Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Entertainment/Celebrity News
Celebrity NewsEntertainment Video

‘Whatever Your Mama’s Cooking’: Crystal Smith Opens Up on “The Tamron Hall Show” About Her Husband Ne-Yo Filing for Divorce

Posted byBy Diamond Jeune | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Ne–Yo‘s wife, Crystal Smith, opened up about how she felt after hearing her husband announce he’d filed for divorce in the news during an interview with Tamron Hall on Thursday, Nov. 19.

Crystal, who initially left the marriage because of undisclosed issues, said she tried getting the “Miss Independent” singer out of the house after he requested dinner. “He filed for divorce, came home, and asked what was for dinner. I was like ‘whatever your mama’s cooking. I don’t know what to tell you.’ I was like, ‘you got to get up out of here. I don’t know what you are doing, player.’ ” She told the host that plan didn’t work because Ne-Yo left for the weekend and returned the following week.

Crystal Smith and Ne-Yo YouTube screenshot

The songwriter said at the 6:51 mark of the interview that he announced his divorce news in February during an episode of “Private Talk With Alexis Texas Podcast” because he caught wind that rumors were starting to circulate. “I had gotten word that it had gotten out, and I was trying to get in front of the blogs and everybody. I’ve always hated the whole third-person thing. If I don’t hear it from the horse’s mouth, I don’t believe it. So I decided to get in front of it before it became rumors and accusations.”

The 41 year old also elaborated on his comments when he said that “he and Crystal’s demons don’t mesh.” The hip-hop singer said, “I have my issues, she definitely had her issues, and at the time, we weren’t in a place where we could help each other with our issues.”

Shortly after the podcast, the couple rekindled their relationship. Despite the past drama, Ne-Yo revealed he never wanted to separate from Crystal. “I can honestly say that, though I had to to a degree put a face on for the public, I did not want to get a divorce. I was really, really broken up about it. But I felt I couldn’t show that to her. I couldn’t show it to her; my pride wouldn’t let me show it to her.”

The couple first met back in 2015 when the Grammy Award winner was putting together his album “Non-Fiction.” Two weeks after their first encounter, the pair began dating and eventually tied the knot in February 2016.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top