R. Kelly's ex-wife tells her story of their marriage: 'People have no idea'

people have no idea that there's two different men that there's the person Robert there's the persona are Kelly go head on back them off with Lou the roommates are Kelly widely regarded as the king of R&B known for songs like ignition but his ex-wife drea Kelly says lurking behind that playboy image there's a more sinister persona Uriah is principal dancer choreographer on stage right next to him if people have no idea that this man just beat me on the bus people have no idea Sharia claims she was a victim herself of emotional physical and sexual abuse at the hands of Robert Kelly did you ever fear for your life yes you thought he might kill you yeah your kids no but me definitely their tumultuous relationship initially began with a love for his music throwing a throwing video there's a part in there where I'm dressed as a Geisha this is around the time when matrix came out so I put the matrix move in the video there she is button Center his wife of 13 years and mother to his three children why did you decide now summer of 2017 I'm like god I don't think I can take this one we're gonna begin this half-hour with those disturbing allegations against our Kelly he texted our Kelly to let my daughter free those claims stem from a BuzzFeed article detailing allegations from two parents who say their daughter was being held against her will by Kelly the article also alleges that six women live in properties rented by Kelly in Chicago and Atlanta suburbs and that he controls every aspect of their lives charges that Kelly and several of the women including the daughter of the concerned parents have denied those allegations have sparked a movement celebrities like John Legend and Viola Davis joining the call to hashtag mute are Kelly demanding that people stop playing and promoting his music Apple music removed him from their featured playlists and after months of silence our Kelly released this night minute song called I admit so what do you make of his song I admit that was the dumbest thing he's ever done cuz you didn't admit anything that was the classic narcissistic response the pair first met more than 20 years ago in their mutual hometown of Chicago our Kelly at the time 27 years old had just skyrocketed to number one with his breakout hit bump and grind it's about to embark on his first tour as a solo performer and was auditioning backup dancers I remember I danced the paint off the wall they started clapping and he was like ah you got the job just 19 years old it was her dream gig Andrea says she would quickly rise from backup to principal dancer and eventually choreographer shortly thereafter she says her then boss would seek a more intimate relationship I do remember when he said he fell in love he said I was sitting on the back of the tour bus reading the Bible he said and you remind me of my mama at this point you hadn't seen any kind of indication that there may be any kind of violence or rudeness no but what I did see is a man's very controlled our Kelly would continue to climb the Billboard charts soon becoming a household name with the release of this crossover mega hit after I believe I could fly we were married but at that point I had seen him go from just an all-black audience knowing to who he was - now you're doing Space Jam you're getting Grammy nods winning Grammys alright Kelly I believe I could fly Wow at a certain point your marriage started going down when was that point when I was pregnant with my first child he locked me in a bathroom and I slept in a bathtub outwardly Kelly was the portrait of a doting father cradling his baby girl Joanne and celine dion's I'm your angel and even though they would go on to have two more children Draya says their marriage was crumbling and then in 2002 our Kelly was charged today with 21 counts of child pornography a tape emerges reportedly showing our Kelly engaged in sexual acts with a minor when the videos surfaced and the allegations surfaced the child pornography charges did you believe it no I'm thinking to myself that's impossible but again he kept me very sheltered did some part of you have a nagging suspicion I'm too busy dealing with my own abuse around this time our Kelly would sit down for an interview with ABC News people need to understand our Kelly it's not who they think but it's who I know you know I'm not perfect he would face trial for multiple charges of child pornography and be acquitted on all counts but at home tria says her husband grew more controlling and easily angered there's no let's talk about it like a regular couple you know no it's his way or the highway period it was a seemingly ordinary scenario that drea claims led to her being attacked restrained and ultimately hogtied by Kelly and he took the rope tied he tied behind my back and then he took my leg and he tied my legs in my hands and arms together just remember lean on decided to make rye like let me go just untie me let me go and he fell asleep with me on the side of the bed like an animal in 2005 he filed this order of protection but then a few weeks later you withdraw it why did you withdraw it fear he's a powerful man at this time he's at the top of his game so now I get this order of protection it and it dawns on you this is not bulletproof eventually she says a series of altercations while on vacation in Miami led to her breaking point when she almost tried to end her life what happened there what what kept you first God put my kids I remember I climbed out on the balcony and I looked down and it was like God allowed me to see my body was laying in blood and I prayed God okay I need an answer and I need it now and he told me to get my laptop of all things type in domestic violence I take the survey and of the 17 things on the list propertied already done 15 Draya says she was determined to leave fleeing with her three children to her father's home in 2006 she filed for divorce have you thought about changing your last name no you don't mind the Association still with being a Kelly well when people say Association that's like a club or fraternity but ever I paid for my name in blood sweat and tears literally nobody knows what it was like to be drea Kelly drea Kelly is strong drea Kelly is a survivor drea Kelly made it away from Robert Kelly in response to the allegations made by drea R Kelly's manager told ABC News they have no comment when was the last time you did have contact with him that's so long ago I can't even remember drea is now a full-time mom for three children Joanne Jay and Robert all lived close by just outside of Los Angeles that is my world I call them my eggs if you go on any of my social media bodices hashtag my eggs her eggs are now all grown up from 16 to 21 years old they are well aware about the headlines about their dad and say his past has sometimes led to them being bullied at school how would you handle it when people might say something nasty to you I just I know it doesn't have anything to do do you all have any contact at all with your dad no well what now what's next for you everything now to be able to fearless Lee tell my story and to shout it from the mountaintops Wow that's words can't even describe that jariya has now become an advocate for victims of domestic abuse the healing process is never-ending and I think that's the misconception that people think that how did you heal from it I'm healing every day so what have you learned about yourself through all of this what I have learned is that I'm a vessel I know now that I'm being used for something greater than me hi everyone George Stephanopoulos here thanks for checking out the ABC News YouTube channel if you'd like to get more videos show highlights and watch live event coverage click on the right over here to subscribe to our channel and don't forget to download the ABC News app for breaking news alerts thanks for watching

Channel: ABC News

Views: 1,497,431

Rating: 4.7241921 out of 5

Keywords: R Kelly, Robert Sylvester Kelly, Drea Kelly, sexual assault allegations, sexual misconduct, alleged sex cult, sex pet, abuse, victim, ex wife, dancer, choreographer, mother, R&B singer, metoo movement, celebrity, abc, abcnews, Surviving R Kelly, Surviving R Kelly docuseries, true story, lifetime, 2019

Id: nPqL5RAIJa8

Length: 9min 46sec (586 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 20 2018