In the midst of promoting their partnership with Let’s Bubble, Hollywood twins Tia and Tamera Mowry opened up about quitting reality TV after three seasons, competition amongst each other and lots more. Find out what brought them to that decision and how they’ve managed the outside pressures throughout their careers.
ESSENCE.com: A couple weeks ago, you announced plans to quit your reality show. What led you to that decision?
TIA MOWRY: What a lot of people don’t know is that it was almost 50/50. The Style Network turned into Esquire. That left my sister and I with the question, should we continue the show? It was talked about for a while. Could we pitch the show to other networks? That was when my sister and I decided to draw the line and say ‘We’re done!’ We did three amazing years. Having a camera in your home 12 months out of the year for eight hours or 12 hours a day is a lot of work. But we’re moving on to other things.
TAMERA MOWRY: I came to a point where I thought the universe was giving my sister and I the chance to say if we wanted to move on or not. I had time to really reflect. I thought; I had cameras when I was engaged, I had cameras when I was pregnant and then I had cameras around when I had my son. I just wanted personal private time with my family. I think that you should have balance in your life. That was something that I particularly needed. I wanted to protect that side of my life. I didn’t want [my son] on camera all the time.
ESSENCE.com: Were your husbands excited about the news?
TIA: I know my husband was thrilled! You have no idea! My husband would hide from the cameras on a regular basis. I would have to drag him. He’s just an actor. He’s all about being mysterious and not letting too many people know who he really is as a person. He was really just doing it for his wife and just making me happy. He did a tap dance. [laughs]
TAMERA: My husband would give me that face like, ‘God, do I really have to do this?’ When he found out it was over, he was very, very happy!
ESSENCE.com: The media likes to put you in competition with each other? Is any of that true in real life?
TIA: What’s unfortunate is the people outside of us put more competition on us than we do ourselves. You’ll see it in tweets, which I think is ridiculous. I’m also a realist. I think ever since we were little there’s been this healthy competition. If I see my sister doing something or vice versa it’s like ‘Oh ok, I can do that too.’ If I see her succeeding at it, it’s encouraging. One thing that I love about my mom is that she set up a really good foundation. When we would go out for the same parts, she would always say at least one of the Mowrys got it. If one of the Mowrys got it then we’re still winning.
TAMERA: I truly believe that. In Hollywood we actually help each other. When one of us is working, we keep the other one relevant because we look alike. If anything, I look at it from the mindset that we’re only helping each other. It was always people outside our family that compared and speculated jealousy or competition.
ESSENCE.com: Valentine’s Day is coming up! How has motherhood changed the holiday for you?
TIA: Now that I have a child, I look forward to these holidays and special occasions even more because I get to share it with someone I absolutely love. I have a family now. I look forward to [Valentine’s Day] because it’s a time where I can step away from being a working mom and my husband and I can focus on each other and celebrate our love and really have a great time.
TAMERA: My husband has been so awesome ever since we got married. Every Valentine’s Day whether we had a child or not, it’s been the same. He’s always been great. Honestly, he loves to be in charge of that day. He has like the whole day planned out. He’s kind of that guy every day. I look forward to it. I get to indulge.
ESSENCE.com: How did you get involved in the Let’s Bubble campaign and why?
TAMERA: Our mom has always instilled in us to never forget where we come from. But at the same time never forget to give back. It was such a no brainer to partner with such an amazing program. I know a lot people who want to help, but just don’t know how. All you have to do is nominate a location in your area that you feel needs to be cleaned up or needs a little love. You can send a photo or video to ScrubbingBubbles.com. From there people will pick four locations and it will get a really nice clean up on April 15th. It’s a very fun easy way to help your community.