Dear God, this Fantasia Barrino baby-daddy situation just gets worse and worse. For those of you unfamiliar with this now years-long catastrophe, you should probably just visit our Fantasia archives and check out the extended story of how she homewrecked her way into a relationship with Antwaun Cook. I would feel sympathetic towards ‘Tasia, but that girl is all kinds of wrong. She reportedly harassed Antwaun’s wife, and Fantasia’s whole situation with her suicide attempt, abortion, on-camera breakup with Antwaun, and her claim that Jesus forgives her for all of it… it’s just a g–damn mess. Antwaun is STILL married to Paula Cook, by the way. They still haven’t settled their divorce.

So, the last we heard from ‘Tasia and Antwaun, she had given birth to Antwaun’s son, only she didn’t give him the name “Cook”. Shortly after she gave birth, Radar reported that Antwaun had been fooling around on Fantasia while she was pregnant, and that he continues to fool around on her. Now Radar has a new report – Antwaun is still trying to get back with his estranged wife. He’s having “second thoughts.” Oh dear god.

Fantasia Barrino just had a baby with boyfriend Antwaun Cook, but RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned the father is having second thoughts and is actively pursuing his estranged wife, Paula Cook.

According to a family insider, Antwaun regrets giving up on Paula and their two children and while Paula is very hurt by what he did to their family, she’s not exactly staying away from him either.

“Paula and Antwaun both ended up at Club RE:Public in Charlotte over the weekend and things got a little cozy between the two,” the source said. “I don’t know where Fantasia was, but she definitely wasn’t in the club where they were!”

The source continued by saying that while Paula was receptive, she was still a little gun-shy with all the PDA.

“Antwaun was shoving his tongue down her throat and she kept having to push him away without trying to make a scene,” the source explained. “He told Paula that she belongs to him because she’s still his wife!”

Fantasia and Antwaun first began dating while he was still married to Paula in early 2010, and after Paula filed a homewrecking court claim the former American Idol star tried to kill herself.

“What Fantasia doesn’t know is that through all of this, Paula hasn’t changed the locks on the house she once shared with Antwaun,” the source revealed. “And Antwaun still has keys, so you can put two and two together.”

The source goes on to tell RadarOnline.com that Paula is a very beautiful woman and Antwaun has always been really attracted to her.

“Antwaun has lost interest in Fantasia,” the insider said. “He was even egging people on to take pictures of him and Paula together…he didn’t care who knew.”

[From Radar]

This is some trashy stuff, right? I feel like I’m watching the background information on Snapped. Like, the narrator’s voiceover pointedly proclaims “Paula hasn’t changed the locks on the house she once shared with Antwaun…” and then after the next commercial break, we hear about which woman – Paula or Fantasia – “snapped” and killed somebody. And I’m really disappointed in Paula Cook – I barely know anything about the woman, but this whole situation is just disgusting, and why in the world would any woman want to get back with that man? Ugh.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, VH1 and PR Photos.

Back in December, Fantasia Barrino gave birth to a baby boy. She gave her newborn son her own name, not the father’s. It’s believed that the father is Antwaun Cook, Fantasia’s long-time married lover who has yet to formally procure a divorce from his wife Paula. This was at least the second time Fantasia had been pregnant with Antwaun’s love child – back in 2010, she said (under oath, appearing in court during Antwaun and Paula’s divorce case) that she had gotten pregnant with Antwaun’s baby, then attempted suicide (by taking aspirin) and then gotten an abortion. Basically, the whole thing was already an enormous, crazy, tragic mess. And it’s just gotten a lot worse. Radar’s sources claim that Antwaun has been fooling around on Fantasia this whole time AND that he’s been trying to get back with Paula.

Just one month after Fantasia had a baby with boyfriend Antwaun Cook, a pal close to the former American Idol winner exclusively tells RadarOnline.com that he’s been cheating on her — even before she was pregnant!

