‘What Happened to the Fifth Member’: Kandi Burruss Shocks Fans with Throwback Xscape Video That Shows Five Members
Kandi Burruss wasted no time to clear up fans’ questions concerning a throwback video she uploaded to Instagram, showing the five original Xscape members prior to the group becoming a successful quartet.
Burruss’ video from 1991 featured her 15-year-old self, 16-year-old Tamika “Tiny” Cottle, 16-year-old Tamika Scott, 18-year-old LaTocha Scott, and an unfamiliar 15-year-old Tamera Coggins.
Original Xscape members rehearse. (L-R) Kandi Burruss, Tamera Coggins-Wynn, Tamika Scott, LaTocha Scott, Tiny Harris/Photo Credit:@MajorGirl/Instagram
The five ladies introduced themselves before singing, “Is My Living In Vain” by The Clark Sisters.
“Throwback to when I was just 15yrs old trying to make my dreams happen! 30yrs later and I’m still dreaming still making it happen. Looking forward to what’s to come in 2023!” Burruss wrote as her caption.
Her comments section quickly filled with intrigued fans dying to know why Coggins was no longer a member despite being there at the group’s start.
Tamera Wynn @tamera_wynn/Instagram
“What happened to the fifth member? How have I missed this info?”
“Why did the fifth one didn’t make it?”
“Where the tall chick this my first time seeing her or hearing anything about a fifth member”
Fans were so invested in the back story of Coggins, Burruss decided to leave a comment answering everyone’s questions.
“For everyone who’s wondering, Tamera and I are still best friends. She’s very successful with multiple businesses. Even after no longer being in the group she’s always been supportive. No hate or jealousy. She’s doing great!”
But the question still stands, who is Tamera Coggins and why did she choose to leave Xscape just as it was about to pop off”
Who Is Tamera Coggins-Wynn
Tamera Coggins-Wynn, now Tamera Coggins-Wynn, is a “Wife… Mother… Entrepreneur” per her Instagram bio. The mom of three is a realtor who works beside her husband, Gregory Wynn, as CEO of CTC Construction that is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Why Did Tamera Leave Xscape?
In 1993, Coggins-Wynn left the group shortly after Cottle, now Harris, joined the pack. In a 2020 interview with DJ Vlad Harris dished on why she believed Coggins-Wynn departed from the ladies.
“I think they called me to come in and audition for the group, they were thinking about maybe replacing her because I think they felt that she was not as much into it as the rest of the girls,” Harris said.
Harris also noted that once they received a new manager, things got messy. According to Harris, Coggins-Wynn and the new manager were involved in a heated argument that caused the manager to kick her out of the group.
“It just went left field and he said she was out of the group.” Harris explained.
In TV One’s Unsung special on Xscape back in 2019, Burruss’ mom, Joyce Jones, went even deeper by explaining that the new manager “was saying that she [Coggins-Wynn] was not a real singer, that she could not hold up her part.”
This prompted their manager to give the remaining four ladies an ultimatum of either voting Coggins-Wynn’s out or being dropped altogether.
Nevertheless, it seems as if there is no bad blood between Coggins-Wynn and the rest of the ladies.
The 47-year-old was even a bridesmaid at Burruss’ wedding in 2014. Xscape went on to become a worldwide success while Coggins-Wynn found her passion in entrepreneurship.