“Ready To Love” star Mike Anthony is teaching men to keep it real while dating. ( And he’s still going strong with Shea.)

He's still going strong with castmate Shea and dishing out dating advice on his new YouTube Channel.

Jan 13, 2019

The bearded and buff, Michael “Mike” Anthony, captured hearts and plenty of laughs on OWN TV’s hit dating show, Ready To Love.

Now the charismatic breakout star is onto his next media venture, launching a YouTube channel about love and relationships.

Love, Lust and Lies: Q&A From the Distinguished Barbarian, is Anthony’s latest project since Ready To Love ended and he coupled up with beautiful entrepreneur, Shea.

Anthony says he went into the show trying to shake up his usual dating routine, and lucked out finding his dream girl. Now he’s passing his wisdom on to singles who are looking to find love also.

—Shea from “Ready To Love” talks dating in your 40s, falling for Mike and loving her independence

“If a woman is materialistic that’s a turnoff to me,” Anthony tells theGrio. “That’s something I love about Shea, she is herself. Also, she’s not crazy about the attention of strange men. She doesn’t need that to solidify or validate who she is.”

“That’s the essence of a woman,” he continues. “Being a woman is enough, you don’t need a bunch of men to tell you that.”

“Being a woman is enough, you don’t need a bunch of men to tell you that.

-Michael Anthony

Lessons In Love

Anthony became a favorite on the show because he was honest with the women he was talking to (and at least not leading them like other cast-mates were accused of doing).

The biggest takeaway for men from the show, according to Mike? Be real.

“Snatch the Band-Aid off,” says Anthony. “Just tell a woman what it is up-front. If you just want to have sex with a woman, as bad as it sounds, tell her that. That way as a human being, she has the right to say, ‘You know what, that’s not what I’m looking for.’ So she’s not lead on to believe something completely different.”

“You never know, whatever you are looking for for, this may be something she is looking for in that particular time in her life.”

“Telling her what she wants to hear or try to smooth things over…all you’re doing is just creating a catastrophe,” says Anthony.

–Will Packer and Nephew Tommy talk dating in your 30’s and 40’s + new OWN show “Ready To Love” (WATCH)

Even though Mike’s story line on Ready To Love had a happy ending, he still saw some areas of growth, especially during his big on-camera argument with Shea.

“It’s one thing to be confident and to be a man but you don’t want to be a male chauvinist,” Anthony tells theGrio. “So I saw a certain [areas] I could pull back on, and handle the situation a little different.”

A Bright Future

Michael Anthony has wasted no time transforming his moment from Ready To Love to power his long term goals.

He’s been taking acting classes, got signed by People Store talent agency in Atlanta, and has already booked roles in two films, including Foolishly In Love, the story of Andre Rison and Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes fiery relationship (he plays Rison’s best friend in the film).

“I definitely will be seen again on either television or big screen, however God has it,” says Anthony. “That’s my passion.”

“Atlanta is Black Hollywood so I got to take advantage of that. You only live once that we know of, so no sense in laying around anymore saying “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve.'”

Check out an episode of Mike’s new YouTube channel below and read more about “Ready To Love” on theGrio’s Entertainment Section.