LeToya Luckett Is Married & The Story of How They Met Is A Fairytale
When it comes to experiencing a fairytale love, you never know how you'll meet your Prince Charming.
And when LeToya met her now-husband, Dallas-based entrepreneur Tommicus Walker, she probably didn't even know that this was the man that she had been praying for all along.
The couple married this past Sunday (December 10) in a mansion in Austin, Texas. And though the wedding was beautifully lavish, it is the story of how the two met that will truly captivate your heart.
After a short-lived marriage to Rob Hill Sr., LeToya prayed for a good man to enter her life and often sought out advice from close friend and star of OWN series The Book Of John Gray, Pastor John Gray. He assured her that she would find a husband before 2018. According to an exclusive with ESSENCE, LeToya revealed back in August after the two got engaged that Pastor John Gray prophesized LeToya's prayers being answered before her and Tommicus ever crossed paths.
LeToya and Tommicus probably have the most modern day fairytale "how we met" story ever. After running into designer Nikki Chu at a wedding shortly after her divorce, LeToya was blindly set up with Tommicus, the brother of Nikki Chu's then-boyfriend. Nikki felt in her heart that the two would hit it off and LeToya trusted her friend enough to go through with it.
LeToya stated in the ESSENCE exclusive:
"I thought, oh, he sounds amazing – a man of God, a good father – and I trusted her because she'd really gotten to know him over a few years."
Her only wish before agreeing was that he would not be able to know her full identity--at least in the very beginning.
Though most people would have been skeptical to do such a thing, LeToya had enough faith to know that God wouldn't steer her wrong. The day after Nikki gave Tommicus her number, he called and they immediately hit it off. After weeks of talking and remaining a complete mystery, the two began praying together and reading bibles scriptures together over the phone.
"Immediately, the chemistry was there. We started talking and laughing. He's from Texas just like me. Talking to him felt like being home again. We talked for a few weeks and he still didn't know what I looked like or my full name or anything like that."
Finally, Tommicus flew out with his daughter to Los Angeles to meet his mystery woman--though he still didn't realize who she was until a Facetime call from her best friend Eudoxie Bridges (the wife of rapper Ludacris) put her in the hot seat to finally reveal her true identity.
Their first date was a normal dinner date but it was their second date that, according to ESSENCE, let LeToya know just how madly in love she was with her new beau. LeToya invited along a friend and the couple took Walker's daughter to Disneyland for the day. LeToya taking a leap of faith and letting her dear friend set her up blindly changed her life as she knew it. And now she's secured the bag with a life partner and a ring!
She knew he was the one because she received exactly what she wanted out of a relationship:
"I love that he isn't in the entertainment business, but yet he still understands me and he's so supportive...He gets me, but he sees Toya. And that's what I've always wanted. I'd say, 'God, whoever you have for me, I want them to see me. I want them to see my heart. I want them to see me crystal clear in their eyes the way you see me in yours.' And, he sees me. And there's no better feeling."
God listened and LeToya got what she prayed for and then some.
If there's anything that we can learn from this fairytale love story is that when you are patient and believe in the love that you rightfully deserve, God will answer your prayers---He is always listening.
Congratulations to the newlyweds and may God bless your union.
Read all the details behind their winter wedding on ESSENCE.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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The Champion's Path: How Cari Champion Is Redefining Roles For Black Women In Media
Cari Champion has had many dream jobs. All of them have helped inform what she does and does not want for herself moving forward. “I get more and more curious. My dreams evolve. My desires change,” she said. “And I feel sorry for people who can’t experience that because it’s a beautiful feeling, it’s a beautiful challenge, and it makes you everything that you are.”
When we speak in late April, the journalist and media personality is preparing for a visit to Atlanta for The Black Effect Podcast Festival. The trip would allow her to spend time in a city that she said taught her a lot about herself and working in the media industry.
