“Hey my little Tater Tot, can I sit with you?”
Ophelia Nichols asked at the beginning of a May 2022TikTok.
It’s how she begins many of her videos, which often have a supportive, uplifting tone.
In an interview withThe Dumb Blonde Podcast, Nichols explained her positive outlook on life.
Her father died when she was 13
When Ophelia Nichols was young, she loved her father.
“There wasn’t a customer that didn’t like my daddy,” she recalled.
Nichols insisted, “He was so kind.”
Nichols said her mother took the loss very hard.
“My dad died when I was 13,” Mama Tot explained onThe Dumb Blonde Podcast.
She allowed, “I empathize with that.”
After initially allowing her to remain at home, Nichols' mother kicked her out of the house.
Thankfully, other relatives stepped in.
As she told AL.com, “All of my fears ended up being just that, fear.”
Eventually, Nichols decided to cut off all contact with her mother.
Mama Tot finally found her Papa Tot
Ophelia Nichols had her first child at 15.
“He cheated on me and broke my heart,” she said.
Still, he and his family helped raise their child.
“I’ve since forgiven him for his ways … his family never was astray from that baby.
So he’s been very much a part of my life,” she reflected.
Nichols was married by 18 to someone else, and she had three more children before getting divorced.
In a 2022TikTok[0:14], Nichols described being cheated on by her husband.
“I felt such betrayal over my physical body,” she confessed.
“When somebody really traumatizes you, you feel it everywhere.”
“They know I love funny stuff,” she said.
“…I’m a total comedian fan.”
In aTikTokposted in October 2023, Nichols emphasized that she never meant to become a content creator herself.
However, Nichols found herself unexpectedly moved by a video.
Nichols wanted to talk to that girl, but she didn’t know how.
I don’t know who told you you’re not beautiful, but I think you are!"
But he was took from me last night … My son was murdered.
He was shot."
“It was marijuana,” the police officer revealed.
That’s all I know right now."
In the aftermath of her loss, Nichols relied on her husband for support.
Nichols has been open with her fans about how hard it’s been.
We just find ways to help us manage it."
She claimed, “I’ve never felt hate for anybody.”
Randon Lee was murdered in June 2022, and it took several months for the killer to be caught.
Reuben Gulley, only 20 years old, gave himself up at the Mobile Metro Jail, according toWKRG.
He was held without bond.
In a since-deleted video (viaYahoo!
I am not happy."
Instead, she found herself shocked by how young Gulley looked in his mugshot.
“I’m sure they have that in common.”
She said, “They think that I do something for them.
They have no idea what they do for me.”
A further 3.2 million follow her onFacebook, and 776,000 people follow herInstagramaccount.
Accordingly, she tries to educate her followers who may need help and not even know it.
Inanother video, Nichols relayed how shefixed her creditafter an ex left her saddled with copious debt.
“I know exactly how you feel because I lived it,” she explained.
Nichols also shares tips about what it’s like to be a content creator.
Solid advice, if you ask us!
Accordingly, Nichols deals with trolls online who question whether she’s really as optimistic as she seems.
“I don’t play a character or nothing,” she insisted toAL.com.
There’s even a whole Reddit community dedicated to picking apart her videos.
and “I’m calling bulls***.”
“It happens to every single large, usually woman creator,” she said.
“And it stems from cattiness, and jelliness, and envyness.
Jelliness… that’s a new word!”
It’s really neat."
Nichols' primary concern when choosing her augmentation was not size, she said, but “better.”
She explained, “That’s why … the implant itself is on the smaller scale.”
At first, she was still numb, and she thought that meant she was handling the pain well.
“When day three and four got here,” she said, “it was very painful.
For whatever reason, it was the worst back pain of my life.”
Mama Tot called out another creator
In 2022, Dr. Kenneth Wilstead, a.k.a.
“Dr. Kenny” a TikTok-famous dentist offered to fix one of Ophelia Nichols' teeth.
In September 2023,NBC Newsspoke with multiple women who alleged that Dr. Kenny had made inappropriate remarks.
One woman even sued, alleging that he groped her.
Wilstead, for his part, implied that someone else had sent the message from his account.
Nichols disavowed Dr. Kenny following the scandal.
I can no longer support [Dr. … That sounds ignorant as hell to me.
You are no different than anybody else.
You are just as precious and loved and wanted."
Nichols uses her platform to show up for her LGBTQ+ followers in numerous ways … sometimes literally!
“If they ain’t gonna celebrate you, well, I be danged …
I guess I’m gonna have to do it,” Nichols said in herTikTok.
In the caption, she wrote, “I will forever be proud of you.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available.
Call or text 988 or chat988lifeline.org.
In June, she posted a picture onInstagramwith her son Cole.
She captioned it, “So proud of my youngin.”
Eagle-eyed fans noted that his ribbon read “Daddy To Be.”
He’s about to be dad y’all.
We can’t wait."
Later that July, Mama Tot shared an update: She’s now Grandmama Tot!
In aTikToktitled “Aspen is here,” Nichols revealed that her son’s baby had arrived.
“Man, was it the coolest thing I ever seen,” she marveled.