“Antwaun has been cheating on Fantasia all along, just like he cheated on his wife with Fantasia,” the source said. “She was silly to think he’d remain faithful but it was wishful thinking, I guess. She purposely had this baby with him hoping he’d be a devoted father and boyfriend.”

But the source exclusively tells RadarOnline.com, it’s not happening. Not only has Antwaun cheated on Fantasia with other women, but he’s even went crawling back to his estranged wife, Paula Cook, asking for another chance.

“He tries to get Paula to take him back all the time, but she wants nothing to do with him,” the source revealed. “Fantasia knows that Antwaun cheats, but she just turns a blind eye hoping for some fairytale turnout.”

As RadarOnline.com was first to report, Fantasia went into labor on December 12, 2011 in a North Carolina hospital and had son, Dallas, the next day.

Antwaun is currently still married to his estranged wife, Paula — who claims Fantasia and Antwaun began an affair together while she and her husband were trying to patch up their marriage.

Last November, Fantasia testified during a separation hearing between Antwaun and Paula that she had previously been pregnant by him and had an abortion.

“She kept this one to keep him,” the source said.

RadarOnline.com reached out to Fantasia’s manager, who had no comment on the allegations.

[From Radar]

Do I feel bad for Fantasia? Eh. I do, a little bit, but mostly because she just gave birth and she’s dealing with all of this crap while her hormones are probably still going crazy. But in general, no, I don’t feel bad for her. Fanny is cray-cray. When she decided she wanted Antwaun, she called Paula and harassed her on the phone. Fanny and Antwaun conducted their affair out in the open, and Fanny wasn’t concerned about the mess at the time. In fact, I suspect she thrives on the drama (or melodrama). It’s all very sad. I’ll save my sympathies for the kids who are caught up in this mess.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Fantasia Barrino has given birth to a baby boy! She gave birth yesterday, December 13, in North Carolina. ‘Tasia named the baby Dallas Xavier Barrino, which is interesting. Why didn’t she give the kid his father’s name? The baby-daddy is Antwaun Cook, Fantasia’s long-time married lover. By the last reports – earlier this year – Antwaun is still technically married to his wife Paula, and Paula is super-pissed that Antwaun knocked up Fantasia. Again. Because Antwaun got Fantastia pregnant last year too, and in the midst of the drama of their affair becoming public and Fantasia’s “suicide attempt,” Fantasia had an abortion – which she admitted to in open court, during one of the hearings for Paula and Antwaun’s divorce. Yes, this whole thing is a horrible mess. And now there’s an innocent, newborn baby in the mix.

Fantasia Barrino has a new little backup singer. The American Idol season 3 winner gave birth to a baby boy, Dallas Xavier Barrino, her rep tells PEOPLE. Baby Dallas made his debut on Tuesday in North Carolina at 7 lbs., 9 oz. and 21 inches long. He joins big sister Zion, 10.

“I feel so blessed that my son Dallas Xavier was born healthy, and is a wonderful new addition to our family,” Barrino, 27, tells PEOPLE. “I thank all my fans for their well wishes and continued support.”

The singer expressed her joy about the new baby when she revealed in August she was pregnant, telling the audience at a charity concert in Florida: “So, this child that I carry – God has given me this child. And I don’t have to hide it from none of y’all.”

In October, she announced she was having a boy, and shared that she’d been placed on bed rest as she came into the home stretch of the pregnancy.

Barrino has not spoken about the baby’s father, but the singer has been romantically linked to Antwaun Cook since summer 2010.

