Genene "Gigi" Nicole:

Genene “Gigi” Nicole, founder 501(C)3 nonprofit, Priceless Diamonds, Inc. Her organization's mission is to advocate for children and help them find their voice so they can thrive instead of growing up broken and creating generational curses. Gigi realizes a generation or two from now, children who grow up in this world are defined by how well they are cared for: giving them what matters most--whether that's love or whether that is advocating for their education. It is something Gigi never had.

Gigi is open bout her story of childhood trauma of sexual, mental, and physical abuse; as well as how she found peace through ministry after giving up everything. A person can find themselves at the lowest point possible when they're faced with insurmountable obstacles on every side; but instead, Gigi found something greater: Resiliency.

The first company you owned as an adult was a successful and lucrative adult entertainment company. What made you start your company when you became an adult? Was it because of your upbringing?

Adult entertainment had nothing to do with my family. When we came back from my father's, I was almost 12 years old. Our home was raided a few weeks after being home due to my brother. The raid was for four different counties for stolen merchandise and semi-trucks like John Deere stuff like that. They were stating it was stolen. The raid was for my brother. There were other raids in the process of my family that had to with drugs and different warrants and stuff like that.

When I went on my own almost at 13 years old and went to Wichita, Kansas, I was introduced to escorting and stripping. So, that's something I got into, and they had nothing to do with that.

The hustling, the drugs, and stolen stuff, that was their life. Mine was the adult entertainment. And even though the warrants for me were connected to drugs, I really didn't sell many drugs. I did when I was 12, but it just wasn't the lifestyle I wanted, but I did have a lot of drugs around me. And some of the people that I dated and was connected to caused there to be drugs on my warrant. They had a prostitution warrant and a drug warrant, and I was prostitution more than a drug warrant, but it was my adult entertainment company that they were after. And it was the drugs of the people I was affiliated with.

Do you still have a relationship with your parents currently?

My father has passed away. He died a few years ago, and we hadn't spoken after me and my sister ran away. When I was almost 12, he called me…well, actually his wife called me after they found out I had a son. My father was Sicilian, and he was very big on racism. He found out that I had a multicultured son, and his wife called me about my entertainment company and my son. It was just a lot of BS so I didn't speak to him, only to his wife. And my mom, we do talk off and on. We did go for a 14-year gap and did not speak but we're doing better now. We're speaking and won good terms.

Did you ever get to a place where you felt like you had to forgive your parents to be at peace?

I did. I felt like if I did not forgive, especially my father, I would be walking around with a lot of hate and a lot of misery, and just a negative spirit. And I was broken and, you know, hurt people, hurt people. So, even when I was in a relationship, I was so damaged. I was damaged and arrogant at the same token because I didn't want anyone to take advantage of me again.

I didn't want to be vulnerable, so sometimes I came across as a very ugly or rude person. I was very lovable but I had the traits that I knew if I didn't forgive my father and my upbringing it would destroy any future. I had to authentically be myself. And my mom, I had forgiven her a long time ago.

She had four kids. I don't think she knew what to do because my father was abusive to her. And when I say abusive, I mean dragging her by her hair, hanging her out of a vehicle, stomping a baby out of her…just some horrible things. And she ran from him with four kids as a single mom. So, even though there was abuse in the house and a lot of hustling, I don't hold her accountable for anything. My father, on the other hand, the molestation, the beatings…it was difficult but I had to forgive him.

How did that set the tone for your relationships in the beginning? Better yet, how much did that impact your relationships, and does that still impact your relationships now?

It did before and it does a little bit now. I still have to be really flexible, but I had to feel at times I had to prove that you were not going to take advantage of me or prove that you could not disrespect me or prove it's my way or the highway. That was the type of mentality I had. And everything would go great a lot of times but I would start drinking or something would trigger it.

It was just the altercations, a lot of fights, and a lot of drama. So due to my own confusion, my own scars, and trauma, it allowed me to take it out on other people. Some people were good. Some people and some weren't, but at the same token, you should not try to fight people or belittle people, or disrespect people.

And I had a bad tongue. I had no filter and I would just say some evil shit (excuse my French) when I felt like you were out for me or out to get me or out to hurt me, or you didn't care because I had very bad abandonment issues. So, it was hard for me, especially when I opened up to you and for me to feel like he was taking advantage of it, It would send me into another area of my brain where I couldn't comprehend it.

And it was either my way or no way. I would just bail out the relationship. I didn't want to deal with it anymore. So now, I am definitely better, way better, and I'm in a peaceful place but I'm still working on me because I think I went from being this sweet butthole to now. It's like sometimes I don't know how to decipher real from fake because now I think I'm too soft at times.

So, I'm just trying to get a rational balance with my trauma and reality to where I'm not blinded by stuff, but I'm not overanalyzed if that makes sense.

Are you in therapy, or have you gone to therapy to address any of your trauma?

I have been off and on since I've been about 17. My problem is I never stick with it. As I should, you know, I go, and I kind of say it's my four walls to kind of go up in and release. And then I leave, and I'll be consistent for a few months or maybe a year before stopping again. And then everything hits the fan and I go back. But I've never really just been a hundred percent in my therapy. As I said, I never wanted to be a hundred percent open. They would know about certain stuff, and I would have to have comfort with them. I also went through many therapists because I didn't my trust level wasn't there. And I do think there'll be a great thing. So right now, I'm not in it. I am thinking about starting it back up, but I have been provided with some great therapists in this process.

So, what's next for you in 2022?

I am thinking about doing my book, and I want it to be transparent and inspiring.

I love that. This should be a movie because no one looks at someone on the surface of where you are now in ministry and what you're doing would know and understand the trauma you had to face to get to where you are. I think that your story will empower not just people who have faced trauma but an entire nation. Thank you for your transparency.

How can people connect with you?

I'm on all the platforms under @GigiNicole; as well as my website www.giginicole.co.