Toni Braxton opens up about sister Traci’s passing: “I wake up every morning and I go, ‘Did I dream it?’”

In the first-ever interview since the unfortunate news of Traci Braxton‘s passing, her sister Toni Braxton opens up about how she’s coping with the untimely loss.

“I wake up every morning and I go, ‘Did I dream it? Did I dream it?'”, the 54-year-old singer said on Tuesday’s episode of the Tamron Hall Show. “and I have to remind myself ‘No, she’s gone but she’s been here with us for 50 years.’ So I try to relish in that moment and try to smile about it.”

Toni, the eldest of the five Braxton sisters, confirmed Traci’s death on Instagram earlier this month, sharing a black-and-white photo of the family along with a note that reads in part, “Traci passed this morning as the snow was falling, our angel is now a snowflake.”

Detailing Traci’s last moments, Toni says her sister was surrounded by loved ones.”We were all there. Her son was there, husband was there, everyone was there. Her best friends were there,” she said.

Though Toni “misses her sister every day” she also says she and her family are “just very fortunate to have had my sister with us for as long as we did.”

Traci Braxton died following a battle with esophageal cancer. She was 50 years old.