Towanda Braxton Heard Late Sister Traci Say ‘It’s About Damn Time’ After Getting Engaged: ‘Her Spirit Is Here’ (Exclusive)

Towanda Braxton is opening up about her late sister Traci sending her a special message following her engagement.

On the season finale of The Braxtons, Towanda’s boyfriend of nine years, Sean Hall, popped the question while on stage during Toni Braxton and Cedric the Entertainer’s Las Vegas show Love & Laughter.

“The number eight means a lot to me, because the number eight stands for a new beginning. It’s been a beautiful ride,” Hall shared. “I just have one question for you. Towanda C. Braxton, will you marry me?”

Now, Towanda, 50, tells PEOPLE that she received a message from Traci — who died from esophageal cancer in 2022 — after the long-awaited engagement.

“After I got engaged, I couldn’t sleep for a week because I was really, really excited,” Towanda says in a joint interview with her sister Trina. “I had a message for her that [said], ‘It’s about damn time.’ That’s what I heard her say in pure Traci fashion.”

She added that her sister “really wanted us to get married” before adding Traci would tease how the pair were “probably already married anyway.”

“She would’ve been just as excited and just as happy,” she shared of Traci’s reaction to Hall popping the question. “She would’ve had tears and crying and hugging to join in the joyous occasion of me finally being engaged.”

However, Towanda admits that she is coming to terms with Traci not being physically present for her big day.

“It just hit me really hard that she may not … She’s not physically going to be here,” she shares. “She’s not physically going to be able to stand for me. And because I’m the only sister who has never had a wedding, I will be the only sister that’s not going to have my sister [Traci].”

“It was an aha moment, like, ‘Oh, my God. Yes, her spirit is here. Yes, the presence of Traci’s energy will always be here, but Traci isn’t here,’” she continues.