Scheana Shay conquered taking her daughter, Summer Moon, to Disneyland by herself, thanks to therapy.
“There’s always been so many fears around being alone, and I know those are never going to end. There’s always going to be something to worry about,” Shay, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, October 4, while promoting her partnership with appliance brand Ninja. “Even 38 years [later], my mom still worries about me and that’s just never going to end. So I accepted that part of motherhood, but the fears around doing things by myself, with her, I was like, ‘This is something I need to get over because I’m going to be missing out on life experiences with her if I always need someone there.’ Brock [Davies] can’t always be there. My mom can’t always be there, but if I’m there with Summer, I’m all she needs.”
Shay — who shares her daughter, 2, with husband Davies, 33 — further opened up to Us about working with a therapist to learn how to cope with such challenges.
“Through working in therapy, being diagnosed with OCD and learning what exposure therapy is, [Disneyland] was right up there with taking her on a plane by myself. And honestly, I think TSA on a flight would be way easier than Disneyland,” the Vanderpump Rules star added.
Shay has struggled with her mental health long before she welcomed Summer in April 2021.
“My anxiety started before I even got pregnant, just thinking about being pregnant, then having a miscarriage, then getting pregnant again, then getting HELLP syndrome, then watching her sleep, wondering if she was going to stop breathing,” she said on Wednesday. “It’s, like, then when she was starting to eat for the first time, [I’m thinking,] Is she going to choke?’”
While Shay found that her September visit to the Happiest Place on Earth was overwhelming, she has since gotten better at managing her anxiety.
“I feel like [my anxiety is] still there, but it’s way less. That was an 8 out of 10 for me, taking her to a theme park by myself. Now, I would put that at maybe a 4,” Shay noted of her solo outing with Summer.
Shay admits that, while she came “prepared” with snacks for Summer, she wasn’t expecting her daughter to “gobble” them down quickly while they waited in especially long lines.
“[Plus,] the app was glitching, I couldn’t figure out the mobile order [and] it was like that was stressing me out and giving me anxiety because I’m like, ‘She’s eaten all her snacks. I need to get her more food, and this line is too long,’” Shay explained, adding that Summer was “being a little terror” on the Monsters Inc. ride. “And she’s like, ‘Mom, mom, mom.’ And I’m like, ‘Ahh.’ And then, of course, I’m getting recognized [by fans].”
Now that the “Good as Gold” singer handled the solo trip, she is “ready to do it again.”
Before Shay — who is currently “feeling really good and confident” at this “new chapter of motherhood” — can book a secondary trip to Disney, she has partnered with Ninja and their personalized Thirsti beverage maker.
“This thing is the best. Not only do I not have to have stuff with bottles and cans and go through that so much, but I love that it is customizable, so you can choose still or sparkling, and then you also choose the level of bubbles,” Shay told Us. “And the best part is that you can mix two flavors together. So they have Hydrate, which has electrolytes, they have Splash, which is just flavor, they have Vitamins and also Energy, so you can get vitamin energy water with bubbles or mix the flavors together. I love to make Summer strawberry lemonade and … these flavors are so good. There’s honestly something for everyone.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
