Throughout her journey on TV, Cheyenne Floyd has never been afraid to share the good, bad and everything in between.
But on the Thursday, July 25, episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, the MTV star found herself grappling with the difficult reality that her 7-year-old daughter, Ryder — who she shares with ex Cory Wharton — was the victim of racism.
“I went to an indoor play place and I had my nephews and my mom came to help me,” Cheyenne, 31, exclusively shared with Us Weekly. “I was watching my mom and just saw her starting to freak out and run in a million different directions. I’m like, ‘What is happening?’ She explained that Ryder came to her and was really upset that a little boy called her the N-word and told her to get out of the way.”
According to Cheyenne, Ryder knows that is a word “that someone is not supposed to call her.”
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As a result, she immediately told her family and started asking questions about why this would happen.
“It’s hard to explain to a 7-year-old why someone would call you that and I think she was even more upset at how she saw the place handle it in that she kind of felt like there was nothing anyone could do,” Cheyenne — who is also mom of Ace, 3, with husband Zach Davis — said without naming the business where the playdate was held. “In that moment, she really wanted her own form of justice. As a mom, I was trying to figure out, ‘How do I give you that in a way that is satisfying to a 7-year-old where, unfortunately, this is kind of the world we live in.’”
While the establishment asked the other family to leave, Cheyenne said her daughter was “already ready to go” and didn’t want to play anymore.
Instead of trying to move on from the incident like nothing happened, Cheyenne gathered Zach, 33, Cory, 33, and his longtime partner, Taylor Selfridge, together for a call with B The Growth founder Brittany Hogan and Color of Change in hopes of gaining more tools and knowledge for future situations.
“Everyone has had to deal with it in their own ways and now we’re raising one child,” Cheyenne explained to Us. “How do we handle these conversations? I wanted to make sure that we’re all on the same page because I don’t want Ryder to hear one thing from me, a different thing from her dad, a different thing from Zach, a different thing from Taylor and it becomes overwhelming and confusing. I really wanted us to be on the same page of how we tackle these uncomfortable conversations.”
During the latest episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, Cheyenne and her family followed the advice from Color of Change and purchased books for Ryder including Jabari Asim’s Preaching to the Chickens: The Story of Young John Lewis. Ryder has also enjoyed the Netflix animated series, Karma’s World, which follows a Black girl who aspires to change the world.
Regardless of one’s background, Cheyenne believes every individual can make a difference and speak out for what is right.
“We’re all the same, but how do I advocate for this person that might not look like me and be in a situation where I need to step in and say, like, ‘Hey, no, that’s not right,’” Cheyenne said. “We’re truly all doing the best we can and just trying to figure it out day by day.”
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As Ryder prepares to enter second grade, Cheyenne is in awe of her work ethic and “unmatched personality.” In addition to modeling for Disney, the elementary school student has her own nail polish line and is preparing to release her own book.
“Ryder just brings the best energy and love and she’s made all of us better,” Cheyenne gushed to Us. “I look at her and I’m just like, ‘Wow, you’ve given me so much purpose.’ I am trying everything to keep her a kid. I want her to be innocent. … I think that as parents to these young babies, we just have to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to grow them into being non-racist kids and into being the best version of themselves.”
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Thursday nights on MTV at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
