How long has Princess Love been playing poker? Net worth, record and earnings explored as she speaks out following ex Ray J’s arrest

Los Angeles Premiere Of Tubi And Footage Films "Adopted 2" - Source: Getty
Princess Love At The Los Angeles Premiere Of Tubi And Footage Films "Adopted 2" - Source: Getty

R&B singer, songwriter, and TV presenter Ray J was arrested on Thursday after he reportedly pulled a gun on his ex-wife, Princess Love. The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance call at Ray’s Porter Ranch home around 4 am.

He was charged with a felony of making criminal threats and was held on a $50,000 bail before being released. The entire incident was caught on camera during a Thanksgiving livestream.

Now, in the wake of the incident, Princess Love went online and addressed the matter. She mentioned that she was doing a ā€œgreat jobā€ at protecting her peace, staying off social media, taking care of her kids, going to work, and minding her business.

Love continued by saying that she loves her children and would never put them in harm’s way, including leaving them with a ā€œman who’s waving a gun around.ā€ She added that she was a single parent who did everything ā€œalone,ā€ while insinuating that Ray J goes around ā€œterrorizing and abusingā€ women.

Princess Love is a model, reality TV personality, fashion designer, and Instagram star who has also made a name for herself in competitive poker. According to The Sun, she has been playing poker since 2023 and won her first tournament in April of that year.

At the time, she posted a picture of herself at a poker table and wrote in the caption:

ā€œJust won my first poker tournament.ā€

Amid his ex-wife’s claims, Ray J also went live on social media and claimed that Princess Love and her relatives were at his home trying to wake up his children and take them away, when they were all seemingly drunk. The R&B artist justified his actions by stating that he was trying to ā€œdefendā€ his kids and his space.


Exploring Princess Love’s poker career

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Princess Love, 41, has an estimated net worth of $2 million. For the last two years, the majority of her earnings have come from her poker career.

In December 2023, Ray J’s ex finished in 40th place at the World Poker Tour World Championship and earned prize money of $132,500, becoming the first Black woman to reach that far. She shared the feat on social media with the caption:

ā€œWhat an amazing run in my first WPT World Championship Poker Tournament! I put in serious work and got busy! After 5 days of battling, I finished in 40th place out of 3,835.ā€
Love added, ā€œWhat an honor to play amongst the people I’ve been watching and studying. I’m even more inspired to work harder and push myself to be the best I can be! Anything is possible if you’re willing to put in the work!ā€

At the time, she told ESSENCE in an interview that she learnt to play poker from one of her cousins. While she was ā€œnot a gambler,ā€ she got ā€œintriguedā€ in the game once she was ā€œintroducedā€ to it. Princess Love also mentioned playing in a ā€œbunch of dailiesā€ such as the Wynn tournaments to ā€œprepare for the big ones.ā€

ā€œI’ve never done it – [this is] my first $10K event. I've kind of just been like doing the smaller tournaments to get my feet wet, get comfortable. And [this run] means a lot, because I’m playing well. I’m not a pro, but I study a lot,ā€ the Oakland native added.

The mother of two won her first competition in 2023 at the Wynn Casino Recurring Tournament, followed by the Celebrity Poker Invitational in February 2024.

Meanwhile, in October 2023, she won $80,000 as the runner-up at the StormX Invitational and finished in the top 10 of four other tournaments, among her two dozen appearances.

Until last year, she had reportedly earned over $270,400 from her poker career, according to The Hendon Mob.

Over the years, Princess Love has also earned money from her appearances on Love & Hip-Hop: Hollywood alongside Ray J. The model has also been featured on the cover of SMOOTH Magazine and runs a beauty brand called PRELLA Cosmetics. Earlier, she had worked as an adult dancer/ stripper in Las Vegas.


Princess Love and Ray J got engaged in January 2015 after a few months of dating. They walked down the aisle in August 2016. They welcomed their first child, daughter Melody Love Norwood, in May 2018. Two years later, their son, Epik Ray Norwood, was born.

Last year, the couple announced their decision to divorce in a joint statement.

ā€œIt is with heavy hearts that we share the news of our decision to divorce. After much reflection, discussion, and counselling, we have come to the difficult realizations that our paths have diverged, and it is in the best interest of both of us to part ways,ā€ the Instagram post read.

It continued:

ā€œWe want to assure you that this decision was made thoughtfully and with mutual respect and consideration for each other’s well-being. While our relationship as spouses may be coming to an end, we remain committed to co-parenting our children and maintaining a positive and supportive family dynamic.ā€

The divorce was finalized earlier this year. The pair had an on-and-off marriage and had previously separated on more than one occasion.

Now, in the wake of the Thanksgiving incident, Princess Love has demanded ā€œaccountabilityā€ from Ray J and asked him to ā€œdo better,ā€ check himself into rehab for his issues. She concluded by saying she would continue to ā€œprayā€ for her ex and hope that he gets the ā€œhelpā€ he needs.

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Edited by Tanisha Aggarwal