The Game and his ex-fiance are working through domestic violence issues

by Afiya J. Watkins

Being in a public relationship and trying to maintain a stable family life with a well-known rap star is hard. You’d probably expect your man to be away from home a lot, causing an imbalance of parental duties, and you’d also have to anticipate the groupies looming in the background threatening to dismantle what you’ve built. But even with all the inherent challenges, you probably wouldn’t expect to be a victim of domestic violence or to eventually break up your children’s home. A few months ago, terrible allegations involving rapper, The Game and Tiffney Cambridge hit the web. Since then, there have been several other negative reports hinting at the demise of the couple’s tumultuous relationship. Madamenoire was recently able to catch up with Tiffney, who revealed her relationship status and gave insight into her challenges as a newly-single mom co-parenting with the rapper-turned-reality-star and what’s next for her.

MN: At the conclusion of season three of “Marrying The Game,” you and The Game expressed that you were accepting of the fact that things were over between you two. Does that still stand or are you all trying to work it out?

Right now, we are working on our friendship and co-parenting and raising our kids. Things are good between us right now.

MN: Since it appears that there won’t be a wedding in the near future, does this mean that there won’t be a season four of “Marrying The Game?”

We don’t know yet if there will be a fourth season. Things kind of just wrapped up with season three, so we haven’t really started speaking about season four yet.

MN: In the season finale, you were kind of on a date with someone. Are you currently seeing anyone new or interested in getting to know anyone in that way?

Right now I’m just keeping my options open.

MN: A few months ago, there was talk of a domestic violence incident. The Game took to Instagram and denied that any abuse ever occurred between you two. What do you say to that?

Well, I think that in every relationship, there are things that go on that should stay between the two people in the relationship. I prefer to just keep some things private and personal between Jayceon and I.

MN: What was your reaction when The Game blamed your friend Tami Roman for destroying your family?

I really didn’t have a reaction to that because that wasn’t true. When you’re with someone for an extended period of time, you know how they react to situations. Jayceon is a person where he gets upset and kind of lashes out and rants. He goes on those tirades and stuff like that. He may say things that are not factual or true because he’s upset in that particular moment. And that’s just his personality. When he does things like that, it doesn’t really affect me either way because I know how he is. He’ll probably calm down, come off of it and we move on.

MN: Do you think that it’s possible for a relationship to be ruined by an outside factor? For example, like Jayceon claimed that Tami did with you two.

I think that a relationship can be discombobulated by both. It can be internal or external. I think that if you let external forces come into your relationship and kind of upset things, then yes, it can cause problems. I also think that it can be turned outright internally—you can have problems. So I think that relationships can be upset by both situations or a combination of both.

MN: Do you have any advice for moms and dads who may have to explain complex or grown-up situations to children?

Yes and that’s why I decided to write my children’s book, “The Little Girl Who Lost Her Smile.” I feel like as a mom and as a school teacher of really young children, that there are real world experience that children have to adapt to—like divorce, separation and things like that. Sometimes it’s hard for them to wrap their little minds around it and understand. So the point of me writing “The Little Girl Who Lost Her Smile” is to explain to children— who come from two-parent homes and unfortunately that relationship breaks down, and they’re no longer able to experience having that family together—that there is hope. There is a possibility to move forward, to have the two parents get along and have the relationship between the mom and dad be a positive one. The kids are able to see that even though mom and dad aren’t together and living in the same household, there is love between the two parents.

I found that with Cali and Justice, they felt torn between the two of us. But if they see the parents work together to develop a friendship and see that the relationships are positive, the children are able to see that even though the parents have decided to end their relationship, everything is okay and that they’re still loved and cared about.

MN: Would you say that Cali and Justice are now in a better place and doing better with adjusting to the split?

I think that for Jayceon and I and Cali and Justice, they were kind of lucky because I did a very good job of shielding them from everything. I was really able to sit down and explain to them what was going on. And then, by the fact that they are loved in two different homes. They have their father’s house where they’re loved and cared about and doted on. Then, they have me in their home where they were born and raised. So for them, it’s kind of like a fun adventure situation. They go to their dad’s house; they have fun there. They have a lot of activities that they participate in.  And when they’re here with me, they feel the same way. The love and the nurturing that they’ve received all of their lives, they’re still getting in both places. For them, everything has worked out really well.

It is admirable that Tiffney is using her familial experiences with her children to help others whose parents have separated or divorced. Since there is currently an epidemic of single-parent homes, there are many children who could benefit from a book that speaks to them and brings comfort and understanding to their circumstances. In the United Sates alone, it has been reported that one in four children is being raised by a single parent. In the African American community, the numbers are even more staggering.

It seems clear that Tiffney and The Game both love their children immensely and it is usually best that parents separate if there is violence in the home, but just how “lucky” and well-adjusted their children will be in the long term probably remains to be seen. We certainly wish them all the best.