Kelis has broken her silence. The “Milkshake” singer, 38, claimed in a new interview that her ex-husband, Nas, was abusive during their five-year marriage.
“It was really dark. There was a lot of drinking. There was a lot of mental and physical abuse,” Kelis told Hollywood Unlocked CEO Jason Lee on Thursday, April 26. “I probably would have stayed longer had I not been pregnant [with Knight] because I really did love him and because we were married. We weren’t dating, we were married. Like, this was my person.”
The My Life on a Plate cookbook author said she believed “at the time” that Nas, 44, was her soulmate. But after nearly a decade of staying silent, she decided to come forward.
“I’ve waited nine years to say anything. I have never talked about this man, ever,” she explained. “The amount of airing out that I could do, and I’ve chosen not to … Our kids will find out. They’re finding out now. I’ve never painted myself as a saint. Did he hit me? Mhm. Did I hit him back? Mhm.”
Kelis said that her relationship with the Grammy-nominated rapper had so many “intense highs and really intense lows” through the years that they would often have a bad night and wake up the next morning “like it never happened.”
It wasn’t until Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna in February 2009 that the “Bossy” songstress ultimately decided to break up with Nas.
“I remember so clearly when the [Rihanna] pictures came out … ‘cause I [also] had bruises all over my body at that time,” she recalled, becoming visibly emotional. “I wasn’t ready to walk [away]. I just wasn’t. I’m not weak but I’m really private. I don’t like people knowing my business. I felt like, ‘This is my partner. I chose this. We’re gonna do this, we’re gonna make it work.’”
Kelis filed for divorce in April 2009 while she was seven months pregnant with Knight, 8. She went on to marry real estate agent Mike Mora in 2014. She and Mora share son Sheperd, 2.
“I moved on,” she said. “I’m married. I have another baby. My life is good.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Nas’ lawyer for comment.
