Tia Mowry is setting the record straight on her reality as a single mom – and addressing the backlash that comes with the title.
In October 2022, Mowry announced her split from Cory Hardrict after 14 years of marriage. The exes finalized their divorce in April 2023. They share son, Cree Taylor Hardrict, 14, and daughter, Cairo Tiahna Hardrict, 7.
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After posting a sultry selfie with the question, “Why do I get backlash for calling myself a single mom?” written over it Tuesday, July 22, the Sister, Sister alum, 47, followed the image with a video of her feet walking in the sand.
Over the video, she wrote that “family can look different than what we imagined and still be full of love, stability, and joy.” She added, “This is my truth.”
Mowry expressed that while being a single mom doesn’t always mean “a mom doing it all alone without the father present in their kids’ lives,” what often gets overlooked is “the nuance of what being a single mom can actually mean.”
The proud mom wrote over a video of her brushing her daughter’s hair: “For me, in my household, I am SINGLE. I don’t have a partner, so I’m holding it down for everyone at home. I’m the only parent present day to day.”
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Tia Mowry with her two kids at the ‘Wonka’ remiere on December 10, 2023 in Los Angeles, California
She followed the video with a clip of herself walking on water, reflecting in text that she felt emotions such as guilt and shame early in her divorce, wondering if she still had a family, but “looking back now, I know we always were.”
The clip that followed was a video of Mowry holding her kids’ hands before each of them gave her a kiss.
She wrote in text over the video that “different family dynamics” need to be normalized as a family is not “broken” because the parents aren’t together.
Over a video of her two kids, Mowry wrote that they are the priority and their parents should be there for “no matter what.”
In another slide, Mowry wrote that what “makes things toxic or ‘broken’ is when kids feel the divide. When they feel like they have to choose between parents.”
Tia Mowry/Instagram
Tia Mowry speaks out about being a single mom
She further emphasized this in a video of her and her kids at an arcade, stating that a family always remains a unit, “no matter the changes.”
Offering additional advice to parents, she said, “If parents thrive, kids thrive,” highlighting that it is OK to ask for help from people you trust.
In the last few slides, Mowry said what she wanted her followers to take from her post is that “there are so many nuances” to being a single mom.
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“Let’s shed light on these different family stories. Don’t feel guilty or pressured by what society says a family should be,” she wrote. “Happy, healthy families come in many forms. Different doesn’t mean broken. We are family, regardless.”
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