Tia Mowry Says Ex-Husband Cory Hardrict Was Her ‘First Everything’

Tia Mowry is opening up about how tough it is dealing with divorce–especially when you didn’t date anyone else prior to tying the knot.

Source: Variety / Getty

During Friday’s premiere episode of her new reality series, Tia Mowry: My Next Act, the actress talked all about how getting married before ever having the chance to date has made divorce that much more difficult.

“I wasn’t even allowed to date until I was 18 years old,” the Sister, Sister alum admitted during the episode. “I met Cory when I turned 20 and I lost my virginity at 25. There, I said it! And then we got married! Boom!”

Later in the episode, Mowry also talked about her ex-husband being her “first everything” with her friend, Essence Atkins.

“You know I’ve never dated,” she revealed. “Cory was my first … everything!”

“That’s right you haven’t,” Atkins replied. “Right, I know!”

Tia also talked to Atkins, whose been through a divorce herself, how she got back into dating, which she said requires you to stop caring so much what people think.

“Thank you for that,” Mowry responded. “I lived my life for others, and I found validation with myself.”

The actress also went on to say that she got tired of people “thinking that everything was perfect” when she would go out to events with her then-husband, when in reality, she would go home at night and feel alone.

Despite the dating advice she got on the show, Tia isn’t necessarily looking to dip her feet into that world any time soon.

“Right now, it’s not something that I’m focusing on,” she revealed to E! News. “I’m just really focusing on myself, dating myself. I’m in this era of just self-discovery and learning more about love, learning what love is.”

Still, Mowry noted that her perspective on this subject could change very quickly.

“My outlook could change next month or five months from now,” she said. “But dating, I guess what I can say, if I’m being truly authentic, it’s not on my mind right now.”

As the star opens up about how her religious upbringing affected her life, fans across social media are expressing how sorry they feel for women–including Tia–who don’t get the chance to explore before jumping into marriage.

Check out some reactions down below: