R.Kelly's estranged wife Andrea Kelly gave an exclusive interview to Essence [1] magazine about the couple's tumorous marriage. It's a pretty lengthy article but it's worth a read if you would like to gain insight from her point of view.
[1] I'm still giving them full on side eye but I can overlook my personal disdain this time.
Article snippets under the cut.
RISING ABOVE THE PAIN
. . . Andrea does, however, shift uncomfortably when talking about the case against her husband; it's a subject she'd rather leave alone. She does not allow her children to read the tabloids and will only permit them to be in the company of people she trusts. She keeps life for them as normal as possible: playdates with neighbors, parties and trips. But Andrea says she had to cut some people off who said nasty things about her husband, and surround herself with people who she believes care for her. "I know the allegations against my husband don’t reflect on me as an individual," she says. "They don't reflect on me as a mom or as a wife, and they don’t reflect on me in my everyday life."
IN THE BEGINNING
...Around this time, in the summer of 1994, 27-year-old Kelly secretly married 15-year-old R&B singer Aaliyah, but the marriage was eventually annulled. Meanwhile, Andrea's own relationship with Kelly blossomed during those long hours on the road. "It's a love story," she says. He dazzled her with his humor, telling her yo' mama jokes and doing impressions. "He's silly, and I am just a silly person. He's a jokester," she says."We started out just as friends--artist and choreographer. You are traveling on the bus. The more you are together, the more you learn."
The two were married in 1996 in a small, nontraditional ceremony in Colorado. Two homes, many backyard barbecues and three children followed. In better days they smile into cameras like young lovers. In one photograph they’re laughing and teasing each other as they cook in the backyard. But as the couple settled into domesticity, controversy dogged their heels.
A LIFE APART
. . . But did she see the tape?
"Why would you ask that question of a woman married with children?" she says. "It's ludicrous to ask me a question like that. Really, would you want someone to ask you that? And if they did ask you, would you see the tape?" All that to say, no, she hasn't seen the tape and never looked for it. And for all those people who sought out the tape, she says, check your morals.
Still, despite her vocal support of her husband, Andrea says she won’t be accompanying him to his court appearances. All the media, all the mess. Besides, she's got to be with the children. "I will take care of the home front," she says and, with perfect comedic timing, adds, "There is a war going on, and they don't send every soldier in America to Iraq. I've got to be homeland defense.”