Champion was still early in her career when she worked for Atlanta’s CBS affiliate news station, where she was fired, reinstated, and subsequently quit after being accused of accidentally cursing on air in 2008. (“I didn’t. They knew I didn’t. I said ‘mothersucka,’” she said of the hot mic incident.) Still, the Los Angeles native insists she only has the fondest memories of her time in the southern city.
“I grew up in West LA, then moved to Pasadena, and those kinds of familial, tight-knit Black groups just didn’t exist. LA is spread out in a lot of ways,” she said. “To me, Atlanta ultimately built this woman that I am today and [is] why I speak so comfortably for us and for Black people. I had to have that entire experience.”
"To me, Atlanta ultimately built this woman that I am today and [is] why I speak so comfortably for us and for Black people."
It’s been 16 years since Champion moved from Atlanta and her career, as well as her desire to center Black voices in her work, has soared. After working as an anchor and court-side reporter for The Tennis Channel, she spent nearly a decade working as a host and anchor on ESPN for shows such as First Take and SportsCenter.
By the time she began hosting Cari & Jemele: Stick to Sports, on Vice TV with Jemele Hill in 2020, Champion had increasingly become determined to shun the notion that only sports reporters and athletes could credibly discuss sports. The Vice show featured guests such as LeBron James and Magic Johnson, but also Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and Sen. Cory Booker.
At a time when America was reckoning with its racial history, Champion solidified herself as a trailblazer for Black women in sports media, as well as a crucial voice for cultural commentary. Today, she regularly appears on CNN discussing sports, culture, and politics.
Champion is now hosting the fourth season of the podcast Naked with Cari Champion on The Black Effect Podcast Festival, which is a partnership between iHeartMedia and Charlamagne Tha God, a media personality and a friend. “We kind of grew up together in this game. And when we first started figuring out or getting attention on a different type of level than we were used to, we learned a lot together,” she said of Charlamagne. “He put this network together for people who are beginning [and] people who are old-heads in the business. He wanted to make sure that all of us had a voice.”
It’s been an adjustment for a traditional TV reporter to transition into podcasting, but Champion said she’s found the medium to be a “much more freeing world.” When she’s speaking to guests such as talk show host Tamron Hall, singer Muni Long, or retired athlete Sanya Richards-Ross, she can “get lost in a conversation” and embrace a more casual environment than the structure of a cable TV show would allow.
Behind the scenes, Champion’s still doing her part to make sure there continues to be a pipeline of Black and brown women in journalism and beyond, too.
In 2018, she launched the nonprofit Brown Girls Dream and enlisted her celebrity friends to help mentor young women in a way that she felt she was never able to receive in the early years of her own career. “When I was at ESPN, I used to get all these emails from different Black and brown girls in the business. They wanted to talk to me about how they could [have the opportunity to] do the same thing [as me],” Champion said. “It fills my heart to see somebody actually get an opportunity to talk to somebody who can guide them through their career.”
Current Brown Girls Dream mentors include journalists Jemele Hill and Nichelle Turner, marketing executive Bozoma Saint John, and more. “These women are just the dopest ever and they take time out to give back to brown girls,” Champion said. “It’s special.”
When she reflects on representation in sports media roles, the Naked host said she’s inspired by the women of color she sees on television today. “I think women of color are doing great. It’s become more and more common to be on air and be Black girl magic,” she said.
“I think that the next level for us, in terms of Black and brown women in this business succeeding, is having true power over what our words are and what the content is,” she added. “Because, when push comes to shove and we want to really tell a story, we sometimes have to acquiesce, and we can't tell the story the way we want to. The next level is that we actually do have editorial control.”
"I think that the next level for us, in terms of Black and brown women in this business succeeding, is having true power over what our words are and what the content is."
Ultimately, Champion is still dreaming and looking to make an impact. She said she wants to eventually launch her own Black news network. “I would love to have a huge platform that focused on the stories that I think Black and brown women care about,” Champion said. “There are so many stories that are being missed.”
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Featured image Emma McIntyre / Staff/Getty Images