Sometimes, you have to laugh about the losses -- even the romantic woes that have plagued damn near everyone at one point or another. For Maino, the time for reflection came during a recent appearance on the Kitchen Talk podcast, when he shared his tragic tale of facing the "friend zone." The experience, which clearly made a mark on the emcee, came at the hands of Ashanti, who Maino admits stole his heart in a major way.
Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images
"I was really in love with Ashanti," he reflects. "I wanted her, I really wanted her. We were cool, and I would text her, I would show up randomly at her events." He laughs. "I got to know her family a little bit. I was like Ashanti this is it, power couple this is it. Holding hands in public, everything! This was in my mind...It's not like she ever gave me the impression she liked me, but I had liked her. So what happened was, I was showing up to events, and she'd be with her mother and father. I'd come to support her and everything."
"She knew where I was at with it, but she didn't necessarily feed in," he continues. "So one night, she hit me, and asked me what I was doing. I lost my mind. She told me to come hang out with her at a club in New York City. I said "Oh God! It's on! All my hard work is paying off right now! This about to happen! This is about to be my girl!" This is all in my mind." After rallying his entourage in an expeditious fashion, Maino showed up at the club riding a wave of confidence.
"And then she got on the mic," he says, the turning point in his tale. "She started talking and shouting people out. And she shouted me out and said 'Shout out to Maino, that's like my brother! That's family right there." His face falls as he chuckles in defeat. "Now listen to me. I looked at the floor! I looked at the floor! I couldn't believe that. If someone looked close they would have seen steam coming out of my head. I'm not family, I'm husband!"
Watch Maino's tale of heartbreak and unexpected brother status unfold around the twenty-nine-minute mark.