'Selling Sunset' Season 7 star Amanza Smith details her 'traumatic' childhood, reveals she was molested at young age
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Selling Sunset' is back with another exciting season. In Season 7 Episode 5 of the show, Amanza Smith can be seen sharing the details of her traumatic childhood with her co-star Chelsea Lazkani.
Amanza says, "But yeah, so basically, I was raised by mom and my stepdad. I'm half-Black. So my mom was White, and I was the only Black one. My stepdad and my stepdad's father are pedophiles. I don't remember exact timelines, but from the time I was three, and I'm pretty sure the last time it happened was when I was around 11."
She adds, "I was molested by my step grandfather and my stepdad. Simultaneously in my house, my mom was very mentally abusive. And so there was no safe space. I wasn't gonna go tell my mom what was happening because if my stepdad went away. Sadly, and this sounds so f**ked up but in the house, he was sometimes a better parent. Because that only happened sometimes and my mom was mentally abusive every single day."
Smith mentions that she's so strong because “the people who were supposed to be protecting me didn’t,” and at the end of the day, she had to put a strong face in order to survive.
She conclues by saying, "That is the reason why I’m sharing. I want people to know if you struggle with anything along the way — if you’re depressed, if you’re anxious, if you’re even suicidal — don’t give up. Don’t give up. Don’t give up. I’m on the other side of it and I can be like, ‘Look. Don’t give up.'”
Who are 'Selling Sunset' star Amanza Smith's parents?
Amanza was raised by her mom and stepdad. Right now, their names and identities are not publicly known.
Smith revealed that despite being wronged by her mom, she still has some love for her in her heart.
No details about her stepdad and stepgrandfather are known.
During her childhood days, her mom and stepdad were her guardians. She also credits her best friend's parents, Shirley and PR for raising her.
Has 'Selling Sunset' star Amanza Smith reconnected with her biological dad?
Amanza's biological dad wasn't around when she was growing up. However, since then, she has reconected with him and tried to maintain a good bond.
As of this moment, the exact name of her father is not known but she calls him Papa Sly.
One reason due to which she wanted to reconnect with her biolgical dad is because she hadn't really been in touch with her Black ancestral heritage growing up.
Does Amanza Smith have any children?
Amanza is a doting mom to her two kids, daughter Noah, 13, and son Braker, 12, whom she shares with her ex-husband, former NFL player, Ralph Brown.
She and her former spouse divorced in 2012. Then, they were granted 50/50 custody of their kids but later on, Amanza got the sole custody of her children.
You can watch 'Selling Sunset' Season 7 on Netflix from November 3 onward.