EMPIRE actor Trai Byers lived in the Philippines for two years, between 1989 and 1991. And it was an “exciting” two years, he told Ellen DeGeneres during his first guesting on the show, which aired in the Philippines last Tuesday night.
DeGeneres asked Byers about his life with a father in the Air Force. Byers said the family had to move a lot and one of the most exciting times for the family was when they lived in the Philippines for two years. His father then was assigned in Clark Air Base.
“Mt. Pinatubo exploded... It was dormant for 700 years and it exploded,” Byers told DeGeneres, who laughed at the term exploded rather than erupted.
Byers said he and his family had to be evacuated. Clark Air Base was just 14 kilometers away from the volcano.
The volcano erupted on June 15, 1991, killing more than 800 people.
Meanwhile, Byers’ girlfriend Grace Gealey admitted to FABLife host Tyra Banks that she is engaged to Byers.
Byers and Gealey met on the set of Empire where Byers played eldest son Andre Lyon and Gealey played Luscious Lyon’s (Terrence Howard) former flame Anika Calhoun.