If you’ve watched a Boston Celtics game over the past few years, you’ve probably noticed a small boy in a mini Celtics jersey cheering courtside next to Jayson Tatum. That’s Deuce, and the woman behind his upbringing is Toriah Lachell — a name that shows up in search results far more often than her own public presence would suggest. Toriah Lachell isn’t a celebrity in the traditional sense. She’s a hairstylist, salon owner, and mother who became part of a very public story simply because of who she once dated. This guide pulls together what’s actually confirmed about her life, flags where different sources disagree, and looks at the career she’s built well beyond her connection to an NBA star.
Who Is Toriah Lachell? Quick Facts You Should Know
Toriah Lachell was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in February 2000, though you’ll find her exact birth date listed differently depending on the source — some say February 6, others say February 20 or 21. She grew up between St. Louis and, eventually, Boston, where she now lives and runs her business. She’s worked as a licensed cosmetologist since 2018 and owns The Curl Bar Boston, a salon built specifically around natural curl care.
Most people first hear her name in connection with Jayson Tatum, the Boston Celtics forward she dated as a teenager. Together they have a son, Jayson “Deuce” Tatum Jr., who’s become something of a fixture at Celtics games. But treating her only as “Tatum’s ex” misses most of her actual story — the part where a teenage mother built a cosmetology career and a small business almost entirely on her own.
Early Life, Family, and High School Years
Toriah was raised primarily by her mother, Julie Gibbs, and her stepfather, John Gibbs, in the St. Louis area. She’s described her stepfather as a steady presence growing up, while details about her biological father have never been made public — a gap she’s chosen not to fill in interviews or on social media.
She attended McCluer North High School, where she played varsity soccer and softball for four years each. That kind of long-term commitment to two sports usually points to discipline more than raw talent alone, and it’s a pattern that shows up again later in how she approached cosmetology school. It was also during these high school years, in overlapping Missouri social circles, that she met Jayson Tatum.
Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum’s Relationship Timeline
Toriah and Jayson met as teenagers in Missouri, despite attending different schools — she was at McCluer North, he was at Chaminade College Preparatory. Their relationship became publicly visible in 2015, when Toriah appeared with him in a Sports Illustrated feature around his prom, right as Tatum was being ranked among the top high school basketball recruits in the country.
The relationship continued through Tatum’s freshman year at Duke and into the early stages of his NBA career, but long-distance stress, a demanding training schedule, and constant public attention took a toll. The two separated not long after their son was born in December 2017.
What’s held up since then is the co-parenting arrangement. Both have shown, through their actions more than statements, that they’ve prioritized Deuce’s stability over any lingering tension from the breakup, and neither has publicly criticized the other in the years since.
Becoming a Mother at 17: Life With Deuce Tatum
Toriah became pregnant in late 2016 or early 2017, around the same time Tatum was finishing his one season at Duke and preparing for the NBA draft. At eight months pregnant, she relocated from St. Louis to Boston so she and her son could be near Tatum as he started his professional career — a logistical and emotional shift that would be a lot for anyone, let alone a teenager.
She gave birth to Jayson “Deuce” Tatum Jr. in December 2017, at 17 years old. Two weeks later, she enrolled in cosmetology school. That timeline alone says something about how she approached the next several years: not waiting for circumstances to settle before building toward something of her own.
Today, Deuce appears regularly with his father at Celtics games and is recognized by NBA fans in his own right. Toriah keeps most parenting details private, but the public co-parenting dynamic between her and Tatum is generally described as cooperative.
The Curl Reset Method: A Simple Way to Approach Damaged Natural Hair
Before she became a hairstylist, Toriah dealt with a problem a lot of people with curly hair recognize: years of relaxers had left her unsure of what her natural texture even looked like. A friend encouraged her to stop straightening it, and from there she taught herself curl care through YouTube tutorials and practice on friends willing to be guinea pigs.
If you’re in a similar spot — hair that feels unpredictable, dry, or hard to manage after years of heat or chemical treatment — a version of what worked for her boils down to three steps you can try at home. First, assess your actual curl pattern instead of the one you assume you have; wash your hair with no product and let it air-dry once before making any decisions about a routine. Second, rebuild moisture before worrying about styling, which usually means a deep conditioner with humectants rather than more product layered onto dry strands. Third, retrain the pattern gradually with consistent, gentle handling instead of switching techniques every week.