[From People]

She was with Antwaun longer than “since summer 2010.” Their affair began in 2009 or before, I’m pretty sure. I wonder if there’s some new scandal involving Antwaun and ‘Tasia? Are they still together? Bossip’s sources say that Antwaun was allegedly at the NC hospital when Fantasia gave birth, so I guess they are still together. So… I guess baby Dallas didn’t get his daddy’s name just because Antwaun is still married. HOT MESS.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

As you probably remember, Fantasia Barrino is pregnant. The father is her on-again (never off, actually) married lover, Antwaun Cook. As far as I know, Antwaun and Paula Cook’s divorce is still being finalized, so Antwaun isn’t even really single right now, much less when he conceived this baby with Fantasia. But that’s nothing new – Antwaun and Fantasia have been having an affair for several years now, and she was also pregnant with his baby last year – she had an abortion that time.

Last week, Page Six had an interesting story about another long-gestating project for Fantasia – apparently, she was cast in the lead role in a bio-pic about gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Producers of the film are pissed off that Fantasia didn’t tell them about her pregnancy sooner, and Mahalia Jackson’s family is pissed off that an abortion-havin’, unmarried, pregnant homewrecker is going to be playing the beloved Queen of Gospel.

Members of legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson’s estate are aghast that 2004 “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino has become pregnant by a married man as she prepares to play the Queen of Gospel in the biographical film “Mahalia!”

Producers are also furious with Fantasia, 27, for not telling them about her unexpected pregnancy until she was four months in. “She [initially] claimed that she was putting on weight for the role,” an insider said.

Production of the movie has been pushed back because of Fantasia’s pregnancy with her married boyfriend, Antwaun Cook.

“The family thinks if Fantasia plays the role, it’s going to sully the name of Mahalia,” executive producer Adrian Taylor told us. “They think she’s got the wrong image, having a child out of wedlock.”

Barrino’s pregnancy has also caused chaos with scheduling conflicts because filming has been delayed until after her due date on Dec. 27. Director Euzhan Palcy may be forced to drop out of the project. Producers are now scrambling to finish the movie by fall 2012. Barrino has been asked to start filming as soon as January and is in negotiations to alter her contract to allow time for breast-feeding and nurturing her child on set. In the meantime, producers are working to find a replacement if Barrino doesn’t agree to start shooting after New Year’s. Missy Elliott has been suggested. Because of the unexpected bump, the film’s budget has been increased from $23 million to $27 million.

Dino Gankendorff, who represents Mahalia Jackson’s estate, told us, “I’m not really aware of any objections that the heirs have to the casting of Fantasia. I understand that they were getting ready to film and that she is pregnant, and I don’t know who is she pregnant by.”

Barrino’s rep said, “This is the first time I’ve heard about this. I have no comment.”

[From Page Six]

So, magically, Fantasia called in to the Wendy Williams show yesterday to do some damage control. ‘Tasia revealed the sex of her baby, and her due date, but she didn’t want to talk about Antwaun. She did want to talk about how the Mahalia Jackson report “almost” made her go into labor. Now don’t you feel bad for calling her a homewrecker?

Fantasia Barrino has revealed the sex of her baby – and that she’s due Dec. 29.

“I’m having a boy. I’m at home, I’m on bed rest right now,” she said Tuesday in a phone interview on The Wendy Williams Show.

Barrino – already mother to a daughter Zion, 9 – still has not spoken about the baby’s father, but the singer has most recently been romantically linked to Antwaun Cook. Their relationship made headlines last summer after his divorce from Paula Cook was linked to his affair with Barrino, 27.

“I’m not gonna talk about that,” she told Williams when pushed to discuss any relationship with Cook.

Williams asked the question after reports surfaced that family members of the late gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, whom Barrino was set to play in a upcoming biopic, were angry with Barrino because she is allegedly pregnant with a married man’s baby.

“I almost went into labor, because it was the first time that I’ve heard anything about that,” Barrino said of hearing the report. “Haven’t spoken to the family yet, haven’t heard anything from the family, so that was my first time hearing anything about it.”

Barrino does respond to one rumor, however: That she caused trouble for the film because she neglected to tell producers she was pregnant.

