Meet the woman who inspired the fabulous life of And Just Like That… character Lisa Todd Wexley!

Crystal McCrary is a New York City-based writer, documentarian, broadcast personality and previous New York Bar member. And just like the character she inspired for the popular Max series, played by Nicole Ari Parker, she also has three kids and a loving husband.

When the highly-anticipated second season premiered this summer, fans loved the stylish and confident character inspired by McCrary, 53, who tells PEOPLE the show’s senior writer, Susan Fales-Hill, is “one of my best friends.”

“I do know that I certainly was an inspiration for LTW, and there are a lot of similarities,” McCrary says. “She’s a documentary filmmaker, three kids, her husband was running for mayor, all those check, check, check, check.”

Upon seeing her portrayal on the show, McCrary says, “I was just like, ‘Gosh, how flattering are you all going to be? You’re going to have a character played by Nicole Ari Parker that’s supposedly inspired by me? I’ll take it!”

McCrary is currently married to Ray McGuire, the Head of Global Banking at Citigroup, Inc. The couple share a son, Leo. She has two more children, her daughter Ella and her Orlando Magic player son Cole Anthony, from her previous marriage to former NBA star Greg Anthony.   

In 1998, McCrary co-wrote the steamy romance novel Homecourt Advantage with Rita Ewing, who was previously married to former New York Knicks player Patrick Ewing.

Cole, 23, tells PEOPLE it was a while before he realized his mother’s impact as a businesswoman.

“It took me years to realize how brilliant of a mother I had and how many people really look up to her,” the NBA player says. “I’m still learning more about her to this day, which I think it’s a good thing. She’s just brilliant. She’s so diverse in what she’s done. She’s an extremely smart businesswoman.”