Toni Braxton in First Interview Since Sister Traci’s Death

Toni Braxton appeared via video on the Tamron Hall Show in her first interview since the passing of her sister Traci.

To the sound of loud but heartfelt applause from the audience, Hall welcomed Toni to the show, and the eldest Braxton sibling waved to everyone and then took a deep breath before saying to the host, “Hey, Sis, how you doing?” To which Hall responded, “I’m good, sis, and we’re here for you.” Hall added, “We’re here for you. I know you hear the audience. It’s only been two weeks. Thank you for joining us. How are you holding up, Toni?”

“I thought I was doing okay until you started talking and it kind of took me there, but I miss my sister so much every day, but I’m glad to be here to hang out with you and the wonderful fans and everyone in the audience. Thank you guys for having me.”

Toni, you shared such a beautiful tribute on social media about Traci when she passed away. You showed the snow was falling. You said, “Our angel is now a snowflake.”

“I’m a rain girl. I love when it rains. My sister Traci, she loved when it snowed. She died that morning when it was actually pouring down snow in Virginia. My sister is now a snowflake. Her favorite bird was a hummingbird, and I saw a hummingbird the other day, and it just kind of flew around me and kind of suspended itself, and I was like, ‘Traci?’ And it started bumping and going up and down. It made me feel so much better because I felt like she was trying to say hello to me.”

You know that is a part of the grieving process you have those memories that you’ll look for the signs to show that (that) loved one is still there, says Hall.

People are so surprised whether you are a celebrity or not—age 50. I Traci was a mom and a grandmom, and she chose to battle the cancer privately. Kevin Jr., her son, wrote that “she fought until the end.” You say that she is a bright light and I watched the show. What was that year like for her, Toni, and for the family.”

“It was a tough year. She was optimistic. She was hopeful that she was going to get better. Actually, she had a lot more time than they (the doctors) initially said. She had another six months that she was with, and we got to savor that moment with her and talk and laugh and giggle all my sisters and I and our parents and brother, we all rallied together. We were in the D.C. area, and we were just there all the time. All the time with her. So we got to see her take her last breath, and that part was kind of hard.”

Braxton, on a lighter note, shared with Hall that she was excited about her upcoming project “Fallen Angels,” where her late sister had a hand in helping to shape her character.

“My sister Traci, I would talk with every day filming in Canada, and I would ask her about my character Holly and read my lines with her and ask her, “what do you think Holly should be? I think she should be less sexy.” Braxton laughed at the thought that Traci encouraged her character to be “sexy.”

Braxton adds, “when I think of this project, I think of her with a smile on my face. We are going to dedicate this film Lifetime and I to my sister Traci, so she will always be with us no matter what.”

“We’re so close. We’re more than sisters, we kind of like twins, Braxton says of her sisterly bond with all of her sisters growing up. Watch more of Toni Braxton’s interview with Tamron hall here.