ATLANTA — It has been more than three years since We TV ended a decadelong run with “Braxton Family Values” featuring the five Braxton sisters arguing, bonding and singing their way through relationship challenges, medical problems and family trips.
Then their sister Traci Braxton died of esophageal cancer in 2022.
So when We TV came back and asked the women to reunite, they agreed to do so to celebrate Traci’s legacy. Two of the four Braxton sisters — Towanda and Trina — as well as their mother, Evelyn, live in Atlanta full time. Tamar and Toni Braxton spend more time in Los Angeles. (Traci lived in Maryland.)
Now redubbed “The Braxtons” and airing Friday nights, the early episodes show the family grappling with grief in different ways over the loss of Traci.
Towanda and Trina, in a Zoom call with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, said Traci asked them to tell her story. “ ‘The Braxtons’ is a way to honor her,” Towanda said. As a result, there are plenty of classic clips of Traci cutting up with her sisters from “Braxton Family Values.”
“We are in the state of thankfulness we were able to document all those years with Traci,” Towanda said. “It’s about laughter. Traci was just Traci. She was hilarious. She brought the fun. She brought the spark.”
“The Traci-ness of it all,” added Trina.
“She’s always with us all the time,” Towanda said.
Trina said Traci loved hummingbirds so each woman wears a hummingbird necklace with “just a little bit of her remains in there. So we literally take her with us everywhere.”
As will be revealed in an upcoming episode, Trina has had the toughest time with her sadness, using alcohol and food as salves. The entire family meets with a grief counselor and Trina breaks down.
“There were feelings I didn’t realize I had,” Trina said. “I had put everything in suppression. When it came out, it wouldn’t stop. It was like a waterfall. I’m glad it happened. I didn’t expect it to happen in such an open forum. It allowed me to seek counseling by myself.”
Trina has since done multiple sessions with a grief counselor one-on-one and feels she is in a much better place as a result. “There was a time I couldn’t sleep. I can sleep now. I just had to release those feelings,” she said.
Towanda said Traci would be proud of Trina and say, “Good job, Tri Tri!”
Trina added that Traci would say, “I don’t know what you’re crying for!”
Towanda said she can’t believe Traci is no longer here, but takes solace that she’s “still with us on the other side pushing us.”
On the show, elder sister Toni, who has had lupus for many years, revealed heart issues to her sisters that could potentially kill her. “I’m proud of Toni and Trina for being transparent,” Towanda said.
Towanda herself faced her own issues with alopecia by shaving her head three years ago.
“Just watching my sister and her courage and her strength and seeing what she was going through, she never complained,” Towanda said. “That gave me the courage. If she can do this and fight for her life in this way, I can stand tall and strong and know my hair doesn’t define who I am.”
She is also happy that We TV brought back the “Braxton Family Values” showrunner Oji Singletary for this show.
“He’s like a brother to us,” Towanda said.
“He let us tell Traci’s story in the most sensitive and positive way,” Trina added.
