Tamar Braxton has publicly revealed some moving details behind her purported suicide attempt in July.
Braxton was a guest on Taraji P. Henson’s Facebook Watch show “Peace of Mind With Taraji P. Henson,” where, in a recent trailer clip, she opened up about her feelings leading up to that instant, and why her 7-year-old son Logan was a factor.
“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.”
“You thought he would be better without you?” Henson asked, and Braxton replied, “I thought in that moment.”
“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 added. “Here is this loudmouth ghetto mama.”
The Dec. 21 episode, “Surviving Mental Breakdown With Tamar Braxton,” of Henson’s show features the singer and reality TV star talking about her own mental health and what she claims compelled her to consider taking her own life.
Henson’s show is part of her continuous work in promoting the importance of discussing mental health in the Black community. The program is billed as featuring the actress talking with celebrities, everyday people, and experts about their mental health issues, their questions, and advice on the topic.
Henson and her co-host, Tracie Jade Jenkins, told “Entertainment Tonight” how important it was that Braxton was comfortable enough to appear on the show and talk about her experiences.
“I love that she felt safe enough to come here with us,” Henson said. “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.”
On July 16, Braxton reportedly was found unresponsive by her then-boyfriend David Adefeso at a hotel in downtown Los Angeles. She was then taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment for a purported prescription drugs and alcohol overdose before later being transferred to a facility to receive more specialized mental health treatment, it was widely reported at the time.
Shortly afterward, Braxton spoke out about the incident in an extensive Instagram post.
“Over the past 11 years there were promises made to protect and portray my story, with the authenticity and honesty I gave,” she wrote. “I was betrayed, taken advantage of, overworked, and underpaid.”
“Who I was, begun to mean little to nothing, because it would only be how I was portrayed on television that would matter,” she continued. “It was witnessing the slow death of the woman I became, that discouraged my will to fight. I felt like I was no longer living, I was existing for the purpose of a corporation’s gain and ratings, and that killed me.”
She concluded, indicating that her son gave her the strength to move on.
“It is of the utmost importance that I find my happy and my health, through professional treatment for the sake of my whole heart, Logan, who I forgot in my moment of distress and desperation. And giving this journey my undivided attention. My rise will not be in vain.”