“There were no contracts signed, and there was no set date and time,” she says of possibly starring in the film. She also says she hasn’t heard from the producers recently, but that she had studied Jackson’s life and her singing in order to work on her portrayal. “I began to gain the weight, I began to study her,” Barrino said. “And then they called us back in January and said the investors had backed out. So they were waiting on investors.”

She added, “I wanted to make the family proud, and most of all, I wanted to make Mahalia Jackson proud – and my fans and everyone who’s been following me.”

[From People]

I don’t cover Fantasia that often, but whenever I do, it always takes me a second to get a handle on how much of an idiot she is, and how she only surrounds herself with enabling, sycophantic morons too. Her publicist always throws questions back to the Lord, like a reporter is going to get Jesus on the line for a confirmation (“Is ‘Tasia a crazy homewrecker?” Jesus: “Yep.”) And Fantasia is just so… ugh. Like, she thinks she’s being clever and playing us all for sympathy, when really she just seems really petty and dumb. Oh, we can’t ask questions about your upcoming film because you may go into early labor! Bitch, please. Worst denial ever.

UPDATE: Now here’s a denial!

The producers behind the upcoming Mahalia Jackson biopic say they’re embarrassed over statements made by financial backer Adrian Taylor to Page Six about Jackson’s family not wanting a pregnant Fantasia Barrino to play the legendary gospel singer in the movie. Double Dutch Productions issued a statement on Tuesday saying Taylor, a financing broker, “didn’t have authority to speak on the film’s behalf” and “is not an employee of this production company … The Mahalia Jackson family has not made any negative comments, none whatsoever, about Ms. Barrino and her participation in this film project.” Taylor had told us production had been delayed because of Fantasia’s unexpected pregnancy.

[From Page Six]

So… Mahalia Jackson’s family isn’t upset with Fantasia? WHY NOT? God, this film is going to be a mess, right?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Yesterday, we heard about Fantasia Barrino’s latest pregnancy, this one by her long-time married lover, Antwaun Cook. Go here to read my recap of the situation, which some of you thought was incomplete, considering it’s widely believed that Fantasia was pregnant when she attempted suicide by overdosing on aspirin and sleeping pills, and that’s why she had the abortion with her last pregnancy. Yesterday, I was writing from memory, and from what I could remember, I don’t think it was ever established when Fantasia was pregnant and when she decided to have the abortion…? Correct me if I’m wrong, of course.

Anyway, considering that Fantasia was all “I’m pregnant, y’all, hater gonna hate” in her announcement video, I wondered exactly what was the state of Antwaun and Paula Cook’s marriage. As it turns out, they still aren’t divorced yet, according to Radar. Sigh… ‘Tasia really needs to quit that man.

Former American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino is pregnant by her boyfriend Antwaun Cook, but RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned he’s still married to his ex!

Fantasia made headlines when she got Antwaun’s last name tattooed on her shoulder and first stepped out with the married man, but now that she’s pregnant by him, it’s adding to the heartache for Antwaun’s wife, Paula Cook.

The 27-year-old singer announced her pregnancy over the weekend during her Jacksonville, Florida, concert and although she didn’t say who the father is, RadarOnline.com can confirm it is in fact Antwaun.

“Antwaun told Paula that Fantasia was pregnant early on,” a source close to the situation told RadarOnline.com. “He wanted her to hear it from him before word got out in the press. Paula was really hurt when he left her for Fantasia, so it’s like the knife that was already in her back is being twisted now.”

RadarOnline.com has learned that Antwaun and Paula are set to meet in a North Carolina courthouse on Wednesday, August 10 to try and sort out their accurate date of separation. Antwaun maintains the two were already separated when he started dating Fantasia, while Paula insists he cheated on her.

The separated lovers were in court last year for the same thing and a judge found in favor of Antwaun, but their legal issues have started all over again because the original judge had to recuse herself.

While in court last November, Fantasia took the stand and admitted not only to having been pregnant by Antwaun, but then aborting the unborn child.

Fantasia has a nine-year-old daughter from a previous relationship and this will be her first child with Antwaun.

