Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesAfter years of being known as the "girlfriend," Amber Rose is reclaiming her spot in the spotlight.
She initially rose to fame as a video vixen on the arm of Kanye West, her boyfriend for two years. Following the highly publicized relationship, she remained in the headlines as she subsequently dated, married and had a child with rapper Wiz Khalifa. Now, nearly a decade since her name first gained traction in the media, her public life has come full circle as she was recently represented fully nude in West's art visual for "Famous"—a track that opens with the rapper taking credit for making the women in his life, including Taylor Swift, famous.
While Rose acknowledges there was a time when she really was only "Kanye's girlfriend," those days are over.
"The misconception—and I still hear this seven years later, to this day—is, 'You're only famous for Kanye.' Initially, absolutely. In 2009, when they're like, 'Amber Rose—Kanye's girlfriend,' I was like, 'OK, that's pretty accurate. That's what it is.' But I didn't ask to be famous, and I didn't even talk or do interviews for two years, because I thought, 'I don't want this. I'm not famous,'" the 32-year-old told The Daily Beast.
Today, Rose's resumé has expanded as she spearheads an annual slut walk and is slated to host her own talk show on VH1. "Over time, with going out in public, I realized it would never go away, so I didn't have any choice but to progress. Everything I've done since then is my own doing, and I've worked my f--king ass off for everything I have."
Despite her resilient work ethic, Rose insists there is a double standard at play. "Wendy Williams put Charlamagne on. Jay Z put Kanye on! But they don't do that to men, and they always want to diminish my accomplishments and put them on someone else when I work really hard," she told the website.
In addition to her professional pursuits, the divorced Rose is also mindful of her relationship with her ex-husband Khalifa as they co-parent their only son, Sebastian.
"We mourned [our divorce]. It was a very difficult time," she admitted to the website. "We are the best of friends. We're actually better now that we're divorced, which is weird, but it's just worked out that way. He's that dude."
While their romantic relationship did not work out, their roles as parents are of the utmost priority. "At the end of the day, we both really love our son and he's the most important thing, so for us to be amicable and be friends and have family days for Sebastian—our son is the happiest when we're together," she explained. "We can't be together in a marriage, but we can be there for our son and that's what we do."
Meanwhile, the star is back to living the single life, though finding a Mr. Amber Rose is an intimidating process—for the men.
"I'm not a convenient girl. You can't just fly me out when you want to and have me on call. I have employees, I have a household, I have a son, I have my show, I have other businesses. I kind of just do what I do when I do it," she declared.
"It's tough to date me. One-hundred percent. My lawyer tells me all the time, 'Everybody wants to date Amber Rose until they date Amber Rose.' Guys want to feel superior, and with me, I'm a boss as well. If that's uncomfortable for you, then it's not gonna work."