Gomez-Preston's father, Bennett Preston, is a medical examiner/pathologist in Philadelphia. When Gomez-Preston was young her mother worked for the Detroit Police Department. Cheryl Gomez was one of the first women assigned to street patrol. Due to Verbal abuse, written racist epithets, death threats, and a commanding officer expressing interest in a relationship with her, she quit, and filed a sexual harassment suit against the Detroit Police Department, which she won, receiving an award somewhere between $800,000 and $1.2 million. After this Cheryl Gomez moved the family to Philadelphia. There Gomez-Preston was enrolled in acting, dancing, and singing lessons at Philadelphia's Freedom Theatre. Her parents eventually divorced. In 1994, she moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles with her mother and Kyle, so that Gomez-Preston could pursue an acting career.