Tamar Braxton toned down the makeup, lashes and wiggery for her brand new cover of the September 2013 issue of EBONY Magazine. The new mom put a different face forward as she holds her baby boy Logan on the cover--and it's lash-free, understated, and is framed with darker hair.
Check out her cover and everything she revealed about her abusive past, controlling her pregnancy bod, and why she really loves her hubby Vince....
Tamar isn't focused on fashion for the September issue of EBONY--even though most mags would--but instead, she focused on her newest love. her baby boy Logan Vincent Herbert.
EBONY got deep with the diva, singer, author and reality star about the things we hear her say, but tend to get glossed over. So what's really up with the alleged plastic surgery, her abusive relationship and why she really fell in love with her husband?
Here are the higlights...
On not giving into pregnancy cravings to keep her pregnancy bod right
“He’s like, ‘Nope. Don't do it. You're gonna be mad.” Vince chimes in, “Even before the pregnancy, she was very conscious about her weight, so I'm just helping her to be a better person.”
On surviving two past abusive relationships-including one where she was yanked out of her apartment by her hair:
I almost had to tell my story to each individual and then I decided that’s not what I’m going to do. I can’t make anybody believe, I can’t change anybody’s mind about anything. (The abuse,) it happened. I’m not all the way comfortable with sharing a lot of what happened to me (yet), but what I said was true. When I’m ready to talk about my abusive past I will, I’m sorry that I’m not. But if it wasn’t for (God), I wouldn’t be here.”
On how her abusive relationships affected her self esteem
“I haven’t always been vocal about my feelings, especially in a relationship. Now, I make sure that I’m very vocal about my feelings, everybody knows how I feel. Sometimes it’s over the top and most of the time it’s ‘Team Too-Much,’” she laughs, “But I have to do a lot. (I was) a shy person who had self-esteem issues trying to figure it out -- now, I’ve gotten over my hangovers. You say, I’m comfortable and confident, it took a long time to get there. Maybe like a year or so before Braxton Family Values, I wasn’t that person. I was faking it til I make it, pretty much.....
"I didn’t feel like I was beautiful. I didn’t feel like I deserved things. I didn’t feel like I could stand in a room and speak or even sing and have people who wanted to listen."
On her skin disease Vitiligo & rumors of her bleaching
Anybody with skin issues knows that that’s a very sensitive subject. And that’s why I’ve never shared that I have Vitiligo, because I do. I’ve always had it, since I was a young girl. It’s not as bad as others because everybody has it differently, but I’ve certainly had mine diagnosed. That’s why I tan. People say, “You bleach your skin!” But I tan just so I can have a better tone on my skin, boo!
It’s gotten worse since I’ve gotten pregnant. If you shake my hand now, to me it’s more noticeable. But when you get diagnosed with a skin disorder, it’s hard. It does weigh on your self-esteem. It really does. But I’m done defending that. I’m not bleaching my skin and if I was bleaching my skin and I felt like saying so, I would, but for the record, I am not.
On rumors of plastic surgery
"I don’t have plastic surgery. I never had plastic surgery. I had a nose procedure done because I had to. I had no cartilage in my nose, I have a piece of cartilage from my ear put into my nose. I had a medical procedure done. I have no plastic in my nose. And when I shared that with the world, now I have Botox, and different kind of fillers. Now I touch my face, which I never touch my face…Everything is real on me."
On why she fell in love with Vince
"The thing that I love the most about (Vincent) is that he’s helped me with accepting what happened to me and helped me realize that that’s not my make-up, (being abused) is not who I am, it hasn’t hindered who I am, it hasn’t stopped my integrity. I really appreciate him more and more everyday."
Catch "Tamar & Vince" every Thursday on WeTV. What did you think of last night's premiere?