Tia Mowry’s foray into dating got off to a choppy start before she decided to step back and reassess what she wanted in a potential her new man.
The actress revealed on the BET Awards blue carpet on June 30 that she was not currently entertaining potential suitors. But in a recent July 4 story time with fans, she dished on how a year into being a newly single woman she has already had a disastrous outing that left her stomach churning.
Mowry, 46, was careful not to reveal the man’s identity but shared that she knew what he looked like, but that he was a lot shorter than expected. They met for dinner, and to her surprise, he showed up with a grill in his mouth. “The first thing that I’m thinking about as he sits down to order his food is, ‘Oh my God. Where is this grill going to go?’” she recalled with laughter and deep breaths.
Eventually, after having drinks, their food arrives, again sending her mind into a panic about the grill. “I was like, no he’s not just going to take it out his mouth and put it on the table. Guess what? He took it out his mouth and put it on the table. Right there. Right there on the table. At least he had a napkin, but still, you guys, like what the hell? Like really, bro? How old are we? That is just, I don’t know. It was just surprising and a little tasteless in my opinion,” she said.
Mowry said the “gross” occurrence derailed the man’s chance at making an impressive first impression, leaving her wishing that she had an easy out and with a bit of dating PTSD. She ended the video by asking fans if she was out of touch and jokingly inquiring if they could see her wearing a grill.
“The Family Reunion” star added, “That was the first interesting date. I’ve realized that this is part of the journey; this is all a process and this is what I didn’t, you know, go through in my 20s.”
Aside from laughing at her in the comments of the Instagram post, fans also took a stab at guessing who her date was. A follower wrote, “Tia…Was it Flavor Flav?” A second guess read, “Its sounding like floyd mayweather.”
And a wild third shot in the dark read, “It was Nelly.” While within in her age range, Nelly, 49, has been happily coupled up with singer Ashanti, 43, since rekindling their relationship in 2023. They secretly wed in December and are currently expecting their first child together in the coming months.
More comments included someone who suggested, “Baby you need a millionaire matchmaker!” As well as a user who said, “Imagine having a chance with Tia Mowry and blowing it cause you put your grill on the table.” But several others expressed a desire for Mowry to get back with her ex-husband, actor Cory Hardrict.
Mowry announced her split from Hardrict, 44, in October 2022. She said that after 14 years of marriage and 20 years together, they had decided to move forward with love as co-parents to their two children, son Cree, 13, and daughter Cairo, 6. She filed for divorce soon after, and the separation was finalized after six months in April 2023.
A follower told her, “Sis just get back with Cory.” While a second person wrote, “Cory gonna be replaying and replaying this like his winning somewhere.”
The “All American: Homecoming” standout has been tightlipped about personal matters, only recently opening up to reveal that the aftershock of the divorce took an emotional toll on him.
But with a new movie to promote, “Divorce in the Black,” and fans seeing more of him these days, he was happy to declare, “I’m blessed and highly favored. I’m outside. Listen, I’m excited. I ain’t been outside in ten years,” when he spoke with Baller Alert at the American Black Film Festival. Though he clarified through a chuckle that he was not outside “like that.”
