*Right before Easter, social media was flooded with reports about rapper DMX being hospitalized and in grave condition after an overdose.
It was a sobering moment for inspirational speaker and life coach, Iyanla Vanzant, as she’s experienced the devastation of addiction in her own family.
“My brother died of a drug overdose, 15 minutes before he turned 50, he was 49 years old,” she recalled. “I said, he chose not to resurrect. His birthday was on Easter Sunday, when did DMX go into the hospital, Saturday?”
Making the story all the more close. But her connection to the rapper, known for his incessant drug use over the years, goes even deeper. Years ago, DMX was a guest on her show “Iyanla Fix My Life” on OWN. It was there the two had quite a contentious meeting, as Iyanla was trying to bridge the gap between he and his son, an estranged relationship for years. DMX, was not a fan of the intervention.
“We were together for 3 days,” she said. “There was a scene where he talked about his grandmother. He was so soft and he remembered the things she said to him and I said to him ‘why wasn’t her love enough to sustain you?’ Those are the things I remember and hoping he’ll get the opportunity to step into that softness again.”
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Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do so. DMX was officially pronounced dead on April 9, 2021.
This all coming at the start of Iyanla’s very last season of “Fix My Life” on OWN, a time in her life she’s ready to see come to a close.
“[the] Spirit said to me, it’s time to go,” she said.
Much like she encourages her families and clients on her show to set healthy, practical boundaries for themselves, she finds herself needing to do the same.
“I was feeling it in my body. There’s a place where Iyanla the teacher, the minister, the mother/grandmother [are] and Iyanla the Television Personality [is], there has to be a certain tension between them, because I could never let them collapse, if I do, I’ll lose my purpose.”
So for the sake of holding onto herself and what keeps her grounded in life, she’s ready to embrace a new chapter in her life-post show.
“The longer I stay, the bigger this [the TV personality} will become and the smaller this will become [the reality of who she is as a person]. I’m not willing to have that experience.” Iyanla said.
As season 8 rolls out for audiences to watch, learn and grow from, she’ll be tweeting along the way, connecting with them for her last hooray. But much like she started down her path after leaving an abusive relationship and finding her own way to healing, she believes the key to her next phase in life, is doing what she’s always done.
“For me, the biggest thing was learning to do [just] me,” she said. “Those roots gave me the strength I needed to grow into who I am.”
Season 8 of “Iyanla Fix My Life” airs Saturday April 10 on OWN.
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