Just a few short years ago, Athena Angelou was homeless, living out of her car with a toddler. Thinking back on that rough time in her life instantly brings a tear to the eyes of the Flava radio star.
“I was a teen mum and ran away from home,” recalls the now 28-year-old. “I ended up homeless and then I was on the dole. Just before I started working for Flava, I was working in a smoke store as the manager selling blunt wraps, cigarettes and shishas.
“My parents were kind of disappointed because they had always wanted more for me.”
The tears start to fall when Athena recalls a specific moment of desperation, sleeping in her car in a park one night with her son Silas, who is now 11.
“I looked at my two-yearold and thought, ‘This isn’t my life, this isn’t my story.’ I screamed at God and said if he could give me the opportunity, open that one door, I wouldn’t let him down.”
Her period of homelessness came to an end, but before finding success on the airwaves, Athena went through countless ups and downs trying to find the right path.
Denne historien er fra September 23 2019-utgaven av Woman’s Day Magazine NZ.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 23 2019-utgaven av Woman’s Day Magazine NZ.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TREASURE & TRAUMA
The launch of the new season of Celebrity Treasure Island doubled as an eighth wedding anniversary celebration for contestant Millen Baird and his wife Siobhan Marshall, who came fourth on the show back in 2022.
JUDGE JAY-JAY
Radio diva Jay-Jay Feeney delivers her verdict on your biggest dilemmas
CASEY'S BABY JOY 'OUR GIRL IS ALREADY SO LOVED'
The Te Puke gym owner refused to let a devastating accident stop her from becoming a mother
DEAD FUNNY! SHOSHANA'S GOING SOLO
The Emmy Award-winning writer is starring in a macabre new comedy
TWO RAW SISTERS BABY MAKES THREE!
Rosa and Margo have a new cookbook and bundle of joy on the way
HOME AND AWAY'S NEW MÃORI STAR
The son of a Kiwi sporting Legend, Cantona Stewart is making waves in Summer Bay
TV STAR AIDEE 'THE NIGHT I ALMOST DIED'
The actress and director opens up about her terrifying ordeal
CARMEL SEPULONI I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A FIGHTER!
Our former deputy PM the lessons she's learnt in politics on CTI
KENNEDY & SOLLY'S ROMANTIC RACE TO THE ALTAR
The Black Ferns co-captain and her rugby star husband organised the ir nuptials in just five days!
THE BRAD & GEORGE SHOW is back!
Their lovable bromance is stealing the spotlight in Venice!