[From Radar]

The thing about Paula and Antwaun’s marriage is that they really were still together when he started up with Fantasia. Like, Antwaun was still living in the same home as Paula, and Fantasia would call up and harass Paula when Antwaun wasn’t around. Reportedly, Fantasia would demand that Paula leave Antwaun and that she (Fanny) was the only one who could make Antwaun happy. So even if Antwaun began the affair with Fantasia under false pretenses, as the affair went on, Fantasia knew exactly what was going on.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Fantasia Barrino is pregnant! This was a long time coming. Last year, Fantasia made major news after her affair with a married man, Antwaun Cook, became public as his wife Paula publicly called out Fantasia’s home wrecking ways. At first, Fantasia lied and denied the affair, but Paula had lots of evidence to back up her story, so Fantasia attempted suicide (with an overdose of aspirin and sleeping pills) which seemed like more of a cry for help than an actual bid to kill herself (she called her friend after she took the pills – the friend was just a few yards away). After the suicide attempt, Fantasia’s recovery tour began in earnest, and she admitted the affair, which she said was okay because she already knew that Jesus forgave her. She then “confronted” her married lover for her reality show. There were also lots of rumors that Fantasia was pregnant last year, with the Enquirer and Bossip declaring the pregnancy (paternity by Antwaun) a sure thing. Months later, Fantasia revealed that she had an abortion during that time period (around August 2010).

Anyway, Fantasia announced her pregnancy at a charity event in Jacksonville, Florida over the weekend, telling the crowd, “You are the first persons that I share this news with. And I share this with you because I can relate to you. And for a while I walked around figuring out what will they say and what will they think about me. But now I tell you I don’t live my life for folk. So… this child that I’m carrying, God has given me this child. And I don’t have to hide it from none of y’all.” There’s video:

So the question is now “Who is the baby-daddy?” Global Grind says, “Everyone believes that the father is her long-time boyfriend, Antwaun Cook.” The YBF has photos (see them here) of Fantasia and Antwaun on holiday together in Barbados just a few weeks ago, so it does seem that they are still together, and it’s my guess that Antwaun is the baby-daddy again. She looks second-trimester too. Hm… I wonder if his divorce has been finalized?

Photos of Fantasia from June of this year, and one from last year. Courtesy of WENN.

Just so you know, this story upset me so much that I had to calm myself with Clive Owen photos. Remember all of the drama with Fantasia Barrino several months ago? Bossip and other sites had been calling Fantasia out for more than a year for boning a married dude named Antwaun Cook. Antwaun’s wife Paula filed for divorce and cited ‘Tasia in the filing, so it became a matter of public record that ‘Tasia was “the other woman.” Not just that – Paula also claimed that Fantasia harassed her and tried to “force” Paula into leaving Antwaun. First, Fantasia tried to deny that crap, then she made a suicide attempt (by taking a bunch of aspirin and calling her manager, who was in the next room). She was hospitalized for a short time, then she made a somewhat full confession that she and Antwaun were lovers, and that she had been misled, et cetera. It was all part of her reality show. Shortly after her hospitalization, the tabloids (and photo evidence) began to indicate that Fantasia was pregnant with Antwaun’s love child. And now we’re finding out that she really was… and that she had an abortion:

Fantasia Barrino has admitted she got pregnant by her married lover Antwaun Cook and had an abortion around the time of her failed suicide attempt, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned. The American Idol winner made the sensational confession in a North Carolina court on Monday during Cook’s divorce proceeding with his ex-wife Paula.

Facing questions before a Mecklenburg County Court judge, the famous singer, 26, was pressed on whether she knew Cook was living with Paula when they embarked on their illicit affair. The Idol season three winner has acknowledged she dated Cook “off and on for about 11 months” but said she believed he had separated from his wife.

In court, lawyers for the scorned wife pressed Fantasia about a hotel rendezvous that took place just a few days after meeting one another.

