Ben Gibson, Statesville Record & Landmark
When Whitney Gilbert and Shade “Dee Dee” Griffiths started dating over a year ago, no one expected them and their families to find themselves on reality TV.
A family dance posted on social media showed a mixed family of nine. After receiving over 298,000 likes and thousands of comments, they found themselves in negotiations with a production company that wanted to bring their lives to TV.
“So we had our pride shirts on, and there were kids in line behind them, and it went viral,” says Gilbert.
And they will tell the world their story, including its ups and downs, by premiering the special Our 2 Moms on TLC on Tuesday night (October 25th) at 10pm.
Here’s a preview of TLC’s ‘Our 2 Moms’. Newly engaged Whitney and Dee Dee are raising seven children and planning their dream wedding. Between ex-husbands, stubborn family members, and small-town attitudes toward same-sex interracial couples, getting down the aisle can be harder than expected.
People are also reading…
Shadese Griffith (left) and Whitney Gilbert (right) pose for a photo. The special “Our 2 Moms” was filmed in the Statesville.
Gilbert said that after she and Griffith began dating, she was removed from her local church’s Praise and Worship team, and that her extended biracial family is sometimes glimpsed in public. Having been previously married to a man for 10 years and eventually getting engaged to Griffith, many were surprised when the two became a couple.
“A lot of people were saying, ‘Oops, Whitney just changed from being a devout, devout Christian girl to a woman,’ so I felt like no one understood me,” Gilbert said. .
There is drama in couple and family life, but she said she wanted to show her family the good and bad sides of life in Statesville.
“One of the things the show really wants to show is that it knows it’s really hard to love someone you love and be in a very conservative town. We want to show that living the lifestyle we live in is not easy, but we also hope that this brings awareness and helps people understand that we are all just like them. otherwise,” said Gilbert.
Commemorative photo with the production team of “Two Mothers”
Iredell-Statesville Schools teacher Gilbert and mental health therapist Griffith hope the show will help people understand themselves and other LBGTQ people. She said there are steps in the right direction, one of which is how the Stateville began over the past two years to host Pride events.
“I feel like I’ve finally gotten there and gotten somewhere. Even in a year, it’s changed tremendously,” Gilbert said.
A special premiere will take place Tuesday night on TLC, and you can watch it the next day on the Discovery+ app.
You can find them on Instagram at whitney_ourtwomoms and shadese_ourtwomoms on social media and on Tiktok at @whitneyrebecca2020 and @shadede5.
Shades Griffiths and Whitney Gilbert walking with their family through Statesville. The special “Our 2 Moms” was filmed in the Statesville.
Follow Ben Gibson on Facebook and Twitter (@BenGibsonSRL).
bgibson@statesville.com
