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It’s no secret that Toni Braxton and her sisters grew up in the church. The family comes from a line of preachers, including Toni’s father, Michael, who was a clergyman, her mother who served in some pastoral capacity, and Braxton’s maternal grandfather was also a pastor.
Churchy is the word.
And as more than a few Black women can tell you, growing up in the church comes with a whole set of rules, regulations, and restrictions.
And in an effort to keep church kids, particularly girls, on the straight and narrow, you end up missing out on a lot of life, good and bad.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Toni Braxton said that her family tried “everything” when it came to religious sects.
“We were Jehovah’s Witnesses; we were Catholic – we tried everything before settling on United Methodist. I asked my mum once what they were searching for and she just replied: “It was the 70s.” The 70s were a very religious era. I think a lot of people were looking for the right path.”
Now, at 52, Toni Braxton is sharing some of the regrets of her youth—mainly the fact that she didn’t do and experience as much as she would have liked.
“I regret not having more sex when I was younger. I should have drank more. I should have partied more. Smoked more, even. I think my religious upbringing stopped me doing a lot of things that I should have done. It’s not a good look at the age I am now. The way it works is you do that stuff in your 20s and 30s and then in your 40s you’ve earned enough to pay for the therapy.”