“Paula’s lawyer is arguing that they got the room because she knew he was still married,” one onlooker – who was inside the court – told RadarOnline.com.

There were no reporters in the courtroom and witnesses were asked to leave as Fantasia took the stand. But multiple sources, including a Cook family source, confirmed Fantasia’s explosive testimony to RadarOnline.com.

Fantasia became the center of a celebrity cheating scandal when she famously got the name “Cook” tattooed on her collarbone in honor of Antwaun. As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Fantasia – who is still dating Antwaun – attempted to kill herself in August by taking an overdose of aspirin after reading a court complaint filed by Paula naming her as a home wrecker.

“It just became heavy for me, so I just wanted to be away from the noise,” Fantasia said in a television interview.

Paula is now considering suing Fantasia over the unique Alienation of Affection law.

Alienation of Affection is a law still recognized by only seven states – one of which is North Carolina – where an abandoned spouse can file lawsuit against the party responsible for the failure of their marriage, typically the adulterous spouse’s lover.

Fantasia and Paula recently failed to settle their differences through private mediation after a marathon 12-hour session on November 1.

“Paula is not doing too well, having to hear all this in court and replay it all over, she’s emotionally torn,” one source close to the woman told RadarOnline.com.

[From Radar]

Well… at least we know now that all of those tabloid reports were true. I kind of believed them too. I’m actually surprised that Fantasia had an abortion – isn’t she super-religious? Granted, her Christianity didn’t stop her from boning a married man for a year, but I thought abortion was the really big one, you know? It’s sad… but I also totally understand that thought process, and adding that layer of complication to the story of Paula filing for divorce and the suicide attempt… well, it makes a little more sense. She was probably several months pregnant at the time. Not that it makes it better, it just makes slightly more sense.

Header courtesy of WENN.

This Fantasia Barrino keeps getting seedier and grosser. According to this week’s National Enquirer, Fantasia is three months pregnant with her sort-of married lover’s baby. This… ugh.

So… here’s everything that has happened in the past month: Paula Cook filed for divorce from Antwaun Cook, publicly naming Fantasia as “the other woman” and detailing Antwaun and Fantasia’s affair, which has been going on for more than a year. Fantasia comes out and (through her batsh-t crazy manager) denies Paula’s accusations. Fantasia then overdoses on aspirin and sleeping pills, making sure that her manager is right downstairs to save her when she texts him to say goodbye. Tasia is then hospitalized for a few days, then immediately after leaving the hospital she meets with Antwaun and her manager releases another statement where Tasia cops to the affair, but basically says it’s cool because Jesus forgives her. Tasia then goes on a post-suicide attempt promotional tour and resumes filming on her reality show. The whole thing becomes the theatre of the absurd – drama queen narcissism and pity-me self-victimization, mixed with unflattering clothing and really bad peen haircut. And now she’s probably pregnant! UGH:

Fantasia Barrino is telling pals she’s pregnant! She says she’s expecting her boyfriend Antwaun Cook’s baby – and is determined to marry him as soon as his divorce is final, insiders say.

“She’s about three months along, and it’s definitely Antwaun’s baby,” a close family friend revealed. “Right now she can’t show how happy she is in public – but she’s absolutely thrilled. Fantasia got what she wanted. She feels Antwaun will have to marry her now.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition]

The article goes on to recap the Paula Cook situation, and how Paula is likely going to sue Fantasia under North Carolina’s homewrecking laws. But here’s an interesting quote from the same unnamed friend of Fantasia: “Fantasia took the pills, but she knew what she was doing. Fantasia had no intention of taking her life. I think it was just a plot she cooked up to push Antwaun’s buttons. And it worked… Fantasia is a master manipulator… when Paula finds out Fantasia is pregnant and Antwaun is the father, she’s going to flip… [meanwhile] Fantasia is very pleased with herself.” I believe this. 100%. This is what is at play – a narcissistic drama queen making a public play for attention. What I’m not sure of is whether Tasia is really knocked up – that could totally be another ploy for attention too. Add to that… well, wouldn’t that overdose of sleeping pills affect the baby?

