‘Life After Lockup’: Justine and Michael ‘Put It All Out There’ in New Season [Interview]

Justine and Michael Persaud aren’t holding anything back in the new season of We TV’s Life After Lockup. 

“I think you’re going to see a lot of transparency,” Michael told Showbiz Cheat Sheet in an interview ahead of the show’s August 1 season premiere. “I mean, this season we kind put it all out there and not really giving a f*ck about the feedback or opinions. “

In their sixth appearance in the Love After Lockup franchise, the Las Vegas couple give viewers a look at their life as parents to a blended family of nine kids and all that entails, from diaper changes to college choices. On top of it all, Justine – who wed Michael in a modest jailhouse ceremony – is planning the $60,000 wedding of her dreams. It’s a lot, but they’re up for the challenge, they said. 

“I feel like we’re a team. We literally high five at the end of the night,” Michael said of how he and his wife hustle to provide for their family. 

“We have kids going into college, we have kids still in diapers, and we have kids on the other side of the country,” Justine said. “So we have kids all over the place. But I feel like we do a good job. I do feel like we do a good job. Kids never go without. I mean, him and I are last on the list here, but isn’t that what parenting is? We’re all last on the damn list. So we’re no different than anybody else. We just have a couple more kids than everybody.”

‘Life After Lockup’ couple on why they’re committed to reality TV

At this point, Justine and Michael are familiar faces to Love After Lockup fans. Why keep sharing their life with the cameras, especially when not everyone has good things to say about them and their relationship? Justine admits that she worries about how people will react in the weeks leading up to a new season. But the positive feedback they get is worth it, she said.   

“When things do air and I get those DMs or those emails from women who find me inspiring and tell me that because of me they were able to stick in this relationship or they talk to their mom or all those things, it lets me know that what I’m doing is good and I need to keep putting myself out there because I’m helping people,” she shared. 

“For me it’s the documentation,” Michael said. “I like the fact that we can go back 10 years from now and look at everything that’s been filmed and our kids are going to be able to do so.”

As for critics, Michael just shrugs and moves on. He and his wife are open about their lives for the show, and if people don’t like that, they don’t have to watch. 

“Look, this is what’s really going on,” he said of the upcoming Life After Lockup season. “If you like it, you like it. If you don’t scroll on. I want to be more relatable because I tell Justine, I feel like people appreciate that more.”

A relationship with an inmate requires ‘sacrifice,’ Justine says 

Justine and Michael are a Life After Lockup success story. But getting to where they are today wasn’t easy. She says that people should think long and hard before getting romantically involved with an inmate. 

“They’re going through a lot. So if you’re not in a place within yourself to be able to sacrifice and have understanding, then this is not [for you]. It’s not for everybody. It really is not,” she said. “It’s not because they require more than the average man, and they’re not even around. And that’s not always money and stuff like that. It’s the emotional stuff. It’s being present during the conversations. It’s writing the letters. It’s making sure that that person feels as good as possible in the sh*ttiest of life situations.” 

Men need to step up as well, Michael said, especially after their release. 

“My advice to the men who are coming out of prison: Y’all got to stop dogging these women,” he said. “You guys have to grow up. Assume your responsibility as men and show them that they’re appreciated for putting in that time. I mean, anyone who sticks by you, they care about you. … you find certain individuals who are willing to put their lives on hold and make their lives about you. I mean, when you come home, you owe them that loyalty.” 

​​Life After Lockup premieres August 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on We TV. Episodes also stream on ALLBLK and AMC+.

For more​​ news and exclusive interviews, follow Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s Instagram.