How close is too close? That’s the premise of TLC’s Mothered, a reality show that examines unique mother-daughter relationships. And by unique, we mean “too close for comfort.” Take, for instance, 55-year-old Mary and her 19-year-old daughter, Brittani. They shower together every morning, ever since Brittani was five. According to Mary, “The best way to start our day is in the shower.”
Mother and Grown Daughter Shower Together
Although most would be appalled at such a routine, the pair don’t think there is an issue with taking a shower together.
“I love her, and I don’t see anything wrong with it. I don’t believe I set out to have a relationship this close to Brittani, it’s something that was supposed to be,” said Mary. “There’s so many moms and daughters out there that aren’t close — and if they think it’s weird, it’s because they’re not close.
“I think that to have a daughter is a blessing for a mother. The closeness is a bond that a mother and daughter need to have, and, in this day and age, I don’t see a lot of it. So I don’t care what other people say.”
Meanwhile, Brittani agreed, saying, “When my mom does simple things like washing my hair or my body, it makes me feel comforted. Plus, I’m only 19, I haven’t moved away. If that was the case, she would probably die from separation anxiety.”
They began to shower together when Brittani was five and had panic attacks about the hot water. “That’s kind of how I started getting in the shower with her, just to comfort her because she would freak out,” said Mary. “That grew into an every-other-day thing. When she was smaller, it was every day.”
However, Mary’s boyfriend Frank isn’t happy with the super-close relationship. He has tried to speak to Brittani about moving out but she refused and Mary took her side. “It has caused some issues in my relationship, but he’s got to accept it. That’s how it is. He knows I love him, but I love my daughter more – she’s my life.” [1]
Read: Mother and child reunion: They had looked for each other for decades. A DNA test reconnected them.
Diagnosed With a Rare Disorder
Although Brittani works as a trainee police officer, it seems like she’ll continue to live with her mom. “My friends are like, ‘Why do you hang out with your mom so much? But it’s my mom, she’s my number one friend, I can tell her anything. Kids my age are into different things than [I am], boyfriends or girlfriends. I want to focus on me, and only me. My mom helps me and supports me through whatever I do.”
Brittani has a disorder that appeared when she was a child. Initially, she used to compete in youth beauty pageants, winning over 200 trophies and crowns. But things changed began when Brittani was five years old.
“One day I was in the bathroom getting her ready for her shower and noticed she started getting hair all over her body,” Mary explained. “Under her chin, under her arms, getting pubic hair, her breasts were developing. I was astonished.“
Brittani was later diagnosed with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a rare disorder that affects up to 1 in 15,000 people. Essentially, a missing gene causes puberty to begin at four or five years of age.
“I went through so much change in so little time. My bone size progressed when I was five and I had the body size of an 11-year-old,” Brittani said. “And it was pretty scary because I didn’t know what was happening. I felt like, ‘Why me?’ I just wished that I was born more normal.“
She explained that she would get bullied for standing out as “the bigger girl”. “My mom was my best friend — and my only friend — because she knew what I was going through.”
This challenging experience is why “we’re conjoined at the hip,” according to Mary. [2]
Read: Mom And Mother-In-Law Disagree Over Buying 12-Year-Old A Thong
Unusual Bonding Experiences
And “conjoined at the hip” is definitely an apt description of their relationship. Shower aside, during the show, the pair gets plastic surgery and colonics together.
“Colon hydrotherapy, or colonics, is water going into the colon, which flushes out the waste. It’s just a very holistic approach to detoxification [sic],” explains Erin, the owner of the spa. She admitted that “Mary and Brittani are the first mother-daughter that I have seen holding hands while they were getting colonics.” [3]
Plastic surgery is an even stranger bonding experience. After Brittani lost weight, she wanted a tummy tuck to remove saggy skin. So Mary offered to pay for the procedure as a present, on the condition that they do it together.
“Having plastic surgery together can build a whole world of ways of spending time together,” Mary said during the episode. At first, she intended to get a breast augmentation, but then she settled on a chest peel and eyelid lift, less invasive surgeries.
“And this way I could still be there to take care of Brittany to make sure that she had everything that she possibly needed,” Mary said. They underwent their procedures on the same day at the same office.
According to Brittani, they helped each other during the recovery process. “I’m glad that we tried surgery together because it made us closer. We were close to begin with, but we got even closer from that day on forward,” Brittani said.
For the next bonding trip, Brittani wants to convince her mother to get matching tattoos. [4] What do you think? Totally bizarre, or the ultimate example of mother-daughter love?
Keep Reading: ‘IT’S PRIMAL’: Mom sparks debate with bizarre breastfeeding photo
Sources:
- “Mom, 55, and daughter, 19, shower together every day.” VT. May 21, 2020
- “Brittani’s Disorder on ‘sMothered: “I Just Wished That I Was Born More Normal”.” Distractify. Michelle Stein. July 7, 2020
- “Mother-Daughter Duo Holds Hands During Colonic on TLC’s sMothered: ‘Have to Have Her by My Side‘.” People. Aurelia Crinthios. May 29, 2020
- “A mom-daughter duo who got plastic surgery together said it was a bonding experience.” Insider. Julia Naftulin. July 30, 2020