‘Too Hot to Handle’: Before They Broke Up, Sharron and Rhonda Hadn’t Seen Each Other in a Year, Hadn’t Hooked up With Anyone Else
Rhonda Paul and Sharron Townsend connected on Netflix’s first-ever season of Too Hot to Handle. On April 24, the couple announced that they’d decided to go their separate ways. Before that, Rhonda and Sharron hadn’t seen each other since filming. But they hadn’t hooked up with anyone else, either.
Rhonda and Sharron were long-distance
Currently, Rhonda lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and Sharron lives in Camden, New Jersey. The former coupls says the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic made their long-distance status even more difficult.
“We’re working on it. The world is not in our favor right now,” Rhonda told Entertainment Tonight a few days before she announced her split from Sharron. “It’s been so hard. I was a full-time manager, he was a coach for underprivileged kids, he did all this stuff. So we have not been able to see each other since coming back home, and now we’re dealing with the coronavirus. It’s just one thing after the next.”
Rhonda says she and Sharron kept trying to visit each other before the coronavirus pandemic, but life kept getting in the way.
“It’s just a quick flight, and we kept trying and trying but it just never worked. I tried, but listen, we are great. Like, we still talk on the phone, we still FaceTime, we’re still supportive of one another,” she said. “If we can get together, I’m sure it’ll pick up where it left off, no problem. We’re trying to make it happen. It’s been a year, yes, but that’ll just make it more exciting. We’ve held out.”
Sharron also told ET that, at the time, he and Rhonda were doing their best to make their relationship work.
“I have a lot of love for her. We are definitely still rocking,” he said. “Initially, once we came home from the retreat, Rhonda and I kept in contact. We were doing well for a few months. Then, with work and all that, I kind of got busy, and then my mom fell ill. That caused me to [focus on] everything that was going on here, so we took a break for a few weeks. Then we got back and we picked up basically where we left off.”
“So, things are going well. Prior to the coronavirus happening, we had made plans of visiting each other,” he added. “And there’s been talks of who is going to move, so we can kind of make things work. We’ve been talking about relocating to Los Angeles, hopefully.”
Sharron was ‘build[ing] a bond’ with Rhonda’s son
Rhonda told the publication that she has her son to consider when it comes to traveling or moving.
“I’m full-time parenting mostly by myself, so I can’t just up and fly. I have to get my baby situated,” she explained. “That’s why we were just like, ‘Hey, let’s just take it a day at a time.'”
Sharron said that he and Rhonda’s son got along great. They’d spoken several times over FaceTime.
“I FaceTime with him a lot. He’s an amazing kid,” he said. “We’ve definitely started to build a bond.”
Before they announced their breakup, Sharron seemed serious about making things work with Rhonda.
“I haven’t hooked up with anyone. I’ve been staying true to myself, and staying true to Rhonda. So, I haven’t done anything since we’ve gotten home,” said Sharron. “I’ve been serious. I gave her my word when we were on the show, like, ‘This is it.’ If I’m going to try it with anyone, I want it to be with her.”
Rhonda and Sharron say they’re still on good terms post-breakup, but Rhonda is concentrating on herself right now.
“Right now, I’m protecting my yoni. I’m focusing on myself, building myself as a brand,” she said. “I am [keeping my options open]. It’s now or never.”
