Ya'll, I want to talk about how this article speaks of a type of man (the "nice guy") for sure, a real problem.... but Dwayne wasn't that toxic "nice guy" this article is trying desperately to make him out to be lol https://www.xonecole.com/dwayne-and-whitley-relationship-goals/

However, I will say that crashing the wedding wasn't the most loving thing he could have done. However, Whitley would have married a man she admired, not a man she loved

Prologue: Whitley's character development in this show is arguably one of the best in TV history. A sheltered daughter of the Black Elite experienced life with the help of new friends and colleagues and freed herself from a kind of bondage you truly have to be in 2 understand

1. BYRON was the "nice guy" that this article was actually talking about. Byron saw Whitley as a beautiful asset. He met her while she was working the room at a fundraiser. He later scolded* her when she almost made him lose one of his biggest donors...

2. Informing her that she cannot simply be herself anymore since she's with him (Season 5, episode 21). This is because, while he likes her .... he likes parts of her that help him get his dream of Senator. She is his Michelle Obama, and the right type of woman

3. Whitely had her toxic ways. She saw Dwayne in a suit (Season 3, Ep 1) and KISSED him on the lips when they got to school. Once he changed clothes, she literally said "Oh wait, ew, never mind"

4. He chased her the entire season 3 and got the message by the end and made efforts to stay friends. They went away for the summer and he wrote her, she didn't respond. School starts, BAM, he found love. Whitley is jealous and attempts to sabotage (it works)

5. While this article says that D tried to "humble" her and that she should have gone for her "type." Julian LITERALLY called her a "sheltered bougie princess" and told her to get a job (Season 3, ep. 25)...

6. Celebrating Dwayne's Phi Beta Kappa, Whitley confesses to D that Julian dumped her and that his comments made her feel bad about herself. He tells her she has no reason to and walks her down memory lane to show her how much less elitist she is, how much she has grown

7. KEY: The article suggests that D did all the "humbling." Incorrect. On many occasions Kim, Freddie, and Jaleesa (among others) have had to check Whitley about her elitism, classism, and overall mean and nasty spirit.

8. Most importantly, this article disrespects Whitley personal journey from stepping outside of her mother's shadow, developing values that weren't based on class and money, becoming vulnerable, loving, and free, wanting more for herself than to depend on a man, etc.

9. Shit, the first episode Whitley wears jeans is after a weekend with Freddie and Dean Hughes in which she confesses that her hatred for Freddie is really envy because Freddie is so "free" and unafraid "to make a complete fool of herself" (Season 3, Ep. 11)

10. Julian and Byron were the type of men that the new, less shallow Whitley no longer found as enchanting as she would have back in season 1 and 2. Whitley enchantment for them was not a conscious decision, bc she was very much still rooted in the values she learned at home...

11. The values she later grew to resent and desire much much more than. Whitley's change made it possible for her to be with D (cool), but more importantly it made it possible for her to have Kim as her best friend and "sister" (Season 5, ep. 25)