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Tia Mowry is finding a silver lining in her divorce from Cory Hardrict — especially when it comes to her children.
“A part of my decision was also for them,” the 44-year-old Sister, Sister alum explained in her June/July 2023 cover story for HelloBeautiful, referring to son Cree, 11, and daughter Cairo, 5. “For them seeing their mother walk in truth, I feel like it’s a great lesson for them because it was not an easy decision.”
Choosing to end her marriage to Hardrict, 43, was “one of the hardest decisions” Mowry ever made. “But if [my kids] see that mommy can do it, that mommy, no matter what people say, no matter, even if there’s some sort of doubt, whatever, mommy pushed through,” she added. “[They can say] my mommy is living and chasing her truth. I want my children to do that. That’s the best gift I can give them.”
The actress wanted to set an example for her little ones about living authentically. “I want for them not to live a life that I want them to live, for them not to live a life that everybody else wants them to live or what they think that they should be or live,” she explained. “I want them to see that it is OK to have a bad day. I want them to see that it is OK to chase your joy. I want them to see that it is OK to live your truth.”
Mowry and the All American: Homecoming actor tied the knot in 2008 after meeting on the set of Hollywood Horror eight years prior. The twosome announced their separation in October 2022.
“It was not easy. I usually tell people in my close circle, ‘This is not for the weak.’ It’s very hard,” Mowry exclusively told Us Weekly one month later. “I feel like when you continue to work on you and work on yourself and work on loving yourself and valuing yourself and having self-worth, the decision becomes easier.”
She added: “Once you are in tune with yourself, it makes it easier to make that decision. But it doesn’t mean that it’s not hard. It was very difficult because you have to think about so many things.”
The exes agreed to share joint physical custody of their two kids upon settling their divorce in April. Mowry and Hardrict later set legal guidelines for one another when it comes to introducing new partners to Cree and Cairo.
Per court documents obtained by Us on June 21, the former spouses agreed that “each party is restrained from introducing the minor children to a new romantic partner until that party has been in an exclusive relationship with the romantic partner for at least six months.”
The agreement also set boundaries for new partners spending the night while the kids are in either party’s care “during the first six months of the exclusive relationship,” noting that the decisions were in the “best interest” of Cree and Cairo.
