Little Woman: Atlanta's Tiffany 'Monie' Cashette Reveals The Truth About Her Custody Battle - Exclusive
It's official: Tiffany "Monie" Cashette has returned to Little Women: Atlanta for Season 6, and she's brought a hefty amount of drama in her carry-on. As fans may remember, the reality star — who's been with the series since the beginning — quit during Season 5 to move back to Houston, Texas in order to be closer to her son, Derrick "D2" Becton Jr. This came after an ongoing legal battle where she fought to permanently move the teenager to Atlanta, Little Women's veritable HQ.
Per TMZ, Monie spent more than a year fighting for primary custody of her son before losing her legal case. For the three years prior, she had been jetting back and forth to film the show in Georgia and visit D2 in Texas — an exhausting lifestyle, but no one said being a reality star was easy. When the case was resolved in 2019, Monie was forced to choose between her family and her career. She chose the former.
These days, the reality star's home life seems to be a lot more settled than it was in past seasons. The Little Women: Atlanta star sat down with Nicki Swift to talk about her custody battle and her experience as a mom amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Monie Cashette's custody battle was hard 'on both ends'
Monie Cashette's custody battle ended up hinging on one major detail: there's essentially no such thing as sole custody in Texas. One exception? If one of the parents has died. Even if she did end up moving her son to Atlanta, Monie would still have to share her son with D2's father like she had been doing for the last few years. In other words: there would still be a ton of flights. This was something Monie didn't know when she initially filed for primary custody, and it ultimately became the main factor in her legal case.
"There's joint custody here in Texas. So, when we both were sat down and was like, 'She has much as right as you have,' I had to listen and was like, 'Okay. So, it's like, yeah, we both have to share,'" Monie told Nicki Swift. "But I think growing up and maturing on both our ends has helped with that. And now that D2 is older, he's able to make up his decisions as well. And of course, he like being home with his mom or whatever, but it worked out."
Monie also revealed that the custody battle was difficult "on both ends," but she's managed to move on. "Things are better now," she said, adding, "And now you get to watch me try to figure out what I want to do now that I'm back in Atlanta around my girls."
Did Monie Cashette quit 'Little Women: Atlanta' for her son?
Monie Cashette's reality TV career is one of her greatest passions, but it's also caused a lot of tension in her home life. As she told Nicki Swift, her old management ended up putting a "dent" on her relationship with D2's father, who felt like she was "just chasing [her] dream and not paying attention to [her] son." Things came to a head when she lost her bid for primary custody, but it helped her reevaluate her priorities.
"I tried to bring him, my son, to Atlanta and that wasn't working," she told Nicki Swift. "And also when I sat and thought about it, I was like, 'That was a selfish decision.' Actually, when I thought about it and weighed that, the pros and cons of it, I would be robbing him of being around his family. And that wouldn't have been fair because I'm trying to chase my dream or whatever."
Monie ended up exiting Little Women to focus on her family. She only returned after she managed to settle down in Houston. "Once I got that taken care of, then I was like, 'You know what? Now it's time to focus on me career wise,' and I'm able to do that now," she admitted.
Monie says being a mama amid the coronavirus pandemic has been a 'balancing' act
Monie Cashette decided to stay in Houston after filming Season 6 of Little Women: Atlanta. And like other parents in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the reality star has been juggling work and her son's education as schools close across the nation and students turn to Zoom. "Google is like my best friend because I have to help him with his assignments and a lot of stuff is like, 'Whoa.' It looks foreign to me, but it's great. I'm just glad that we're together, and it feels good to be home with him too, and be able to do both. Balancing," she told Nicki Swift, adding, "I'm also, like I was saying, the cafeteria lady as well. I have to prepare the meals."
Though Monie didn't mention any attempts at banana bread or sourdough, she did join the leagues of bored Americans who purchased an air fryer during lockdown. She told Nicki Swift that the appliance is her "best friend" because "it cuts down on time and [Monie and her son] can focus more on projects and work." D2's projects have actually inspired the mama to branch out in her own career, and she's mulling over the idea of returning to school. As of this writing, the reality star is taking acting classes.
"The way I'm assisting my son with his work and exercising my mind, [school] is definitely something that I'm thinking about," she told Nicki Swift, adding, "I'm just using this time while we're on hiatus and also down just to make sure the numbers go down with the pandemic. I'm also trying to take advantage of this moment as much as possible."
Monie's journey continues on Little Women: Atlanta on Fridays at 9pm ET/6 PT on Lifetime.