I remember for a brief moment, people thought Kelis and Nas were going to be the other superstar couple alongside Beyonce and Jay-Z. That’s how they were framed, and it didn’t hurt that their romance happened along the same timeline as Bey and Jay’s romance. Kelis and Nas got engaged in 2004, and married in 2005. She was seven months pregnant when she filed for divorce in April 2009, and I remember that there were a lot of accusations thrown back and forth at the time that she was cheating and he was cheating and it was all pretty messy, but then it went quiet for years, minus some legal dramas over custody of their son. Their four-year marriage was turbulent, we knew that. But we didn’t know that Nas physically and emotionally abused her during the marriage. We didn’t know that until now, because Kelis has finally had enough of hiding her ex’s dirty secrets. She gave an exclusive interview to Hollywood Unlocked – you can see the video here. Some quotes from Kelis:
Why she filed for divorce when she was seven months pregnant: “There was a lot of mental and physical abuse.”
She’s stayed quiet for nine years: “His memory is definitely faulty. I’ve waited 9 years to say anything. I have never talked about this man. The amount of airing out that I could do and don’t do is what our kids will find out.” Kelis stated.
Nas was a drinker: “We had really intense highs and really intense lows. It was never normal. An intense high would be when money was rolling in. But I was 22 when I met him. We were drinking a lot, getting high a lot. So when that comes down, it was bad… An intense low….we had a lot. It was really dark. A lot of drinking. A lot of mental and physical abuse and it got to the point where if I wasn’t pregnant, I might have stayed with him…I was pregnant and it was a mess and I felt like I wasn’t going to bring a child into this.”
The abuse: “Did he hit me?…..Mmm hmmm. Did I hit him back?…..Mmm hmmm.”
Seeing the photos of Rihanna’s face after Chris Brown brutalized her in 2009: “When the Rihanna and Chris Brown pictures came out I thought about coming out because I also had bruises all over my body. But I didn’t say anything because I’m private. But seeing her the way she looked and then looking at myself… I felt embarrassed.”
Her custody battle over their son: She touched on Nas’ co-parenting skills and how he “shows up when there’s a photo opp..A parent isn’t about showing up when you feel like it. You can’t not show up for months and then show up and try to make up your own [visitation] schedule.”
I watched some of the video and it was painful to watch because – I feel – Kelis still hasn’t really processed everything from her abusive marriage, even nine years later. Like, at times it feels like she thinks she still has to justify both why she stayed and why she left. She kept repeating “I’m not weak” like she has to explain why she was getting abused. But that’s what makes it real – she speaks like an abused woman who got the f–k out and tried not to think about it too much afterwards. I hope she’s safe and healthy and happy today.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmbm9lZ4V2e8qeo6Krj6Gyp8C%2Bp5isl6edsq%2Br0qGcmK%2BRqKx4q8yopa2go5S9s7HGp5inrI%2BXsqSt1KycmKCVlMSiv76pn7KrmZiurbjYmJibraOew6Z7