Looking Back, Brandy Says End Of Marriage Wasn’t Painful
Singer insists she realized divorce was necessary.
by Abbey Goodman
The last time Brandy made the rounds to promote a new album, it was 2002 and she had a new marriage and a baby on the way to discuss. A few things have changed.
This year, while doing press for Afrodisiac (June 29), the side news is that since Full Moon, Brandy gave birth to a daughter, Sy’rai, with all of MTV’s audience watching on “Special Delivery.” And about a year ago, she split from husband Robert Smith.
Since then, Brandy’s had a chance to reflect on the changes in her life, and she says the dissolution of her marriage was something she had to address, of course, but it wasn’t especially painful for her.
“It was just a realization for me that I wasn’t in love. I think if I was deeply in love, it would have been tough,” she said. “I had thoughts about my daughter and [Robert’s] feelings, so I wanted to consider that, but for me, just totally alone by myself, I wasn’t really heartbroken, no.”
Maybe that’s because she’s now snuggling up with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Quentin Richardson, or maybe it goes deeper.
“I realized that that was a relationship where I felt secure and just comfortable, and I just couldn’t live the rest of my life like that,” Brandy explained. “I had to say, ‘You know what? This ain’t it for me. I’ve gotta do my thing.’ I’m just celebrating the fact that I was brave.”
Brandy also expressed sympathy for a couple of her pals who’ve been facing legal woes lately: Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson. “I haven’t talked to Kobe in so long,” Brandy said of the man who accompanied her to her high school prom, “but I know what’s going on. Definitely.”
As for Jackson’s troubles, Brandy admitted she doesn’t have the heart to stay on top of the latest developments in his child-molestation case. “I want to keep my own idea about Michael Jackson,” she said. “I don’t want to watch too much [TV] that tries to change my mind about them. I think that’s being a cop-out, but I want my own personal view of those two people.”
This report is from MTV News.