TLC member Chilli has had a long history with reality television. While most people remember her stints on VH1 looking for love, others recall how she first stepped into the unscripted world during an episode of the Sally Jessy Raphael Show. Chilli had enlisted the help of Sally’s staff to help reunite her with her long-lost father and his family. The beautiful moment also reconnected her with her sister. Unfortunately, the siblings are no longer close, and her sister is asking fans for prayer, and she awaits the day they could possibly reunite.
The 1996 episode of Sally featured an emotional Chilli explaining how she had always longed to meet her father. She did not have a lot of information on him and, at one point, was even told he might have died already. Luckily this turned out to be a mistake, and a week before filming the Sally Show, Chilli reunited with her father. “I was really hoping that the whole family would embrace me and that they would be ok with me because he was gone all of his life. He’s got another family now, and I don’t want to cause any problems.”
Chilli says her father and his new family welcomed her with open arms. They shared home videos of her meeting him for the first time and how things “got better” as they reconnected. She was most excited about her brother and sister, who also came out to meet with Sally. Marnet, her sister, was so excited because she and her sister both shared their love of music. Marnet was very animated and bubbling over with personality, sporting a very ’90s-appropriate haircut and long nails. She had the crowd laughing as she reenacted how she discovered her long-lost sister was a massive pop star. “Just to find out that I had a sister. Not just because she was a celebrity.”
Over the years, the family dynamic would shift and change, and these days it appears Chilli is now estranged from her father and his family. Her sister Marnet pursued music for a while and made some strides in the gospel world. There is currently only one single up for her on Spotify under the name Marni Ali titled “Family,” which dropped in 2020. Her Instagram bio reads, “Sr Pastor & Founder of Church in the RAW Ministries ⚔️ Alpharetta GA. Former Def Jam NY & Dark Child Recording Artist/Song Writer & Interior Designer.”
In a recent post, Marni admits that she still gets tagged in videos from that Sally episode, and fans are always asking if she and Chilli are still cool. Marni admits that they have also grown apart and confesses she is unsure why but hopes and prays she and her sister will reconnect. Fans in the comments noted that Chilli said something similar a year prior during an IG live. “I remember asking Chili this on her Instagram last year after seeing this video on YouTube, and she responded: ‘We are not in communication but keep us in your prayers.’ Praying for the both of you! 💕👏🙏🏽”
