).
Tae and Stefon didn’t make many mainstream media headlines, but according to gossip blogs, she and her son moved to Buffalo, New York State in 2020, in order to be closer to him. The actress is also frequently spotted repping Stefon’s jersey number and even proudly posted a selfie of herself wearing a pair of gold hoops with his name.
In February 2022, it was reported that Stefon had spent Valentine’s Day with another woman despite having been with Tae for over three years. A few days later, the story changed and it was revealed that Stefon had actually spent the romantic holiday with Tae and model Alesha Rene, booking both women into different rooms at the same hotel.
Whatever the case, Tae and Stefon are still together – and with Stefon having signed a $96 million contract extension with the Bills through the 2027 season, Tae probably won’t be leaving the wealthy athlete anytime soon.
