Tamar Braxton is opening up about her suicide attempt this summer and the mental health struggles she was experiencing at the time. In a preview of the upcoming Peace of Mind With Taraji episode obtained by Entertainment Tonight, the Braxton Family Values star, 43, got emotional as she explained she thought 7-year-old son Logan would be better off if she was not here.
“Logan was the reason why I made that decision. I just felt like he deserved better. I felt like I was embarrassing him, being a fool on TV,” Braxton tells Taraji P. Henson through tears. “You thought he would be better without you?” the Empire star asks, as Braxton answers, “I thought in that moment.”
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“Because I knew that’s not what my whole life really was. That’s not who I was. I didn’t want him to be embarrassed in front of his friends,” Braxton continues of her mindset at the time. “Here is this loudmouth ghetto mama.”
The WeTV star was found unresponsive on July 16 at the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Los Angeles and rushed to the hospital, where she was treated for her mental health struggles. She’s been candid about her struggles recently, telling Tamron Hall on her show last month, “That was the lowest point of life. I’m just going to be 100 percent. There has been a time where I wanted to, but this was the first time where I’ve actually acted on it.” She continued that at the time she “already felt dead” and “choked” by her public persona. “It was about feeling like I could never be myself and being misunderstood and having the stigma of the angry Black woman all the time,” she added.
Henson’s Peace of Mind show is meant to address mental health during the coronavirus pandemic, when national mental health is at a low. Co-hosted with best friend Tracie Jade Jenkins, Henson told Entertainment Tonight that she was honored to have Braxton tell her story on the show. “I love that she felt safe enough to come here with us,” Henson shared. “Because anyone that comes here, they are safe. I’m not some celebrity that just slap my name on this talk show. I am literally struggling myself. My best friend has struggled her entire life.” Peace of Mind With Taraji episodes premiere Mondays and Wednesdays, at 12 p.m. ET on Facebook Watch.
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.
