LeToya Luckett broke down in tears as she opened up about how bad things got for her after her Destiny’s Child exit.
During an Instagram Live session, Luckett revealed she hadn’t lived as a “normal teenager” during her time with the famous girl group and the transition was “uncomfortable” when she exited.
Luckett joined Beyonce Knowles, Kelly Rowland and LaTavia Roberson to form Destiny’s Child in 1993. Ahead of the debut of the “Say My Name” music video in 2000, Luckett and Roberson were replaced by Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin.
Luckett exited the girl group after a nasty spat with the band’s manager, Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles.
The ousted members filed a lawsuit against Knowles, but it was settled out of court.
Talking about it on Instagram Live, the singer discussed how she found it hard to make a living after leaving the band as she never attended college.
“Coming out of that, I wasn’t the most secure person because I was so used to having a team mentality and to think of going out on my own was terrifying,” the singer, 39, began. “The thought of singing made me angry. I didn’t believe I had a voice, I didn’t believe I could sing, I didn’t believe I could return to the music industry.”
“I’m not gonna lie to you, after DC I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was about 18 years old, I hadn’t lived as a normal teenager, I hadn’t gone to college,” she explained.
After a fan asked her how she coped with being let go from one of the most famous acts in music, Luckett became emotional describing her ordeal.
“During my journey I was staying at people’s house, I never told these stories before — I slept in a car in L.A. while I was making my first [solo] album,” she explained. “Not a lot of nights, but you know what I’m saying?”
Luckett also detailed how she lived in a hotel and survived by eating Oodles of Noodles.
She tearfully reminisced on cooking the noodles “on a coffee pot at the hotel.”
She said: “I was drinking a gallon of water and buying the microwavable Oodles of Noodles. And I was like cooking them on the coffee pot in the hotel.”
The entertainer began to weep as she added, “Yeah. It was a lot. I was uncomfortable for a minute.”
Finally, Luckett got out of the hotel after landing the lead role in the 2010 movie “Preacher’s Kid”.
She has since starred in a number of TV shows, and is now pregnant with her second child.
Luckett said landing her first acting gig on “Preacher’s Kid” helped get her back on her feet. But her relationship with God really turned her life around.
“Make a long story short, after surrendering and getting to know God on a whole ‘nother level, I learned to surrender, get out of my own way, stop living in fear and allow him to direct my path.”
Luckett went on to record three solo studio albums after leaving “Destiny’s Child.” In 2017, she married Tommicus Walker and the couple share two children together.
Watch her Instagram Live video below.
