Pinky Cole Details Her Financial Challenges and Slutty Vegan's Comeback (EXCLUSIVE)
RHOA's Pinky Cole opens up about family and pulling her "multi-million-dollar business" out of bankruptcy.
How to Watch
The Real Housewives of Atlanta airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on Bravo. Episodes stream next day on Peacock.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta Season 17 newcomer Pinky Cole is very much on the rebound, following some major financial setbacks in her career as a restaurateur and founder of Slutty Vegan.
After sharing during Episode 2 that she had found herself $20 million in debt and temporarily lost her company for 43 days (more on that below), Pinky spoke exclusively to The Daily Dish to break down all the latest on her finances, as well as how she balances her roles as a businesswoman, wife, and mother.
For starters, she cautioned viewers against believing all the hype circulating online.
RELATED: Who is Pinky Cole? Meet RHOA Season 17's New Cast Member Who Is a "Culinary Disruptor"
"What is out in the media, obviously, some is true, some is not true. I've been all over Beyoncé's internet," Pinky joked. "It's interesting because as an entrepreneur, you don't typically see the stories of an entrepreneur really spreading like mine is spreading. That means that I got something to say, and people want to hear it, so I'll take it."
She continued, "I'm just a walking testimony for entrepreneurs that no matter what you go through, whether it's good times or bad times, you still can rise above, you still can be resilient, and you can still keep pushing no matter what people say."
Inside Pinky Cole's luxurious home and family life
As Pinky shared on RHOA, she has been with her husband, Derrick Hayes, for five years, and the two have five children between them: Dallas, 11, Denver, 9, D'Ella, 4, DJ, 3, and Dash, 2. The April 12 episode also revealed that musician Montell Jordan officiated Pinky and Derrick's wedding ceremony. as for her engagement ring, however, she's keeping those details under wraps.
"I filed for bankruptcy, so I can't tell you that, but just know it cost a lot, OK?" she explained in her interview, before also likening her "beautiful" family home to both a "country club" and a "mansion."
RELATED: Andy Cohen Teases the RHOA Season 17 Newcomers: "This Is The Cast We've Been Waiting For"
"I'm proud of that," Pinky declared. "We're not even 40 yet and we have five kids, a beautiful home, a beautiful family. Both myself and my husband, we both have multi-million-dollar businesses. So, we are our ancestors' wildest dream. I'm glad to be a motivator and inspiration to entrepreneurs around the world."
When it comes to balancing it all, she quipped, "What is balance? What is that, in the definition of the Webster of the dictionary? I don't know what balance is, and that's OK because nobody gave me a rule book on how to be a mom and an entrepreneur at the same time. But what I will tell you is that I do what it is that I love. If I don't love it, I'm not doing it. So, I connect myself with the ecosystem of things that I take enjoyment in, and it never feels like work."
Pinky Cole sheds new light on Slutty Vegan's financial decline and comeback
As mentioned, Pinky also previously detailed the rise, fall, and comeback of her plant-based fast-food chain, Slutty Vegan, during the second episode of RHOA Season 17.
"I started Slutty Vegan in 2018 in my two-bedroom apartment, and it started as a ghost kitchen first," she recalled in a confessional. "And when I got the food truck, there would literally be like 500 people standing in line every single day. I even opened up 14 locations. I built this 100-million-dollar brand, but the people that I put in place couldn't go where I needed them to go. I was $20 million dollars in debt."
Meanwhile, a clip rolled from one of Pinky's public speaking engagements, during which she described going "flat broke" prior to briefly losing her business completely.
"I bought my company back after losing it for 43 days," Pinky further explained to a producer. "So, here it is, and I'm just doing things on my terms and I'm doing it my way. I brought in a whole team; I brought in a new president. S--t, I might be brand-new. I just brought in all new things. It's a lot for me, I'm not gonna lie. But, you know, I do it with a smile."
Her husband, Derrick, for his part, is the founder and CEO of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks.
"Derrick is No. 6 in the country of fastest-growing restaurants," Pinky added. "So, my baby daddy gets down, OK? But we don't got no prenup, so that's my business too, baby."
As she told Derrick in the episode, "I went to hell and back, but I made it. I got the company back. I'm fixing it. Slutty Vegan is going to be bigger than it's ever been. Get your popcorn."
As she navigates her financial challenges on RHOA, get even more details on Pinky's background and life.
—Reporting by Stephanie Gomulka
