Tamar Braxton Posts Statement on Reported Suicide Attempt, Says She Won’t Take Second Chance for Granted

Singer Tamar Braxton has vowed to make the most of her “second chance” after she was hospitalized in July. Braxton, 43, was rushed to the hospital after an alleged suicide attempt around the time she was in a contract dispute with WEtv, the network that airs Braxton Family Values. On Monday, Braxton said she is working on keeping herself healthy and opened up about suffering from mental health issues.

“God thank you for saving me! You know my true heart. Despite what the world may think of me, you kept me here for a reason,” she wrote. “You are a God of second chances, and this second chance I won’t take for granted. The world can often be a dark place but I must resort to you for my light.” Next, she asked her fans if they have ever felt like they have forgotten themselves while focusing on their family, job, children, and relationship. “That is where I have been for the past few years,” she wrote.

“I believe I have put a lot of time and effort in loving and giving my all to everything else but myself. I have allowed myself to stay in toxic situations including work environments,” Braxton continued. She said she let her skills be used for the “wrong reasons” and “allowed herself” to be used in too many “angry Black girl” narratives.

However, Braxton said she is not angry. “I have been battling mental health for some time now, and Let me tell y’all is not a joke,” she wrote. “Nor is it a reason for anyone to call you ‘crazy.’ I am praying for anyone that is on this same battle.” She came to realize that the only thing she can control “is the things I own,” adding that she wants to fight “for brown girls to have more ownership and not just be a slave to the industry” because Black women are “unvalued and unprotected” in the entertainment industry.

“I am on a never-ending battle to be the best Tamar Braxton I can be,” Braxton concluded. “God has brought me through a lot so I would like to pass it on to use my voice to help brown women and ALL women in these similar situations. We all have the opportunity to evolve. For now on it’s me vs me.”

Braxton was reportedly found unresponsive by her boyfriend, David Adefeso, at The Ritz-Carlton Residencies in Los Angeles on July 16. She was first hospitalized but later transferred to a mental health facility. Braxton allegedly sent a suicide note to her family, obtained by The Blast. In it, she referred to herself as a “slave” and said she did not “own my life.” In the days before she was hospitalized, Braxton publicly complained about WE tv and her family’s portrayal on Braxton Family Values. She even changed her Twitter name to read “Tamar ‘Slave’ Braxton.” WEtv later agreed to no longer work with Braxton.

Braxton credited Adefeso with saving her life, but earlier this month, they broke up. Adefeso requested a restraining order, and he spoke about the situation in an Instagram Live post earlier this month, reports Entertainment Tonight. He said he was a victim of domestic abuse, but said he still supports Braxton and called for a more open discussion on mental health in the U.S.

If you or someone you know are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.