The third season of “Zatima” returns to BET and BET Plus on October 1, bringing back the drama, love, and complexity that fans have come to love. This season picks up after the emotional whirlwind of Zac's mother's death and Fatima's life-altering news. As the couple confronts new challenges, including Zac's battle with grief and the unpredictability of his brother Jeremiah’s struggle with addiction, their relationship is tested like never before. BET.com sat down with Devale Ellis (Zac) and Crystal Renee Hayslett (Fatima) to dive into the intense, heartfelt journey ahead for this beloved couple, and what fans can expect from the season's ups and downs.

BET.com: I saw the first two episodes and it’s already up. Zac has twins coming, another baby with Fatima, there’s Michael and then there's Jeremiah who has a lot of issues. Tell me about what the relationship dynamic is expected to be this season, and how the characters plan to work together to overcome it. 

Devale Ellis: What you just said is exactly what we're doing. When people were first introduced to Zac and Fatima, you got to watch two people build a trauma bond, and the relationship was all about sex, and it was all about intimacy, and we were all into each other, but then we moved in and now you get the real person,  the makeup comes off—

Crystal Renee Hayslett: Does it? 

DE: Does the makeup come off? We don't know, sometimes Fatima wakes up with a full face of makeup [laughs]. You finally get a chance to see this couple move away from all the intimacy and the lust and the love, and actually deal with real-life issues, family and friends. And that's what you see more of in season three. 

CRH: Yeah, and I think, the main thing is that we're not fighting against each other. This season, we’re protecting each other and trying to, even though it feels like withholding information, the reason is right. So, you'll see a lot of that and a lot of action. It's a crazy season. I'm sure you saw a lot just in the first two episodes. 

BET.com:  I did, especially episode two. Is it fair to call Jeremiah a villain this season?

CRH: I wouldn't call him a villain. 

DE:  I will say nah. 

CRH: He's a person who has fallen victim to his environment and circumstances, and he feels like deep down, Jeremiah wants to do right, and I think that's what I saw in him at the end of season two. He was really trying, and he really wanted to beat this thing, and when we had our conversation at the hospital, I feel like that was a moment where I was like, ok, he's real. He really wants to do better. 

DE: Yeah, I would say Jeremiah is an example of a lot of people that we know dealing with substance abuse, the product of their environment and circumstance, people who have a lot of trauma dealing with parents or lack of parents. And now we're seeing the result. Many people like this walk around the earth, and people just discard them. And what we're doing is trying to humanize that person, and watching how to deal with that person through our lens. So that's what I see of Jeremiah's character this season. 

CRH: Me too, and I hope it helps families because I know a lot of people deal with that within their families, and I hope that the way we work with Jeremiah will help them to learn how to work with their family members or whoever. 

BET.com: Another unique element is that Zac is dealing with grief, and Fatima must be there. Losing a parent can be a lot, but navigating that grief through the eyes of some point you probably going to go through it, and you kind of like navigating grief that type of grief with someone else is a doozy. Talk about tackling that subject matter this season. 

DE: I personally feel like these are the topics that we don't speak about in our community, you know? And especially, when you talk about a relationship based show, right? Anytime there's a relationship based show, there's another love interest that gets in between the couple, right? But in this case, it's not another relationship, another person, it's grief that's getting in between them, and we're watching Fatima through everything. She's going to still try to be the rock that Zac needs, and then we're watching Zac go through everything he's going through, but still try to be the protector that Fatima needs. And I think that's what's so amazing to watch in this relationship is that they're trying so hard to be there for each other and it's not going exactly as planned. 

BET.com: Finally, what do you hope viewers take away from this season of “Zatima?” 

CRH: I hope viewers take away that when you find something worth fighting for, fight for it. We live in a world now where we're so good to just throw people away. 

DE: I love that. 

CRH: We're so quick to throw people away, and then you go get into another relationship and you’re like, ‘Wait, I should have just stuck with who I had and fought for,’ and I think I just want people to really fight for love, and stick together because I feel real love is just a dying thing.