Fantasia in NYC on August 24, 2010. Credit: WENN.

Some people were mad at me yesterday for calling Fantasia Barrino a selfish bitch. In my defense, it’s just my opinion, and I still stand by it. I’ll go even further – I don’t think Fantasia’s suicide attempt was a genuine cry of pain, or evidence of her desire to die. I think Fantasia downed a bottle of pills because she wanted sympathy and attention, and she made sure she contacted her manager when she overdosed, just so he could rescue her – he was downstairs in her home when she overdosed. So much of Fantasia’s suicide attempt makes me think that this whole thing was a public relations ploy: she has a child who depends on her and that she’s conveniently using as “inspiration” to change her life – when the kid didn’t seem to enter into her head before; the attempt came as Fantasia got called out publicly for being a home wrecker; and every public statement made by Fantasia or her manager is all about Fantasia’s career and Fantasia-as-victim. I don’t buy it. I think she’s a narcissistic, self-centered drama queen who is using the idea of “suicide” as a PR ploy to promote herself, her reality show and her music career. But maybe I’m wrong – maybe Fantasia was in genuine pain, and I just don’t get it because I’m a raging bitch. I accept that view as well.

Celebitchy wanted me to add this to this story: “It’s hard to judge this situation looking in because we’re not in Fantasia’s shoes and we don’t know or understand what kind of depression she was going through. As selfish as it seems to us for a woman with a child to attempt suicide, and as much of an attention ploy that it seems when taken with all her other actions, we just don’t know what her thoughts or feelings are. Suicide is a delicate issue and as much as I wish Fantasia would have handled everything differently after her suicide attempt, I do feel for her and hope she’s ok.”

Anyway, Fantasia did an interview on Good Morning America today, and if you didn’t know by now, everything is all about Fantasia, all of the time:

Some quotes from the interview:

“I was just overloaded, for six years I’ve been carrying so much… I always take a lickin’ and keep on tickin.’”

“Carrying six years of so much, I always take a licking and keep on ticking. Everyone thinks I’m so strong, it became so heavy for me. I wanted to be away from the noise. I just began to get tired of taking so many licks. The foreclosure, so many things I had to deal with, people just see the glitz and the glamour.”

On her life coach: “He’s been teaching me things. At first I wasn’t ready to come back. There’s hurt, there’s pain, there’s trust issues, there’s being lonely—all these things people don’t get to see. I think I’m gonna show both.”

“I was in the hospital and they gave me a different name. Nobody asked me anything about the press, they talked to me about my nails and hair. A nurse, Melanie, she would come in and make me walk around. She brought me Sister 2 Sister magazine, and I was in there. She told me ‘You gotta get outta here and you gotta go back to work.’ And for me there are people that love me and want to see me go back to work. There’s no perfect person. They didn’t treat me like Fantasia, they treated me like Tasia.”

[Transcribed from GMA interview]

Eh…sure. Whatever. If she’s doing better, good for her, if she feels stronger, good for her. I’m pretty much over it.

You know who isn’t over it? Fantasia’s married lover’s wife, Paula Cook. And guess who just got invited on Oprah? Yep, Oprah is not Team Tasia. Oprah invited Paula Cook on to talk about homewreckers and such. Paula has not confirmed, but I hope she does. It would be a good episode!

Update by Celebitchy After watching this video, I just realized that Fantasia did not mention her nine year old daughter, Zion, ONCE in this interview. You would think that her daughter would come to mind and serve as inspiration for getting better, but the story Fantasia told was about her fans, not her family. Read the quote that Kaiser transcribed, “And for me there are people that love me and want to see me go back to work.” Again, nothing about her daughter.

