Tia Mowry Is Pregnant With Her Second Child After Battling Endometriosis
Congratulations are in order for Tia Mowry-Hardrict and her husband Cory Hardrict who are expecting their second child. The couple revealed the pregnancy via Instagram with an adorable photo that includes the couples's 6-year-old son Cree. But The Game star's journey to both pregnancies has been a bit more complicated.
Just a year ago, while at the BET Awards, when asked if she would be adding to her family, she revealed: “I do suffer from endometriosis. So there's a little bit of a challenge there, but I will say this: I am working on my diet. [..]I want to just clean myself out and get rid of inflammation in my body."
In 2006, Tia was diagnosed with endometriosis after she began experiencing extreme pain and complications. Endometriosis occurs when the layer of tissue that usually lines the inside of the uterus begins to grow outside of it. The condition presents itself with severe pelvic pain, heavy periods, and for up to half of women, fertility issues. To address the problem, many women undergo laparoscopic surgery and treat symptoms with a variety of pain killers.
After a second surgery, the 37-year-old actress wasn't seeing the results she so desperately needed, so her doctor suggested that she “clean up her diet." One reason that endometriosis is so difficult to treat is because it is has ties to inflammation. According to several doctors, a cleaner diet that eliminates food that can cause inflammation may help to alleviate many of the symptoms.
The process of giving up her favorite foods—one of which was her signature deep-fried cheese tortellini dish—included eliminating dairy, processed meats, packaged snacks, and refined sugar. Her new diet now includes more leafy greens, fruits, nuts and seeds, fermented foods, and high-quality protein. The change in diet drastically reduced her pain with some added benefits: her migraines went away and her skin cleared up. Can we say win-win!
Tia's success in battling her diagnosis and having a successful pregnancy inspired her to write the book Whole New You earlier this year. She penned the book to help other women with the same experiences change the way they think about food and help them on their journey to a healthier lifestyle.
It looks like she's taken her own advice, and it has actually paid off! With another bundle of joy on the way, her combination of therapies seem to have done the trick. There is nothing like hearing that little heartbeat for the first time, so I'm sure this time around was an extra-special treat for the couple. But Tia is careful to point out that this is what worked for her, and it might not be a one-size-fits-all solution.
She has said in the past that “Although I've had my own powerful healing experience, that does not give me the expertise or credentials to offer specific healing advice to anyone with a serious condition." A healthier and more balanced lifestyle in addition to a combination of therapies, surgery, physical therapy and pain management are some of the ways women can start to see relief from this painful condition.
Thank you for sharing your story, Tia. We're hoping that Cree has a little Sister, Sister on the way (corny pun intended)!
Michelle Schmitz is a writer and editor based in Washington, DC originally from Ft Lauderdale, FL. A self-described ambivert, you can find her figuring out ways to read more than her monthly limit of The New York Times, attending concerts, and being a badass, multi-tasking supermom. She also runs her own blog MichelleSasha.com. Keep up with her latest moves on IG: @michellesashawrites and Twitter: @michellesashas
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Another season of Love Is Blind has come to a close, and almost two months later we’re still unpacking the drama that is Clay and AD. The finale, reunion, and post-interviews with Clay and AD after season six of Love Is Blind left millions of people wondering - why couldn’t AD see the signs? Clay told her he had a fear of marriage, his parents experienced infidelity, and he seemed to have many doubts about saying, "I do."
After changing his mind at the altar and hearing AD question why she feels like she’s never enough, I was finished watching. I didn’t need to hear anything else because, at that moment, I realized this wasn’t about Clay; this was about AD feeling inadequate before she ever met Clay.
If I’m honest, I don’t watch much dating television. TikTok keeps me updated with the clips that I need to see in order to be kept in the loop, but it’s difficult for me to watch an entire season of dating TV because seeing Black women settle for less and questioning their beauty is a trigger for me. In many ways, there were points in my life where I was AD, settling and ignoring red flags because I wanted to be loved.
Now, on the other side, it doesn’t feel good to see Black women lower their standards on national television. There have been many hot takes on this couple and who was in the wrong. Did Clay play in AD’s face or did she not listen to the truth of what he told her from day one? Was his reason for joining the show to promote his business and not to find the one?
We’ll never know the truth, but what we can do is learn tactics to better our self-worth. Founder and CEO of The Self Love Organization Denise Francis shared her expertise with xoNecole on what tangible steps to take to improve feelings of worthiness. “Self-love blooms in a garden where self-worth is planted, nourished, and whole. However, when your self-worth is challenged, displaced, or broken, it could be difficult to rebuild," Denise explains.
How To Rebuild Self-Worth
During her self-love coaching sessions, Denise likes to walk her clients through the cornerstones of rebuilding self-worth: grace and self-compassion. To her, self-worth is never lost, it's only displaced, so practicing self-compassion and giving yourself grace is a must. "We tend to place our self-worth in entities and people of ourselves such as relationship status, physical appearance, material possessions, social media followings, what others think of us, and more. Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth.
"Self-worth is not something to be measured by anyone or anything outside of ourselves because we all innately hold value and worth."
"When we place our value into people or things, we tend to feel that we are not enough, worth it, special, or important when relationship status, job titles, friendships, and physical appearances are lost or changed. We then tend to feel lost within ourselves because we’ve placed our value outside of ourselves. Using grace and compassion, you can rebuild your self-worth by returning home to who you are at your core," she concludes.
How To Return Home To Yourself
Denise advises taking a step back and using self-reflection through journaling by answering the following journaling prompts:
First, ask yourself, "What do you tend to attach your self-worth to and why?"
Is it your relationships, your job title, your finances, your appearance, etc.? Why do you think you place so much emphasis on external status? How does it make you feel when you are defining yourself through these entities and/or people outside of yourself?
Then, ask yourself, "Without these things, who am I?"
Once you have your answers, show yourself kindness, remove the shame, and, as Denise says, "Redefine yourself by detaching your value from the things and people you have no control over and no longer serve you. Challenge yourself to define yourself outside of titles and societal values."
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person. You begin to find value in the way you love instead of your relationship status, your compassion instead of your popularity, your drive instead of your income/job title, and your heart instead of your physical appearance," she adds.
"By returning home to your core, you find value in who you are as a person."
"Be intentional with healing your self-worth by leaning into the people and things that nourish your core values. Surround yourself with the people who love and cherish you, they will always remind you just how valuable you truly are."
It all goes back to self-compassion and grace. As Denise explains, leading with those two things as you heal and rebuild your self-worth allows you to reduce negative self-talk that might come up for you. "This weakens thoughts like, 'I am not enough... why am I never enough?'" she shares, "And 'I don't deserve this while strengthening thoughts like 'I deserve better,' 'I am enough,' and 'I am worth it.'"
Denise continues, "Once you return home and remember the irreplaceable person you are, you can rebuild your self-worth by placing it back where it belongs. It belongs to you."
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