Babyface knows his way around a love song, but, surprisingly, he does not boast that same confidence with women in person. The legendary songwriter sat down with Angela Yee and the co-hosts of “The Lip Service” podcast, along with special guests Ari Lennox and Jasmine Brand, where he opened up about dating.
The LaFace record label co-founder said that while being a nice guy is attractive to some women, it has not always yielded the greatest results for him. “I always used to be worried about being too nice of a guy ‘cause then you lose out too…Nice adds up to being boring,” he said.
He went on to recount how he fell in love with a girl named Rhonda in the sixth grade, only to have his heart crushed by her in the eighth grade. While the heartache stung, it also helped to ignite his love of song writing. Elsewhere in the conversation, he spoke about the type of woman he is attracted to. When asked if he liked “bad girls,” he said, “Nah, and maybe because I don’t think bad girls like me. You know, I think you like who likes you sometimes.”
He continued, “’Cause if you go up to someone, ’cause no one wants to go up and get embarrassed.” It was then that he revealed the most shocking tidbit: He does not approach women who pique his curiosity because of a fear of rejection.
“It’s more kind of, I don’t go after it. It happens organically. I don’t make moves. When I grew up, I grew up falling in love with girls and getting my heart broke,” he explained. Babyface has been married twice. His most recent marriage ended last year.
Fans were taken aback by the admission. “He too damn grown for that…. But he also don’t have to,” commented one listener. Another person commented, “Man you 60 something!! Get the confidence sir.”
At least one person felt his reserved nature was all a ploy. “Old skool move …. shy boi!!!! Lls,” read a comment. Another person suggested that maybe it wasn’t necessary for Babyface to approach a women given his celebrity status. “I think he’s so smooth he doesn’t really have to approach a woman. I’m sure they flock to him.”
But an overwhelming number of commenters were perplexed by the thought of a woman turning down the crooner. “….. but who rejecting Babyface?! And do that mean he do the rejecting?! Lol,” wrote one person.
“But, no woman doesn’t like you, I know for sure, cus you got that whip appeal.”
“No! I couldn’t bc ain’t no way! I’m not getting curved by Babyface.”
“Wow, he’s a nice looking man, so I don’t think many would turn him down.”