Tina Knowles-Lawson has filed for divorce from her husband Richard Lawson, but fans are taking a look back at the celebrity mom’s comments about their relationship.
The 69-year-old shared an inspiring quote from actor Michael J. Fox on Instagram. It read, “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.”
The Houston native shared the quote in agreeance, adding her own sage spin on the concept of perfection. She wrote, “I could not agree more with Micheal J. Fox. Any human being who thinks that they are perfect, or is shocked and hurt that someone does not believe that they are perfect, is delusional.”
Adding, “I believe that Only God is perfect! What about you?”
Fans quickly compared the quote to an early interview where Ms. Tina discussed finding her perfect match once she fell in love with herself.
In 2018, OWN chose her and her husband Richard Lawson to chat about their marriage on the “Black Love” series. In the episode, she shared how her journey of self-love led her to find the “perfect” man for her.
“I’m a bad sister,” she said. “I have done some pretty incredible things. I deserve somebody because I’m great … I’ve accomplished all these things but I never owned them or felt good about them.”
The woman behind much of the “Dangerously In Love” star’s fashion sense said she had to feel good in order to attract the type of person she wanted to fall in love with.
Her advice to people, at the time, was to fall in love with themselves first before falling for someone else. As she talked about knowing her worth, she explained how at 59 she moved to a new city, got a new car, a new man, and created for herself a new life.
“It is possible. I envisioned the type of man I wanted. I pray for the type of man I wanted, and I got pretty much that. Is he perfect? Absolutely, not,” she said.
Lawson looked confused and said sarcastically, “I’m not.” “Absolutely not,” Tina said.
At the time, someone tweeted, “Okay, that Tina Knowles interview really got folks feeling like she played her husband. But WHY SHOULD SHE LIE AND SAY HE’S PERFECT IF HE’S NOT?!”
In light of Ms. Tina’s recent divorce filing after only eight years, new critics assert her comments didn’t age well. Some pointed to how she quickly said he wasn’t perfect, others said it was her tone.
“This for y’all talking about that video clip! Always a classy read!
“Sounds like she’s still battling with her previous gripes with Matthew and him making her feel a way about herself and she was projecting that into Richard.”
“The issue isn’t that she doesn’t think he’s perfect; the issue was how she talked to him during the interview.”
“Acts, ain’t nobody perfect. the delivery could’ve been nicer but she wasn’t wrong!”
“It’s not what she said it’s how she said it. Nobody is perfect everybody should know that young and old.”
Others believe that the quote and her interview were right on point, including one who said, “Every word she said had nothing to do with perfection and everything with to do with excellence and being your best self on period!”
Now with an uncertain but new independence on the horizon, Ms. Tina might not be clear on what’s next, but she is clear about what she’s not looking for.
