Tia Mowry, who announced in October she and husband Cory Hardrict were breaking up 14 years after their wedding, can name exact moment she knew her marriage was in trouble.
During a visit to TODAY with Hoda & Jenna, the “Sister, Sister” said the “awakening,” as she put it, came after a perspective change.
“I knew when I really started to focus on my happiness,” she said Nov. 16 on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna. “I feel like women, we tend to focus on everybody else’s happiness, making sure that everybody else is OK — meaning our children, our friends, our family.
“But at the end of the day, it’s about self-love. When you start to really work on yourself, love yourself, know your value and know your worth, then all of a sudden, there’s this awakening. And it’s not easy. It’s a hard journey, but at the end of the day, I feel like it is so, so worth it.”
Mowry and Hardrict, who share children Cree, 11, and Cairo, 4, married in 2008. According to court documents obtained by TODAY, Mowry filed for divorce on Oct. 3, citing irreconcilable differences.
When announcing the split on Instagram in October, Mowry wrote, “I have always been honest with my fans, and today is no different. I wanted to share that Cory and I have decided to go our separate ways,” Mowry wrote. “These decisions are never easy, and not without sadness. We will maintain a friendship as we co-parent our beautiful children. I am grateful for all the happy times we had together and want to thank my friends, family, and fans for your love and support as we start this new chapter moving forward in our lives.”
On TODAY, Mowry said enduring the deaths of her grandmother and her twin sister Tamera Mowry-Housley’s niece, Alaina Housley, in close succession, also contributed to her decision by putting life into perspective.
“I feel like when I started to, again, like I said, focus on myself, but there was this sadness. And I knew that life is short. I had actually lost my grandmother. We had lost Alaina Housley. And both of them at the same time,” she said.
“There was just an ‘aha’ moment in me where I said, ‘You know what? We need to tap in, see what’s really going on with your happiness. Life is short. Let’s go. Let’s start working on you and really focusing on what really, really matters here, which is at the end of the day, your peace, your joy and your happiness.’”
Mowry credits therapy with helping her make this major life change. “I was in therapy, as well. I’m a huge fan of therapy. It was all that together that gave me that ‘aha’ moment,” she said.
Ultimately, Mowry said she doesn’t look at her relationship with Hardrict as a failure.
“My marriage was a success,” she said. “I look at it as like a curriculum when you’re in college or high school. You’re learning, you’re growing, you’re evolving, you’re creating. I was able to create with Cory some beautiful, amazing children. At the end of that curriculum, there’s a graduation, there’s a celebration. So that’s basically how I’m looking at it now.
“And I feel like … when (people) look at marriage, success equals longevity. But, no, at the end of the day, it’s are they happy? Are they thriving? Are they growing? I feel like that is what is most important. It’s not about staying in something because however long you are in that situation that equals success. It’s about really, again, are you happy? Because life is really short.”
During an appearance on TODAY in October, Mowry-Housley said she would support her twin no matter what.
“I support her,” Mowry-Housley, 44, said. “Whatever she wants, the Mowrys have her back.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
