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LaTavia struggled with depression after Destiny's Child exit

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LaTavia was part of the original line-up of Beyonce's R&B act, alongside childhood friends Kelly Rowland and LeToya Luckett, and was part of the group when the quartet shot to fame with its second album, 1999's The Writing's on the Wall, which featured hits like Bills, Bills, Bills and Say My Name.

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However, LaTavia and LaToya were infamously dumped from the group in 2000, after they tried to split from Beyonce's father Mathew Knowles, the manager of the band. They only discovered they had been ousted when the video for Say My Name was released, featuring new members Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin.

Franklin departed months later, leaving Beyonce, Kelly and Michelle to continue on as a trio, establishing the group as one of the most successful girl bands in pop history. They disbanded in 2006.

LaTavia has given her side of the story in the past, but now she has delved deep into drama for her upcoming memoir, I Am LaTavia.

In a candid interview with People magazine, she explains it's not easy to discuss the tough time in her life, but it's something she had to relive as she shared her life story.

"I never left Destiny's Child," she tells the publication. "That is something that people say. But who would leave Destiny's Child? That's crazy! I was dismissed from the group.

"It was very difficult because of the way that I found out about it. I hate even talking about it, and it's been 20 years - but it is what it is. We saw the Say My Name video on TV, and that's how I found out I was no longer in the group."

"It was very difficult," she continues. "I'm pretty sure that it was difficult for all of us - because we were young. My issue was always with the management; it was never with the girls."

LaTavia struggled to handle the rejection, which sent her on a downward spiral.

"It was almost like a bad divorce," she adds. "You're no longer with your friends, people that you love so much. So that was hard in itself, and then being by myself at that time, when other aspects starting taking a hold of me, it led me into a depression. And it wasn't pretty..."

She shares, "There are a lot of things that I've gone through - molestation, dealing with alcoholism and drugs."

The 35-year-old has since overcome her personal problems and the singer, who is now a mother to three-year-old daughter Lyric, insists she holds no hard feelings against her former bandmates, claiming their interactions since have been "nothing but love".

She says, "Everybody has their lives, but I know as far as me being an original member with the girls that I started with, I support all of their careers, and their music's been guiding me through a lot. It's been wonderful."

"I believe that nothing in life has happened in vain," LaTavia concludes. "I believe that things happen for a reason, and there's nothing but love on my end."

© Cover Media

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