Drew Sidora dug deep during Season 2 of the Bounce TV hit comedy Mind Your Business. Particularly, while shooting the recent episode “Tick Tock” that sees The Real Housewives of Atlanta star’s character Aaliyah told she had endometriosis, a condition that can mimic pregnancy symptoms but also potentially cause fertility issues in women. It’s an emotional blow for the 40-year-old divorcee and experience inspired by writer Staci Harris’s own struggles.
“I was diagnosed about 10 years ago,” she said. “I had to have a laparoscopy where I had to have consistent scar tissue removed. Making personal issues I’ve had, though, part of my work has been important to me. Drew dove right in. She didn’t make it about herself. She took the story and pulled it from her own. I didn’t even know she had struggles. It is just a great episode. I was proud of the work the characters did and how everyone came together.”
One of the reasons Sidora feels the show strikes a chord is its willingness to tackle tough topics. Here, the singer and actress opens up to TV Insider about her connection and parallels to the role. Plus, she reflects on RHOA drama and Step Up’s major milestone.
How much of yourself do you see in Aaliyah?
Drew Sidora: That is the great thing about art in that sometimes it does imitate life. Kudos to the network and writing team who work hard to have our storylines really connect with the audience. We spend time talking about various things we’ve gone through. Me being from Chicago, which is where the show takes place, there are so many similarities. With Aaliyah going through a divorce, in real life and my personal life, I’m going through one as well. When it came time to discuss the episode where Aaliyah found herself with the endometriosis diagnosis, it really hit home. You can see in the episode it’s really emotional to me.
Talk a bit about how you related to what Aaliyah was going through.
I delivered three beautiful babies. After my daughter, who is now 7, I discovered I was suffering some symptoms of adenomyosis. I know all too well my personal story and journey dealing with that diagnosis. Dealing with the pain. Not understanding what it was because it’s not something really talked about in my family and group of friends or community. I went through a series of natural remedies and different surgical procedures. Ultimately, I had to have a hysterectomy in 2021. I went through this journey over the years and really became an advocate even on my reality show The Real Housewives of Atlanta. We were talking about it because there were women who were making fun of my body shape and didn’t understand what I was dealing with. Shooting this episode hit home and one that I felt passionate about. I’m excited about the work Staci, myself, and Brely Evans are doing with the Endometriosis Foundation, raising awareness on a national stage. We’re going to do some activations in Atlanta. We want to really bring awareness because it does affect women across the world.
What kind of reaction have you gotten since the episode aired?
People always reach out how much they love the show. For this episode, I’ve received over 50 on social media. I’m trying to get through all these DMs because I do personally respond. Women just being thankful for the episode and asking me questions about what they should do, the medications, and who they connect with. I’m happy we are getting the word out. It was a very timely and important episode, so I’m grateful to open this conversation about the topic and normalize it.
There is a deep conversation Aaliyah shares with her sister-in-law Kimberly (Caryn Ward Ross) as she explores surrogacy. If there is a Season 3, how do you want to see this story continue beyond the one episode?
It’s the unknown because dealing with this diagnosis, there are options thankfully that Aaliyah discovers. It’s not that you can’t bear children. There are options for surrogacy and even adoption. She asked Kimberly if she and her brother would be open to carrying her child. It’s a real conversation. It’s a hard conversation. It’s a tough conversation, but it’s not all bad news when it comes to wanting to start a family. I’m hoping in Season 3, fingers crossed, that we do go down this road of seeing Aaliyah hopefully get married again and start a family. It’s really exciting to think about. I do hope we experience that.
You built an acting career before the juggernaut known as the Real Housewives franchise. Do you find it a challenge being a reality star, which can sometimes be considered a negative connotation, and securing certain roles you want?
For me, thankfully, I was in scripted before I transitioned into unscripted. The transition for me to go back was very important to me. It wasn’t as challenging as I thought. There are a number of things that buyers want where they want to hire reality stars. We’re seeing a lot of reality stars like Nene Leakes and now Porsha Williams that are able to come over to the scripted world. I think the industry has changed so much whereas before, they wanted you to have training and experience. Now it’s more of a numbers game where I find myself going up against YouTube stars and TikTok personalities. Shoutout to Bryce Xavier, who plays my nephew, who is a big TikTok star. I think it’s important because numbers bring viewership. It’s fair game for people to express themselves artistically, which I think is so amazing.
I really hope the integrity of the art remains. I’m constantly in acting classes and constantly pushing myself because I do think there is a space for roles I want to take to put myself in a position to win an Oscar or Emmy. I still think it’s a unique space for people from all genres of entertainment to break into acting, which I think is great. It can come down to followers. I have honestly, transparently, lost a role or two to someone who had more Instagram followers than me. For me, to be in reality TV has helped me be more competitive in the buying space. Still, when you go for those motion picture roles, it’s more competitive where they look at training and experience. I have a movie dropping in theaters on August 29 called Run, an alien action thriller. For me to get back into that space, I’m super grateful and excited about it.
Speaking of movies, it will be 20 years since Step Up first premiered. How do you reflect on that upcoming milestone and the film’s staying power?
It’s crazy. It’s a phenomenon and has such a cult following. Step Up was this little engine that could. Disney wanted to do a dance movie and didn’t know how well it would do. We were all newcomers on set, excited to be working and hoping it would be a hit. When it hit theaters, it was like a takeover. I think it shocked Disney, too, the success of it. Now you see 20 years later, they are still talking about it. I see it all the time. I hope they do something on a larger scale to celebrate because we have seen everyone have amazing careers from Channing Tatum to Jenna Dewan. We all have great careers, but it started with Step Up. I think all of us wanted to come back for an additional one. We had it in our contracts. I think it would be fun to go back and get together. I’m not sure it will ever happen, but that would be exciting.
What’s one role you wish you got to play longer?
Besides Step Up, I’d say White Chicks would have been another. I recently saw Marlon Wayans and asked what’s up with White Chicks 2. He said it was coming soon. Fingers crossed for that. We had so much fun filming that. I would also say The Game on The CW. That had a life of its own and became a fan favorite. The TLC biopic too with Keke Palmer and Niatia “Lil Mama” Kirkland, we had such great chemistry and created such a great friendship. I wish we had a series from that or a part 2 or 3. Mind Your Business, I always look forward to having another reason. We really do feel like family and hope to do more. It’s such an important show with all the feels, with social and political topics we’re diving into.
Between working through divorce and a new dynamic of ladies, how do you look back on what unfolded during Season 16 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta?
Sweet 16 was definitely sweet and a little sour and bitter. It was all those things. I feel it was my rawest season yet. We had a lot of fresh faces, new energy. I was really appreciative to tell my story authentically. It was more of me settling in, as since I started, it has been a new cast seemingly every season. I feel with this group of ladies, there was a different connection I was able to form. Not all good, but I was able to be more grounded. Audiences connected to that more. I was really proud this season as I was able to stand my ground. I feel like the fans connected to me and all the challenges and arguments and disagreements I was having, seeing my perspective. I was grateful for that. We’re gearing up for next season and looking forward to continuing my journey through motherhood, finalizing my divorce, and building new friendships in this circle. It’s really just about figuring it out. I hope to show more of what I’m doing with the Endometriosis Foundation and acting career. I want to show the balance of it all. People don’t really see that because it has been so consumed with my personal life. I’m hoping to integrate more of my career, my parts, and those parts I can celebrate next season.