Much like LeAnn Rimes, the attention Fantasia Barrino has received from being publicly called out for homewrecking has been the best thing to ever happen to her career. Barely anyone was paying attention to Fantasia until her married lover’s wife went public. Fantasia then went through a rapid downward spiral, and overdosed on aspirin and sleeping pills, which then lead to a hospitalization in North Carolina. Over the past two weeks, we’ve gotten various public statements from Fantasia’s God-tastic manager, whose messaging seemed on the “Praise Jesus for forgiving Fantasia’s homewrecking” side. We also got a public statement from Antwaun Cook, Fantasia’s lover, who basically said that we shouldn’t blame Fantasia for anything. Fine.

But now Fantasia is speaking out – and playing the victim. You see, Fantasia says her suicide attempt was for real, and that she was facing so much drama, she just wanted to end it all (and film it for her reality show, of course):

Two weeks after being hospitalized for overdosing on aspirin and a sleep aid, singer Fantasia Barrino says it was no accident. She wanted to die.

“I didn’t have any fight in me. I didn’t care about anything. I just wanted out,” the American Idol winner, 26, tells VH1 in a new Behind the Music interview, airing 9 p.m. ET/PT Tuesday, the same day her new album, Back to Me, is released. “At that moment, I wanted out. I wanted it to be over with – all of it, all of that [expletive].”

She continues: “I just sat in the closet and looked at the mirror and took all the pills in the bottle. I wanted to go to sleep and just be at peace. I knew exactly what I was doing. You can’t accidentally take a whole bottle of pills.”

Barrino’s manager, Brian Dickens, recalls finding her lying on the floor in her room. “Her emotions were extremely low,” he says. “She’d been crying all day. Fantasia was just numb. Fantasia texted me, saying ‘I love you.’ I wrote back, ‘I love you more.’ Then it hit me.”

“I wrote, ‘You better not do anything or think about doing anything stupid.’ And I left it at that. About 10 minutes later, Fantasia texted me back, and she said, ‘Already did.’ I went into Fantasia’s room and saw her on the floor, and my heart just dropped.”

What made the successful singer, who’s preparing to release her third album, want to end her life? “I was tired of people doing me wrong, constantly, over and over again, dealing with my family – my father, dealing with men and their [expletive] – I was tired,” she says. “My head was hurting me. I was over it.”

Affair with Antwaun Cook
To complicate matters even more, Barrino is now being threatened with a lawsuit by Paula Cook, the wife of Antwaun Cook, with whom Fantasia had been having an affair.

“When I met him, he was separated … wasn’t living in his home. He didn’t want to be back with his wife – that is what I was told,” Barrino says. “I remember waking up in the hospital [and thinking], ‘It didn’t work, I’m still here in this hellhole. Still here with all this drama going on.’ ”

Ultimately, the singer says the saving grace was her nurse. “My nurse Melanie was a blessing into my life because she didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear,” she says. “She told me what I needed to hear. And she looked at me and said, ‘You gotta get up, and you’ve gotta get out of here, ’cause you haven’t fulfilled your destiny.’ ”

“I realized how people end up in the grave. Because that one moment [snaps her fingers] of just breaking or feeling like I can’t, I can’t go on, it’s too heavy. That was somewhere I don’t ever want to go again.”

[From People]

Here’s the thing – I’ll pretty much buy that the Cook marriage was probably a lot more complicated than “we’re together” and “we’re not together”. And I do think that most of the blame for the general “homewrecking” situation should fall to Anwaun Cook, who sounds like he was creating different cover stories for his wife and his mistress. But Paula Cook claimed that Fantasia called her and told her (Paula) to stay away from Antwaun. That alone makes me think that Fantasia knew that the situation was more complicated than Antwaun’s story. Of course, I also think Fantasia’s suicide attempt and subsequent statements and interviews have all been about generating sympathy and trying to make herself into the victim. And I think she’s a selfish bitch, honestly.

Header: Fantasia on June 8, 2009. Credit: WENN.