Source: WE tv / We TV
Every year, the Braxton sisters find something for their fans and even their haters to discuss. And this season the stakes became even higher as the family had to cope with situations they’ve never encountered before.
Today, we had a conversation with Towanda, Traci, and Trina about this new season, their sisterhood, and Tamar.
See what they had to say below.
What are you looking forward to the audience seeing this season of “Braxton Family Values”?
Towanda: I am looking forward to everyone seeing Trina’s bachelorette party. We had so much fun! It’s almost like the first season of “Braxton Family Values.” We’re having so much fun, we’re laughing, we’re joking. We’re making up songs. It was just amazing. It’s nothing like an amazing wedding and people who are in love so we can come together and have fun.
What keeps you guys coming back to reality tv? I know it hasn’t always been necessarily easy for any of you to show your life and your relationships with your family members.
Trina: Reality television is not very easy because it’s such an expose on your life and people really feel like they can judge you based on one hour a week. But the true reality of it is, is that we did sign up for this. And we decided to do this show, we did it so that we could help others. We did it so that we could show others that they are not exempt—just like we’re not exempt from all of the things that happen with family life and family realities. And as long as that is a plausible idea, then we’ll continue to do the show. Because if we can help reach somebody—I’ve been through this or I can see that someone else went through it maybe I can too.—Then we’ll still do the show.
Do you feel like being on the show has negatively impacted your sisterhood or were there issues beforehand that just got exacerbated by being on reality tv?
Towanda: I believe that what has happened for us is that, we’ve never been a strong communicating family. So, I think what has happened is the issues we just swept it underneath the rug. And now we are forced to deal with the situation. To me, that’s about growth. So, if we can show other people, ‘Hey, you don’t have to mute your voice. You can tell another person how you’re feeling. It’s going to be uncomfortable sometimes but it works out in the end.’ You’ll be able to have a healthy relationship.
Traci: I think too, because we’re much older than we were before. We’re not teenagers anymore. So we have boundaries. And now that we have our boundaries and we’re sticking to them, it’s putting us in shock. Like wow, I cannot believe this person is setting boundaries. They are really going through this. It’s phasing out of that teenager, youngster mentality.
I think a lot of Black families have problems establishing boundaries, respecting other people’s boundaries. What are some boundaries you all have had to establish with one another?
Traci: Let us raise our own family. Everybody doesn’t need to be in everybody else’s family. I’m the only one that’s a grandmother. Of course, I’m not going to tell Towanda how to raise her kids and how to be a grandparent when she’s not one. Her kids are not there yet. They’re still teenagers. We have that tendency, as aunts, because we want the best for our nieces and nephews, we tend to put our foot in our mouths sometimes or put our foot where it don’t need to be.
Traci, I just watched an extended clip from this upcoming season. You were talking to your husband and you said, you didn’t want to feel like ‘a sister-cousin.’ What did you mean by that?
Traci: You know when you got your cousins living with you during the summer time, always with your 24-7. It’s your cousin. But she’s like a sister. And that’s how I felt. Like an extended family that comes and visits on the weekends or on the summer time.
Trina: Only Traci!
Tamar seemed to have an issue with the family speaking about her mental health issues and the way it was released through the network. Have you guys been able to talk about that or have you come to a resolution?
Trina: Tamar has decided that she wants to keep her life private. And I—we all absolutely respect that. Tamar has a story to tell and hopefully it will help somebody. But Tamar is the only person who can tell Tamar’s story the way she needs it to be told. And we are being respectful of the fact that she wants to tell her story, the way she wants to tell it.
Source: Tamron Hall Show / Tamron Hall Show
During her interview with Tamron Hall, Tamar also mentioned that someone in the family exposed the sexual abuse she experienced without her permission when you all met with Iyanla Vanzant. Is that true?
Towanda: Well, we just have to respect her truth. Everybody has their own truth and again, we are very sensitive where she is emotionally and mentally and we’re just allowing her to just speak her own truth.
Trina: And with that Towanda, I’m going to have to say this. I don’t care who likes it and who doesn’t. Sometimes a person’s truth is not always thee truth. But they have to be able to deal with their truth in their own way.
How do you all feel about David has been behaving in the public sphere, given all that Tamar is going through right now?
Trina: Only Tamar and David know the truth about what happened in their relationship. The thing is, I’m going to speak openly and freely. I think as grown up people it could have been handled differently and outside of the public eye. But that is the way they choose to deal with the form of their relationship. I decided that I can’t speak on it and I won’t speak on it. I do think it should have been dealt with in a different way so that everyone didn’t know the full scope of what’s going on in their relationship. It wasn’t everyone’s business.
Source: WE tv / We TV
Trina, what would you say was the most stressful part about planning your wedding? We saw a wedding cake that looked a little off.
Towanda: Girl, a little off? It was just wrong, girl. It was wrong! A little off? You’re so sweet.
Traci: Her cake was saying, ‘Hey homegirl!’
Trina: I had several cake-tastrophies. My flowers never showed up. It wasn’t the perfect wedding. However, for me, I married the perfect man. We both said I do and that’s the most important thing.
And what was your favorite part of the wedding day?
Trina: My favorite part of the wedding day was when it was over.
Traci: Consummate!
Trina: My favorite part of the wedding was the honeymoon. I got to have sin-free sex. I get to have sin-free sex for the rest of my life.
Towanda: Girl, don’t it feel good like Stephanie Mills?
Trina: Does it?! Sin-free, honey! Hallelu.
Traci: Oh! Condelezza Rice.
Source: Paras Griffin / Getty
Towanda, are you engaged? Are you currently planning a wedding?
Towanda: Listen, I am a Virgo. We have some amazing surprises in store for Braxton Family Values this season. We’re having so much fun. We’re laughing together, enjoying each other. It’s just a lot of surprises and I’m just going to say you guys are going to have to watch Braxton Family Values.
Trina: Well Towanda, I’m confused too. Are you engaged or not?!
Towanda: Let it go Trina, let it go!
Trina: This is not Frozen. I cannot let it go.
Traci: These are Towanda’s boundaries! Let Towanda have her boundaries.
Towanda: Thank you Traci. We just spoke about em and you gon cross em.
Trina: Alright! You’re right!
I want to say thank you to everyone who’s been with us these past seven seasons and just supported us in everything that we do and have done. You’ve followed our family since 2010-11. We just appreciate the journey that you guys are taking with us.
Traci: Tune in on November 5th. You’ll see Boss Ladies all over the place.
Braxton Family Values airs on Thursday nights at 9pm on WEtv.
