Tina Knowles Talks Life After Divorce, Low Self-Esteem and New Relationship

The usually private Tina Knowles came out of her shell recently to offer folks a glimpse into her world.
According to the Society Diaries, Knowles, who was the keynote for the Texas Women’s Empowerment Foundation’s 8th annual Women & Money Leadership luncheon last week, opened up about being the youngest of five children growing up in Galveston, TX.
Although she and her siblings attended Catholic school, Knowles’ parents had to barter services to cover the costs.
“I became a warrior at 5. I refused to let them take my spirit. I decided I would never let anyone decide who I was,” she said, while taking the audience on a journey covering her move to California as a make-up artist from Galveston as well as her marriage to Matthew Knowles.
According to Knowles, problems surfaced in he marriage soon after becoming pregnant with her famous daughter Beyoncé. Low self-esteem kicked in for Tina, who was out of work for four years. Nevertheless, she overcame her situation as she got back on her feet and opened her own hair salon. Regarding her divorce after more than 30 years of marriage to Matthew Knowles, Tina said the ordeal was something that need to be done, considering how old she was at the time.
“At 58, I knew I had to get a divorce, “ Tina Knowles told her audience. “At that age, it’s an almost impossible thing to go through. I had been married 33 years. I had been married for 33 years. I didn’t know anything else.”
In order to deal with the situation, Knowles admitted to losing herself while taking time to have her “selfish moment”. The time proved beneficial as she began focusing on herself and regaining her confidence.
“I started being important again. I started being important, not everybody else,” she said.

With getting back into the dating scene, Knowles admitted to having no idea on how to date since she was hitched for so long. According to her, it was a friend who played matchmaker and fixed her up on her first day, which didn’t result in anything.
Add to that Matthew remarrying and another challenge is born.
“I hear that hat my ex-husband is getting married,” Tina said. “Now, this is my family. My ex-husband is my family. I don’t want to get back into that at all, that’s not what I want. But it still hurts a little bit, right? It’s still a blow to your ego.”
Fortunately for Tina, Matthew’s remarriage opened the door to her finding love with Richard Lawson (pictured above with Tina), a longtime friend who provided support as she dealt with her ex-husband moving on.
Nowadays, Tina is a much better space as she revels in her relationship with Lawson.
“It’s been now a year and five months and I’m in a committed relationship with that handsome man!” she said. “And I’m in my happiest I’ve been in a long, long time.”
Watch Tina:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nDi4mbYQ9c?feature=player_embedded]