Pregnant at 14, baby at 15. Such was the harsh reality for reality star Antonia “Toya” Carter nearly ten years ago. Fast-forward to 2009, Antonia Carter is one of the stars of a successful reality show.
In an exclusive interview with BET, Antonia explains why she is more than just Lil Wayne’s ex-wife and why her main focus is her daughter Reginae,10.
On raising a daughter at 15 :
“My family would tell me things like “you made your bed hard, now you have to sleep in it.” I did. I was pregnant at 14 and all the other girls were going to their high school dances and I was inside with my daughter. It made me grow up real fast. I’m enjoying my life now though. My daughter and I are growing up together, so I’m able to do things with her that I never got the chance to do.”
On having to move on from her daughter’s father, rapper Lil Wayne:
“It was so crazy because it’s not like [moving on from] your average Joe. He was always on the radio, on every song, every time you turn on the television you see this person, every magazine you pick up, he’s in it, every song, he’s on it. It was hard, but I did it with prayer.” “You know, I’m not going to sit up here and say that it was easy getting over Wayne, getting over heartbreak. I’m over it all the way now because it’s been a few years, but I went through it then. There was a lot I dealt with, but I had to keep strong because I was raising my daughter. I can’t let a man bring me down. I had to remain strong and pray about the situation, ask God to help get over this heartbreak and deal with it and move forward. And I looked at it like this – everything happens for a reason. I just kept praying and things just worked out and I love the way it is right now. We have a great friendship, we both moved on with our lives, and our main focus is on raising our daughter.”
On Lil Wayne’s relationship with Reginae:
“We both have a good relationship with her. We’re both able to be parents to her and that’s all I ever wanted, for real. If things didn’t work out, I didn’t want him to just completely walk away and not have a relationship with me. You know, because my mom and dad didn’t have a relationship and that kind of messed us up.”
On her relationship with Lil Wayne:
“We’re cool. That’s my daughter’s father. I’m going to always have feelings for him, but I’ve moved on.”
On wanting more kids:
“…I want to get married again and hopefully have one more kid.”
