Tina Gallo-Reid: Remaking The Hollywood Dream

In her late teens, Tina Reid headed to California to pursue the big screen. “I had a vision to be on one of the most popular soap operas at the time, which was General Hospital,” she tells The 700 Club. Before she knew it, Tina was engulfed by the party scene. “For me, it was more drinking, and there was a lot of cocaine when you would go into the parties in the ‘80s. I had my time that I experimented with it and that was just to give you a lift.” Amidst the competition, Tina secured an audition for General Hospital. “We met and he had me do the reading,” Tina recalls, “and he gave me a day shot, which turned into a two-year contract. It was very exciting.” Her identity revolved around what she did and who people thought she was. “Every time I would get a new role, something else is going on but it was just never enough,” she says. “I knew Jesus growing up, and I was raised in the Catholic Church. But I could not see all of us being God’s, because everyone was living so dysfunctional. There was a void inside of me, and I was searching.” When her contract was up, Tina headed back east to her father’s house to make some decisions. “I had a movie at the time that was being offered to me,” she says. “I was getting ready to step up to the big screen, and I just needed a break. It was about 1:00 a.m., and I couldn’t sleep. There was an actress talking on this program, and she said her testimony was what Jesus did in her life.” Tina called The 700 Club for prayer; a gentleman answered. “He asked me, ‘Would you like to accept Jesus into your heart?’ I was crying. I said, ‘Yes, I do,’ and he prayed with me. I accepted Jesus.” Tina headed back to Hollywood to accept her movie offer. “It was a crossroads, because I was so hungry for the Lord now. I also knew what Hollywood had to offer me, and I wasn’t sure if I could do both. As I was driving back to California, I was getting sick every day. We had to pull over. I had to go to a doctor, and I found out I was pregnant. That was changing everything.” Tina’s new faith was immediately tested. Her friends encouraged her to get an abortion. “First of all, I wasn’t married. Second of all, I was moving up the ladder. I was making achievements, and this is something I worked very hard for.” Tina decided to give up the movie and focus on being a mother. “I won’t tell you that when I made that choice that I walked into a bed of roses,” Tina says. “It was very difficult. It was a culture shock, and I didn’t have a job. I went on food stamps. I completely changed my lifestyle. My focus was on learning God and taking care of this child that was inside of me.” Tina became a real estate agent and raised Aaron as a single mom. She doesn’t regret giving up Hollywood. “We can read the Word. We can know the Word. That’s the knowledge of what we’re reading. When this takes root into your heart and you are in a relationship with Christ, your life is changed. The only way you can explain it is: I know He lives in me. I can tell you, if you’re not a believer or if you are seeking God, when He lives in your heart, you know that you know. My testimony is to tell you Jesus lives inside me, and He always comes through.”