TLC's Chilli Reveals She Was Once Almost Kicked Out the Group: 'They Were Auditioning People' (Exclusive)

For true music fans, there’s no TLC without Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. But according to the star, there was a time when that was almost the case. 

"I'm the momma of the group," Chilli, 52, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue, opening up ahead of Lifetime's new documentary TLC Forever, which delves into the iconic girl group's meteoric rise and complicated history. 

It's the role Chilli came to play alongside bandmates Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, but Chilli wasn't always the mom. In fact, she wasn't always there. Back in the early ’90s, "I was dancing with LaFace Records' very first group, Damian Dame," recalls the star. 

TLC — a name formed from the initials of original members Tionne, Lisa and Crystal Jones — were looking to replace Jones when Chilli (a nickname Lopes gave her to salvage their moniker) walked in. "Oh, she's pretty," Chilli recalls Watkins noting dryly after she auditioned for the group with En Vogue's hit "Hold On" in 1991. 

That night they put on a showcase, and "the chemistry was immediate," Chilli remembers. Thus, a boundary-breaking girl group was born, complete with edgy, sex-positive lyrics, outlandish style (condom-adorned overalls, anyone?) and a mix of rap, pop and R&B that turned countless youth into superfans.

"In the beginning, people recognized Tionne and Lisa more," recalls Chilli. But soon, she'd have the attention of LaFace producer Dallas Austin. The two began a relationship in the mid-'90s and welcomed a son, Tron, now 25. When TLC's manager, L.A. Reid's then-wife Pebbles, found out they were dating, it almost cost Chilli her spot. "They were holding auditions to replace me but never saw anybody that they liked," she says. "I don't think anybody cared about the Dallas thing but Pebbles." 

It wasn't the first disagreement the group, behind the smash hits "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs," had with management. After the runaway success of their 1994 album CrazySexyCool, the trio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Despite earning an estimated $175 million,"we're as broke as broke can be," Chilli famously told press at the 1996 Grammys, moments after they'd won two awards. 

Due to bad contracts that didn't pay them fairly for album sales and lavish gifts their manager claimed were from the label but were actually charged to the band, "when money came in, we were splitting, like, $5,000," Chilli explains.

"We're the reason [LaFace parent company] Arista Records first got security," she adds. "We kind of held Clive Davis hostage, like, 'You're the head guy. How do we fix this?'" Later that year they settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with LaFace, resulting in a more equitable contract.

The ordeal brought the women closer. Still, they had their own disagreements, like when Lopes infamously burned down the $1.3 million home of her then-football-star boyfriend Andre Rison. “Tionne called and said, ‘Turn on channel 5!’ ” recalls Chilli. “I was like Tionne, we’re just gonna have to find another group member. I told Lisa I said that. I was mad.” 

Lopes went on to make more headlines before dying in a car crash at age 30 while on a spiritual retreat in Honduras. "I miss her every day," says Chilli. "I often wonder what things would have been like if she was still here."

One thing she knows, Lopes would still be in the news. "Boy I'm telling you, people would be so entertained," Chilli says with a laugh. "She was always like, 'All news is good news' — that's how she felt. She would have more followers than Selena Gomez!" 

Chilli and Watkins, who are headlining the Hot Summer Nights Tour with Shaggy through July, never replaced Lopes following her 2002 death — and the tragedy made their strong bond unbreakable.

"We've already lost one sister. We have to grow old together," Chilli tells Watkins in an emotional scene from the new documentary. After all they've been through, "that's my family," says Chilli. "We're for life."

For more on Chilli's TLC journey and happy life now, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.

TLC Forever airs June 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Lifetime.