Tamar Braxton wants to make one thing clear, “I’m not all mouth, I do have a brain.” Then she proceeds to fade in and out as she searches for her cell phone. “I’m leaving for Atlanta this afternoon so I’m packing,” she offers as we say our introductions. Her reality show – The Braxton Family Values – has just been renewed for a second season and the woman credited with creating the show, has got a lot of work to do. “I bet you I packed it! Hotmess.com!”I spoke to Tamar by phone about and was delighted to get her signature candor of everything from her real problem with her husband Vince, to the Braxton family plastic surgery secret to even her issues with…her real candor.
Spend 30 minutes with Tamar and one thing becomes clear: what you see is exactly what you get.
Congrats on the second season pick up! What has this entire whirlwind been like for you?
Its been really, really amazing. It’s actually been really great for my family. Through this whole process, my sisters and I have grown a lot closer. We didn’t realize there’s a lot of things we’ve had built up inside of us, that through this process, we’ve been able to get out.
Really? Like what?
Well it’s been 11 years since my parents divorce and there’s things that we’ve needed to say to one another: things we blamed each other for, that we felt guilty about, it sounds weird but the show kind of forced us to deal with a lot of things. Even my mom had some issues with dad that she had to let go of. So it’s been great.
Reading the blogs. Vince keeps telling me not to read the blogs and the comments but it’s hard. Everyone has something to say and how they perceive you is based off of one hour of television a week. And the rumors – did I bleach my skin? Did I have plastic surgery?
Well…Did you?
Have plastic surgery? Yes. I had a nose job. But not for the reason everybody thinks. I was born with no cartilage in my nose, and it made breathing very difficult. And the SNORING? Oh My God! So I’ve had a couple surgeries – the first time they put an implant in and I had to have it removed – so eventually they took some cartilage from my ear and put it in my nose. Oh and that HURT!
Wow. So it wasn’t cosmetic at all then. Did the second surgery correct the problem?
Not quite. They want me to have a third procedure but I’m trying not to have it. But this is something that runs in our family. My father had the same thing done, and so did Toni.
Would you ever have purely cosmetic surgery?
Of course! I believe everyone should do anything they need to do to make themselves feel good. It’s the same reason why people don’t just eat whatever they want. They don’t want to be fat as hell. You don’t want to look like a Hotmess.com! So you do things to fix it…Plastic surgery is the exact same thing.
You spoke about Toni. She’s had some serious health issues of her own and was recently diagnosed with lupus. How did you take that news?
You know this is something that is actually really hard for me, hard to talk about. For the longest time I thought Toni was just being lazy, laying down all the time. I really didn’t understand. So when we found out she was sick, I really felt bad. And I think I’ve had the most guilt about this so I probably go a little above and beyond to try to help her out. But it’s tough. Some days you know she’s not feeling well. It hurts to talk about this.
(Laughs) You’ll have to watch the show! But I can tell you this, there was that one clause I wanted, I needed to make sure my record would be released within a year because you know executives never put their wives out.
So did you get what you wanted?
Well Vince wants to make sure we get the sound absolutely right
What is that sound?
I’m all over the place! I’m a little rock, a little soul and I’m someone’s wife so I have to make sure I’m presented in a respectable way. I can’t be gyrating on stage half naked. I’m like Adele meets Lauryn Hill…In a pants suit.
I’ve never felt pressure. Even when we were kids people would say I was jealous of her or just trying to be like her but I wasn’t. I knew I wanted to sing the first time I saw Star Search. It just happens that we both wanted the same career path for our lives.
Tell me about your personal style. What do you like to wear?
Oh I’ll wear anything. I’m haute couture meets Forever 21! I’ve loved Dolce & Gabbana since I was a child. But I don’t have any boundaries but I try to make sure I look good so people aren’t out here saying ‘Oh look at Tamar, she’s a hotmess.com!’
Last thing, is there anything you want us to know? Any regrets on the series thus far?
You know I just have one. It’s not really a regret but more so a learning experience. I realize, watching myself, that I don’t have to pop off at the mouth as much. I mean I’ve always been the person who will say what others are afraid to say but I had to realize that – especially with my sisters – that it doesn’t always come off as intended.
That’s interesting. Was there any particular one moment that made you come to this conclusion? What was you ah ha moment?
Watching the scene where I’m talking to my sisters about their husbands. These are four beautiful, grown women, with children and careers and there’s no reason I should be talking to them like that. And they know me and know how supportive I am, they know I mean well, but I need to be more respectful. At the end of the day, these are my sisters. I want to see them win.
With a hit first season and another one on the way, it looks like all the Braxton sisters might just be winning. Be sure to catch The Braxton Family Values, which airs on WE.
