After years of holding his tongue, Usher let it all hang out during his interview with Oprah Winfrey Sunday (Sept. 17). The music superstar answered many of the questions that have been swirling in the rumormill since his split from ex-wife, Tameka Raymond.
The 33-year-old wed Tameka in 2008, despite opposition from fans and his mother, but according to Usher, he was in love and felt that tying the knot was the right thing to do. “I was taking responsibility because she was pregnant, but also too I don’t know if I had the best point of reference,” he said. “My father wasn’t there [growing up] I didn’t want to be like him in a way.”
Usher’s relationship with his father and namesake was on the mend during his marriage, but he died days before the singer’s son was born. Once they were married, the pressures of being the wife of such a well-known figure took its toll on Tameka, and the marriage. The couple went to counseling, but it in the end, chose to go their separate ways. “I didn’t know how to balance it,” he said of the relationship.
He also admitted to infidelity, but not while they were physically still together.“Towards the end of our marriage, I found myself lost and I just wanted out,” he explained. “I was faithful at heart, but no faithful all the way. Even having a conversation with another woman about matter of your relationship is not being faithful.”
On rumors that he slept with Tameka’s bridesmaid, he stalled briefly before admitting to having “exchanges” with her.
As for the tragic loss of Tameka’s 11-year-old son, Kile Glover in July, Usher noted that he missed the child. He also denied claims that he did not attend the funeral, and spoke on obtaining primary physical custody of his sons, Usher Raymond V, and Naivyd Raymond, after the boy’s death. Although he came out on top in the court case, in his view, neither party was victorious given the emotional strains that the ordeal has taken on the both of them. During a tour stop in Berlin last year, Usher abruptly left the stage, blaming his actions on a sinus infection, but he confessed to Winfrey that the stress behind his personal life caused the breakdown. He re-lived the moment while on the stand during the custody trial, and broke down crying. “I thought we were friends,” he told Winfrey of how things had spiraled downward. “She made us enemies in a way that I could never understand.”
Tameka is continuing her fight for custody of the children, although a judge recently denied her request to retry the case.
https://dailymotion.com/video/xtnkbp_oprah-s-next-chapter-usher-full-episode_shortfilms
MORE ON HIP-HOP WIRED!
• Sons: 8 Rappers Whose Children Made Headlines For Allegedly Breaking The Law
• The Pelican Brief: A Bird’s Guide To “Making It” In America [PHOTOS]
• Wired 25: The 25 Winners Of The Summer Of 2012
• A$AP Rocky Performs At The Adidas Originals Store In NYC [PHOTOS]
• Work Hard, Play Hard: 10 Rappers Who Went To College On Sports Scholarships
• Slaughterhouse & Rita Ora Cover Urban Ink [PHOTOS]
• 10 Flicks Of Kanye West Looking Whipped For Kim Kardashian [PHOTOS]
—
Photo: Oprah.com
