Cheryl Jones
👤 PersonAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
We are not a family that is all up in each other's business. We never have been. We are very close without having the need to talk or even see each other on a regular basis. It's like I live my life. She lives her life. My brother lives his life.
We are not a family that is all up in each other's business. We never have been. We are very close without having the need to talk or even see each other on a regular basis. It's like I live my life. She lives her life. My brother lives his life.
My sister kept a part of her life private from the family. Talena, I believe, comes from that secret part of her life. The secret part that we all knew was a secret part. We just didn't know the details of the secret.
My sister kept a part of her life private from the family. Talena, I believe, comes from that secret part of her life. The secret part that we all knew was a secret part. We just didn't know the details of the secret.
Yes, we kind of got it that it was something along that line, yes.
Yes, we kind of got it that it was something along that line, yes.
We figured it out through clues. Amongst us, we didn't talk to her about it. And when I say us, I mean me, my mom, and my three daughters. We had figured out that that was the secret life.
We figured it out through clues. Amongst us, we didn't talk to her about it. And when I say us, I mean me, my mom, and my three daughters. We had figured out that that was the secret life.
When I first heard her saying Talena, I'm like, Talena. And I finally got up enough nerve to just flat out ask her, you know, where does Talena come from? How did you come about choosing that? And she was very evasive about it.
When I first heard her saying Talena, I'm like, Talena. And I finally got up enough nerve to just flat out ask her, you know, where does Talena come from? How did you come about choosing that? And she was very evasive about it.
To me, it spoke of the acknowledgement that she had two different identities. She still identified with Jana because Jana was her identity to family. And then the Talena. I think that was probably the first time I kind of really saw the duality and her embrace of the duality.
To me, it spoke of the acknowledgement that she had two different identities. She still identified with Jana because Jana was her identity to family. And then the Talena. I think that was probably the first time I kind of really saw the duality and her embrace of the duality.
We thought we were respecting her privacy. She said she wanted this to be a private part of her life, and we accepted that because that's the kind of family we are. But I have to wonder, did she ultimately maybe feel a little alienated because of that, too? I think that's why she kept it from us. She thought that maybe we wouldn't love her or accept her, maybe.
We thought we were respecting her privacy. She said she wanted this to be a private part of her life, and we accepted that because that's the kind of family we are. But I have to wonder, did she ultimately maybe feel a little alienated because of that, too? I think that's why she kept it from us. She thought that maybe we wouldn't love her or accept her, maybe.
And the thing was, it wouldn't have changed it at all.
And the thing was, it wouldn't have changed it at all.
My birthday is November the 4th, and her birthday is November the 3rd. She was born one day before I was one year old. So we were raised a lot like, almost like twins.
My birthday is November the 4th, and her birthday is November the 3rd. She was born one day before I was one year old. So we were raised a lot like, almost like twins.
We grew up in Bloomington, Indiana. And then when I was 12, where she would have been 11, my dad was transferred to a place called Washington, Indiana. My parents joined a Pentecostal church and that's the way we were raised. It was strict. You know, we didn't have TV in our home growing up. You went to church and you went to Sunday school and those kinds of things.
We grew up in Bloomington, Indiana. And then when I was 12, where she would have been 11, my dad was transferred to a place called Washington, Indiana. My parents joined a Pentecostal church and that's the way we were raised. It was strict. You know, we didn't have TV in our home growing up. You went to church and you went to Sunday school and those kinds of things.