Call it the Curl Reset Method if you want a name for it: assess, rebuild, retrain. It isn’t a direct quote from Toriah herself, just a practical breakdown of the same general process that curl specialists, including her, tend to describe when explaining how they recovered damaged hair.
Building The Curl Bar Boston: Career, Training, and Business Growth
Toriah graduated from cosmetology school in 2018 and went on to complete additional certifications, including DevaCurl cutting techniques, Rezo Cut training, and coursework through Cut It Kinky. Each of those programs focuses specifically on cutting and styling curly and textured hair rather than general cosmetology — a distinction that mattered in a city like Boston, where curl-specific salons were genuinely hard to find.
That gap in the market is part of why The Curl Bar Boston grew the way it did. Clients have pointed to the salon’s educational approach — Toriah teaches people how to maintain their curls at home, not just how to style them for one appointment — as the main reason they keep coming back. The salon picked up extra visibility after comedian Trevor Noah visited for a haircut, though the bulk of her client base built up through word of mouth.
She’s since added an online curl-education course aimed at other stylists, giving her a second income stream beyond in-person appointments. Between the salon, the course, and occasional brand partnerships, her business now has several moving parts instead of a single service.
Net Worth, Lifestyle, and Where She Is Today
Estimates of Toriah Lachell’s net worth vary widely depending on the source — some put it around $500,000, others as high as $2 million. None of these figures come from a verified financial statement; they’re outside estimates based on salon pricing, course sales, and general assumptions about a small business in Boston. Treat any specific number you see online as a rough guess rather than a confirmed fact.
Outside of work, Toriah keeps a low public profile. She hasn’t publicly dated anyone since splitting from Tatum, and her social media accounts focus almost entirely on salon work and client transformations rather than personal lifestyle content. That’s a deliberate choice, and it’s part of why there’s less verified information about her than the search volume around her name might suggest.
Her stated plans include expanding The Curl Bar Boston, possibly into a second location, growing her online curl-education program, and eventually launching her own line of curl-care products.
Common Mistakes People Make When Reading About Toriah Lachell
A lot of articles about Toriah Lachell repeat the same handful of errors. The most common is calling her Jayson Tatum’s “ex-wife” — the two were never married, just a high school couple who later had a child together. If a headline uses “wife” anywhere, that’s usually a sign the source prioritized clicks over accuracy.
Another pattern worth watching for is treating a single birth date or net worth figure as settled fact when multiple outlets disagree. When you run into conflicting details like this — and with Toriah Lachell, you will — it’s worth asking where the number actually came from, whether it’s tied to a primary source like an interview, and whether the site corrects itself when it’s wrong.
The bigger mistake, though, is framing her entire story around Tatum. By the time she opened The Curl Bar Boston, built a client base, and developed her own curriculum for other stylists, the relationship was a small part of a much longer story about starting a business as a teenage parent.
Conclusion
Toriah Lachell’s public profile started with a relationship most people only know about because of who else was involved in it. What’s kept her name in search results since then is mostly her own doing — a salon built from scratch, a curl-education program that’s helped other stylists, and a co-parenting relationship that’s stayed mostly out of the headlines by design. If you’re searching her name expecting tabloid drama, the more accurate takeaway is simpler: a hairstylist from St. Louis built something real, and the rest is just the backstory.
Who is Toriah Lachell?
Toriah Lachell is a licensed cosmetologist and the owner of The Curl Bar Boston, a salon specializing in natural curly hair. She’s also the mother of Jayson “Deuce” Tatum Jr., whose father is Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
Are Toriah Lachell and Jayson Tatum still together?
No. They dated as teenagers in Missouri and separated not long after their son was born in December 2017. They currently co-parent Deuce.
How old is Toriah Lachell?
She was born in February 2000 in St. Louis, Missouri. Sources disagree on the exact date — some list February 6, others February 20 or 21 — so her precise age depends on which date you use.
What is The Curl Bar Boston?
The Curl Bar Boston is the salon Toriah founded after completing cosmetology school and curl-specific certifications like DevaCurl and Rezo Cut. It focuses on cutting, styling, and educating clients on natural curl care.
What is Toriah Lachell’s net worth?
Estimates range widely, from roughly $500,000 to $2 million, based on her salon income, online course sales, and brand partnerships. None of these figures are independently confirmed.
Disclaimer:
This article is compiled from publicly available interviews, social media, and previously published profiles of Toriah Lachell. Details such as her exact birth date and net worth are estimates where sources disagree, and this piece will be updated if more verified information becomes available.
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