Yandy Smith-Harris invited the world into her modern family arrangement when she documented her becoming a foster mother to Infinity Gilyard in 2018. It appeared the home was exactly what Gilyard needed until things in their relationship began to take a turn. Now at 20, Gilyard is reflecting on the growing pains with Yandy.
Their estrangement was briefly shown on ‘Love & Hip Hop’
Fans of the reality show recall witnessing the once close mother-daughter pair began having issues over the then-teenager’s refusal to stop dating an older man that reportedly tried to sell false stories to the media about Smith-Harris. This situation would ultimately lead to Smith-Harris’ husband Mendeecees suggesting Gilyard get her own apartment that he and Yandy would financially assist with.
Fans, and at times Gilyard, felt Yandy allowed Mendeecees to put a strain on their relationship after he returned home from a multi-year stint in prison. Some even pointed out that Gilyard was absent from Yandy’s social media upon Mendeecees’ return home. Yandy denied such. Eventually, the two got to a better place.
The pair discussed the breakdown in their relationship in an interview on B. Simone’s podcast ‘Know For Sure’ and sums up their issues to Gilyard “being a teenager”
According to Yandy, she allowed for Gilyard to make the mistakes she needed to make in order to grow. However, she explained that she refused to enable certain behaviors, as reported by Atlanta Black Star. “Her being a teenager I’ll just say that,” Yandy said in regards to Gilyard’s attitude at the time. “Being a teenager, being rebellious. Feeling like she knew everything. Feeling like I make my own decisions. Me being a beginner amateur mom never having a teenager and not completely understanding what she had been through and what she was looking for. I was just like ‘This is my house; you’re going to follow my rules.’ “
The reality star says she told Gilyard that disrespect wouldn’t be tolerated.
“What you’re going to give me is respect and you are going to follow my rules,” she said. “I think that was difficult.” Gilyard agreed it was a difficult adjustment to such a “structured” environment.
As things grew tenser, Gilyard says Yandy gave her an ultimatum.
“It was just structured now for once and for me it was like ‘whoa.’ Like this is new and it’s not that I wasn’t coming in mom’s home not coming in on time it was just I would give her push back like ‘Mom can I stay out a little bit longer or mom can I just do this?’ It was just constantly we would have these conversations and it’s like no my rules are my rules. You will abide by them or get the hell out,” she said.
Yandy admits that dealing with the backlash from viewers was difficult.
But she says in the end, no one knows the true story. She said, “There were nights where I’m like ‘Nope you’re going to get in the bed and we just going to cry. We going to get underneath and just cry’ and it was like those screaming out crying. But I think these are things that people have no idea when you watch a TV show or you watch us on Instagram doing TikTok dances you have no idea of what really was going on.”
