It all started on MTV.
From Wild ‘N Out to Ridiculousness, Lolo Wood is one of those faces you recognize instantly.
Now, the story looks a little different.
On our Kids Issue cover, she stands with her son, Zydn, a football in hand and a subtle nod to his dad, NFL star Odell Beckham Jr.. It’s playful, personal, and full circle all at once.
Because while the world first met her on screen, this chapter feels closer. Today, she calls the Valley home, building a life that looks far different from the one people first saw.
In this exclusive one-on-one, Lolo opens up about the version of her story that rarely makes headlines.
Before MTV, what did life look like?
I moved around a lot growing up. My dad was in the Air Force, and my parents split when I was five, so my mom mostly raised me and my sister. I was really shy. I was more of a tomboy. But I learned really early what it meant to work.
I got my first job at 15 at an ice cream shop - I had to obtain a workers permit, and after that I always had multiple jobs. If they were hiring, I’d apply! I worked at a pizza place, a smoothie place, clothing stores... I bought my own car with my savings from work, so I could get myself to work and school. I just remember hearing we can’t afford something and thinking, okay, how can we?
Sitting around contemplating how hard life is won’t make it easier, You don’t have to accept fate if you can change it.
You joined the military after high school.
Yes, the day after I graduated. I didn’t take time off. I didn’t seek advice or input. My mind was made. So, I just went.
It was when I was sitting on that bus in Texas that a fleeting doubt passed my mind, not about my decision, but my fitness to serve, but I had already committed and I honor my commitments. There was no turning back.
I wanted structure. I wanted to serve. And I think growing up the way I did, that decision felt natural. You move with life, apply yourself, and make the best of it. And it was a nod to my dad, I think.
What did you learn from the military?
Everything.
Structure, discipline, responsibility, wanting to be a part of something bigger than oneself, to defend what you love, to serve your country. My service taught me the life skills I needed, even the way I communicate. I was an intelligence analyst, so I would brief in front of groups, pre-mission, post-mission. I had to be factual, concise, and strategic. You learn how to speak, how to carry yourself, how to figure things out even when you don’t feel ready and the criteria is always, “Is this the best you can do?”
At the same time, your life starts shifting into entertainment.
It was Instagram.
I wasn’t even taking it seriously, but my photos started getting picked up. I started getting modeling opportunities, music videos, different projects like that. I ended up in a Justin Bieber video, playing his love interest.
That was actually the first time I experienced real hate online. People were so protective of Justin, even though I was just a fake love interest. I didn’t really understand the implications or the cost of fame and your personal life at the time, and still grapple with it to this day, but that was my official introduction to being in the public eye.
What did that teach you?
That people will create a version of you that isn’t real, to justify their narrative.
At first it bothered me. I cared about how I was perceived. I wanted to correct things, explain things. But you can’t do that forever. At some point you realize you just have to live your life and let people think what they want, and that does not define you. You can’t allow people's perception to control your choices, or even worse, your actions.
You were balancing military life and this new world at the same time.
I was working 12 to 13 hour days, and then on my days off I would drive to LA. I had an old, second hand Toyota Avalon. I would drive, do a shoot or audition, drive right back to base. That was my normal. It wasn’t glamorous. I was tired, a lot of days felt like auto-pilot, but I powered through and put my uniform on like nothing happened. I kept both my commitments separate, I showed up four both in equal measures so neither was affected.
How did Wild ‘N Out come about?
MTV found me on Instagram and emailed me to audition, and I was selected to be on the show. I still had to get permission from my commander to accept the job and take leave to film. Every opportunity had to be signed off. I am thankful for my leadership believing in me and granting me the opportunity. We would film an entire season in two weeks in New York, Atlanta, or Los Angels and then I would come right back in uniform ready to serve.
What do you savor most from your MTV days?
How fast everything moved. In show business, everything is magnified out of proportion, reality is bigger, brighter, louder, and unforgiving.
Everyone has big personalities, everything and everyone is on, and stays on. You’re expected to just jump in. I was 19. A baby. I didn’t know what was going on. I was just figuring it out in real time.
There are moments I look back on now that I didn’t fully appreciate at the time because I was just trying to keep up.
People saw confidence.
I’m actually very shy by nature, and a bit of a loner and introvert. I can go a week without talking to anyone and be completely fine. That version people saw, that’s work. When the camera is on, something switches. You have to meet the demand of being a professional and show up. You are not alone on stage, or in that line of business. Many other people depend on your performance and delivery. Entertainment is like sports, its team work. I keep to myself in real life, but on stage, I'm a trooper!
And you transitioned into modeling.
Probably when I first saw myself on billboards in LA.
Driving down Hollywood and seeing my face, or walking into a mall and seeing myself on storefronts for brands I grew up wearing. But even then, I didn’t really process it. I didn’t take pictures. I didn’t sit in it. It didn’t change me. Looking back now, I realize how big that was. But at the time, I just moved through it. My public persona did not absorb my personal identity.
