Toya…
When I gave birth to my daughter, I was 15-years-old. When I tell you she was my world! Everywhere I went, I took that little girl with me. The only time I left her was when I went to school. Other than that if you saw Toya, you saw Reginae right there beside me. For most of her childhood it was like that, which is why I think she’s so spoiled, LOL. She was a mama's girl and that's also why it's so hard for me to let go and let her grow up. We spent so much time together when she was little. I guess it had a lot to do with me wanting to break the cycle of how I was raised. I didn't spend much time with my mother as a kid, so I wanted to make sure I was with my daughter each and every day.
Before I really got things started as far as a career, I really wanted to open my own boutique. It was something that I worked at for years and I finally opened my boutique in 2007. After my very first reality show, my direction changed and I started to move more towards what I am currently doing like writing books, public speaking, and even hosting events.
Initially, when the television opportunity came into play, I was a little apprehensive because I thought that the type of schedule and lifestyle associated with entertainment would be too much, taking me away from my daughter more than I was ready for. At that point, Reginae already had one parent who was living this hectic whirlwind of a life, so I didn't think it would be good for me to add to that equation. When I sat down with the producers to talk about the show, I made it clear to them that my daughter was my first priority. For me to be involved with that project, things would have to work around me being a mother. Luckily, the producers understood and made sure to hold true to my wishes. They even took it a step further by including her in the show.
Reginae was still young at that time. It's hard to believe now, but back then she really didn't like the cameras. Every time the cameras came to our home, she closed herself up in her room. When it was time for her to film, she would act super shy and that little girl didn't have a shy bone in her body. She just didn't like them being in our home all day I guess, LOL. As soon as they wrapped and left for the day, she would be super crunk and I would be super tired.
I did a lot of traveling to promote the show and during taping of the show. I couldn't take her with me on a lot of those trips because they involved a lot of moving around. When you’re filming a reality TV show, there is a lot of down time for location changes and li