Tamar Braxton Reveals Getting Fired From ‘The Real’ Is What Triggered Her Breakdown
Taraji P. Henson's new Facebook Watch series Peace Of Mind With Taraji is focused on honest conversations around mental health in the Black community, and her latest guest has a lot to say on the topic.
The Empire star and her best friend and co-host Tracie Jade were joined by Tamar Braxton on this week's episode, where Braxton was given the opportunity to candidly speak about her recent struggles with depression and the suicidal thoughts that landed her in the hospital. Braxton was asked if she could pinpoint the moment where things started to unravel in her life, and she replied that it was when she was fired from her hosting gig at The Real.
Jade asks Braxton, “If you could put a timestamp on when you think you felt like you were losing control of your life, when would you say was the moment?” Braxton replies, "The first time I knew that things wasn’t normal, is when everything went down with The Real."
Braxton says she didn't eat and couldn't function after her sudden dismissal from the show and the gossip that followed, and that it sent her down a dark path that eventually led to a suicide attempt this year.
"I was able to hide it enough, to pull myself … barely...out of it, and then I go back to the same toxic lifestyle, without dealing with everything that happened to me prior and that is continually happening to me, right?" she says. "From day-to-day I was just barely sliding by y’know? I just felt choked, because it was no escape, I just didn’t see another way out… I wanted to die, everything was going wrong.”
The Braxton Family Values star broke down into tears when asked about why she thought taking her life was the best solution. “Logan was the reason why I made that decision," she admits speaking of her 7-year old so with former husband, Vincent Herbert. "I just felt like he deserved better, I felt like I was embarrassing him, being a fool on TV. I didn’t want him to be embarrassed in front of his friends...his foul-mouthed, ghetto Mama.”
In a word of encouragement, Henson replies, “What I love about what you’re doing is you’re teaching your son about self care. And what you are doing is why we started this foundation to eradicate the stigma and to break the cycle. And that’s what you’re doing.”
Thankfully, Braxton (who admits she goes to therapy every day) is able to get the help she needs and deserves, and is sharing her truth so others don't feel so alone.
Watch the powerful episode of Peace Of Mind With Taraji, below:
Peace Of Mind With Taraji airs on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9am PT/12pm ET on Facebook Watch.
