Claudia Lopez Talks ‘Tough Love Miami': “I Found Myself “

We have seen a number of reality shows come through Miami: Jersey Shore, Bad Girls Club, Kourtney & Khloe, etc. And while most center around the fact that the Magic City is quite the party town, Tough Love Miami does the opposite. While it still might show the fun side of MIA, anyone watching might actually learn a thing or two.

Usually set in Los Angeles, Vh1’s Tough Love moved to the 305 because host and matchmaker Steve Ward says he wanted to teach love in one of “the toughest dating scenes in the country.” And out of the eight contestants chosen, two of the ladies are natives themselves. And we sat down with one them, Claudia Lopez, to talk about everything from why she did the show in the first place to what she learned along the way.

Did being a Telenovela actress prepare you for the drama on Tough Love Miami?
It was sort of catch 22. I don’t know if it was better or worse. Me being an actress and being in front of the camera, I feel comfortable with all of that. I really thought I was going to be prepared for it. But Tough Love Miami was reality and it took me by surprise. I went in to all of this way too confident.

What made you want to do this show in the first place?
I have been on TV for a while and I never had time to date. All of my relationships usually went from bad to worse. When I was first asked to do it and I heard it was reality TV, I said absolutely not. Then I did research on the show and I saw it was about dating and finding love, I thought, “why not?”  Speaking for me, I knew it was another way to break into American television. If I really wanted to know why I couldn’t find a man, I could have gone to a matchmaker. With Tough Love, I got both.

So, did you end up learning any lessons from matchmaker, Steve Ward?
Absolutely. I had always been considered a “bombshell” and many men, because of my career, thought I was an easy girl. And my personality doesn’t match that at all. But it brought me back to the ground and made me want to change people’s perception of me. Honestly, when I used to go out, I used to treat it as a red carpet event. I really needed to change up my style. And because of the show, I did.

What tips did you learn from the show that you want to share with singles girl in Miami?
I think girls over analyze things. Men are a lot simpler than we think they are. Men can flip burgers or work in an operating room, but their thoughts are pretty simple and we don’t realize this. In that area, woman can be a little ignorant. If a man texts you, don’t read it 10 million times. There is a good chance he spent less than 10 seconds writing it. What I learned is that we aren’t a lot more complicated and just take it down a notch. If woman can do all of that, life is much more easier. And don’t show too much or give too much away. That is really the key!

Now that it is all over, are you glad you did Tough Love Miami?
Sometimes I am. Well, I am glad because I learned a lot. But I wont lie and say it wasn’t hard. It was a really tough experience. I had no idea it was going to be that hard. And now because of what I do, people approach me and ask if my emotions on the show were genuine.  Me on set crying for a television show, that is acting. Anything after that, especially for Tough Love, it was so real. A lot of it hit me like a train. But I did learn a lot, I will say that. It was a boot camp, for sure.

I know you can’t say much, but did you find love on the show?
Well, you are right. I can’t say much. But I can say that I found myself.
 

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