Lonzo Ball’s 'baby mama' Denise Garcia gets honest about public scrutiny over ‘gold digger’ accusations 

Lonzo Ball’s ex-girlfriend, Denise Garcia, opened up about the public scrutiny she has faced over her relationship with the basketball star. Garcia and the Cleveland Cavaliers guard started dating in high school and have a daughter named Zoey.

On Michael Porter Jr.’s podcast, “Curious Mike,” on Monday, Porter asked Garcia and Brittany Renner how they deal with the negative connotation of being a "baby mama," asking them where it comes from.

“I feel like ever since my ex and I were together, he posted me and it was like, ‘Oh, you’re a gold digger,’" Garcia said (Timestamp: 2:50). "This was even before we brought Zoey into the world. So, I guess people just think that you’re kind of out there for what players can offer you financially.”

A lot of the criticism Garcia faces has to do with the drama surrounding her public split with Lonzo Ball. As things played out on the Ball family’s reality TV Show, “Ball in the Family,” it attracted much negative attention toward her.

---

"We were inseparable": Lonzo Ball’s ex, Denise Garcia, relives senior year night when he first approached her at school dinner

In her conversation with Michael Porter Jr., Denise Garcia also provided an account of how her relationship with Ball started.

“We went to the same school," she said. "The day that I met him was after practice, my senior year. The school hosted dinner at this restaurant called Puppchinos. He approached me, and since then, after that night, we were inseparable.”

Garcia said, because she had known Lonzo Ball since he was a teenager, her relationship with the basketball star was never based on what he could “provide,” further pushing back against the “gold digger” accusations.