Taraji P. Henson cries as she recalls telling her son of his father's murder

Taraji P. Henson remembered telling her then 9-year-old son that his father died in an accident instead of telling him the truth.

Taraji P. Henson welled up during episode 4 of "Peace of Mind With Taraji" after she remembered how she told her then 9-year-old-son, Marcell, how his father died.

In a preview of her talk show on Facebook Watch, the "Empire" star admitted that she did not have the right words to tell her son the truth at the time. She did not know how to break it to him gently that his father was murdered. Although his death was in the news, she said she did not have the courage to tell him the truth then.

Instead, what she told her son was that his father died in an accident. That lie came back to her years after when he found out the truth.

"My son's father was suddenly taken, murdered, when he was 9, and I didn't know how to tell him that. I couldn't tell him he was murdered, so I told him he died in an accident," Henson told co-host and BFF Tracie Jade Jenkins and therapist Sierra Hillsman.

"Later on in life he found out and he came back to me and was like, 'Why didn't you tell me my daddy was murdered?' And so then we had to get therapy," she recalled her now 26-year-old son telling her.

The 50-year-old actress then asked Hillsman what advice she can give to parents who would have to break similar news to their child. The therapist suggested using "age-appropriate language" and explain that "sometimes there are situations where people do evil things to other people."

"I didn't have the balls. It wouldn't come out. I hid it," Henson admitted just as she started to tear up.

"It was in the paper and I didn't know how to tell him. He was stabbed to death, it was the worst way you could die. I just didn't have the words. I didn't know how to tell a 9-year-old," she then broke down in tears and Jenkins went to her side to comfort her.

Henson and Jenkins discuss mental issues in the Black community on "Peace of Mind" and each episode focuses on a different topic on mental health. The show premiered on Dec. 14 with new episodes every Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. ET.