You’ve said you felt disconnected during that time.
It felt like I was in it, but not fully attached. I did not feel I belonged, more like, I dropped into a world that wasn’t really mine, just for a visit. Even when things were happening for me, I didn’t fully connect to it. I was observing it while living it.
Then came love and football...
A whirlwind! Swept by a tornado. We were two clueless kids in love. Odell and I decided to move in together when his career took him to Ohio. It was the first time either of us had lived with someone.
Dating someone in the NFL is not what people think. It reminded me a lot of the military. Constant travel, constant movement, everything is unpredictable.
You’re supporting someone at a very high level. Their schedule, their recovery, their environment. People see the games, but they don’t see what it does to their body. It’s like a car accident every Sunday. I was trying to take care of my fellow soldier and get him ready physically and mentally for the front line again, it’s a gladiator sport!
How did you navigate the noise?
People will always have opinions despite reality... and they often choose emotion over fact.
And when it’s tied to someone high profile, it’s amplified. That was something I had to grow through. Not internalizing everything. Not letting it define how I see myself, but it's a burden you need to accept. Fame comes at a heavy price.
And then you become a mother.
Motherhood rewired my internal software completely. The way I think, the way I move, what matters, everything changed.
I don’t look at my son as just a baby. I look at him as a future man. That changes how you show up. What you role model, how you treat yourself and others, your mindset and priorities.
That season came with a lot at once.
It was a lot for both of us.
We separated when our son was about nine months old. I just had a baby, went through a breakup, moved to Arizona, and I didn’t really have a support system. He was recovering from yet another major injury, the emotional hit from that did not help. But we both agreed it was best for us, as our focal points and lengths clashed. I was focused on being a mother and Odell needed to focus on his recovery and future career.
I isolate when I go through things, so it was just me and my thoughts and my baby. I was in a dark place, but determined to do what’s best for my son.
Why the Valley?
I fell in love with it during the off-season.
The desert, the beauty, even how harsh it can be, severe yet serene. I connected to its message as a metaphor of my own state at the time. And I knew I needed somewhere I could reset. I could learn from it, and I like the nonchalant, unpretentious atmosphere here. People are laid back and focused on what matters over what shines.
Enter MTV's Ridiculousness...
A lifeline.
I was trying to figure out what was next, and that opportunity came. It reminded me how important relationships are. That connection from Wild ‘N Out led to it.
I was nervous, but it gave me confidence that I can do this, being a single, wooing mother. I can provide, protect, and parent, and my son needs me in all these capacities. I found the support I needed here in the Valley that made it possible. Arizona is finally where I feel at home.
You also experienced loss.
My best friend.
That brought me to rock bottom. It was after everything else, and it completely changed my perspective.
It made me realize what actually matters. When you go through something like that, you either stay there or you grow from it. I chose to grow, but it really forced me to become clearheaded overnight. I implemented a lot of changes in my life after that.
You’ve since made personal changes.
I stopped drinking over two years ago now.
Alcohol wasn’t a problem, I was a social drinker, but I realized how it was affecting me, my mood, my choices, the company I kept and spaces I’d frequent, my energy, health, and even my ability to parent.
I stepped back and really looked at my environment, habits, and the people around me. It gave me a different level of awareness and the realization that you do not need alcohol to have fun or feel happy. If you do, you’re not in the right place or with the right people.
But you don't believe in becoming a victim of your circumstances.
We all go through things. But also, your circumstances are largely your choices, blaming it on all external factors is avoidance of personal accountability.
However, I don’t agree with letting that define your life. If you don't live it, do better! I’ve always been the type, if someone tells me I can’t do something, I’m going to figure out how I can.
That mindset has carried me through everything.
What are you building now?
I’m creating with intention.
I'm not focused on for but the function. Meaning over market. I’ve seen so many versions of my life online that just aren’t true. That also needs revision and correction. The industry will push you where you are seen, I want to focus on where I fit. I am working on defining my voice and presence and to advocate for issues that affect us all.
I want people to take something from it. Not just hear about me, but feel it and see themselves in it.
What do you want women to take from your journey?
That softness is not a weakness.
There is real power in being feminine, in nurturing and nourishing the soul of humanity through our gifts. Women have long been wisdom keepers, guardians, and gatherers. Somewhere along the way, we've focused more on rights than responsibility and lost the balance both require. You cannot ask for more than you give. When that balance is lost, the system begins to break down. We must realign with humanity's North Star: a thriving future for our children.
And now?
I trust myself.
Listen to the full 1:1 with Lolo on the Now With Nadine podcast, streaming everywhere.
instagram.com/lolowood_
"If someone tells me I can't do something, I'm going to figure out how I can. You don't have to accept fate if you can change it."
"At some point you realize you just have to live your life and let people think what they want. I trust myself now, and that changes everything."