Source: VH1 / Viacom
In an interview with People, “Basketball Wives” star Liza Morales opened up about falling into depression following the death of her infant son, Jayden, who died of sudden infant death syndrome at six months old. It was June 2006 and Liza was at the home she shared with her high school sweetheart, Lamar Odom Sr. She recalls checking on Jayden, who was seemingly still asleep on his stomach, before joining her mother downstairs for breakfast. Then, out of nowhere, Liza recalls a sudden panic rushing over her. When she went up to Jayden’s room, his face was blue and he wasn’t breathing. Doctors later confirmed that Jayden died of SIDS. Shortly after, things began to spiral out of control and the depression took hold. The reality star, who is also the mother to 22-year-old Destiny and 19-year-old Lamar Jr., recalls being “exhausted all of the time” following Jayden’s passing. Then, she and Lamar Sr. split.
“It’s all connected,” said Morales. “I lost myself in trying to co-parent with an addict, trying to guide my kids through the trauma of losing their sibling, of dealing with a father who’s an addict and the constant headlines.”
Morales said that she did not notice that she was depressed until three years later in 2009 when a friend recommended that she see a therapist, who later diagnosed her with depression and anxiety. It’s a moment that she calls a “major turning point.” She has since learned to manage the conditions with therapy, CBD, and meditation.
“The trauma [of Jayden’s death] never goes away,” said Morales. “You constantly have to work on yourself when it comes to loss and depression.”
Despite having these tools, she admits that Lamar Sr.’s 2015 overdose was triggering.
“I was embarrassed that everybody now knew about our private family issues,” Morales says. “But eventually I realized that there are so many other families who have to deal with addiction.”
As a result, Liza says that she has learned to love her ex “from a distance.”
“You cannot change somebody, you cannot pray away their addiction,” she said. “I wish Lamar the best, but I can no longer force somebody to work on themselves.”
Read her full interview here
