R. Kelly’s ex-wife Drea Kelly claims that he stopped paying his child support payments after her interview on the TV show “Sister Circle Live” in June of 2018.
Drea went on the show and alleged that R. Kelly had been physically and mentally abusing her during their marriage, according to a Friday TMZ report.
R. Kelly and Drea have three kids together who are now adults. Kelly has not maintained a relationship with them for months, a rep for Drea told TMZ.
When the couple divorced, she was a single mom with no job. She claims Kelly knew she had to rely on him to be financially stable, so he used it as a way to control her. (RELATED: R. Kelly Accused Of Having Sex With 13-Year-Old Girl In New Allegation)
Before Drea made the allegations, R. Kelly reportedly would pay the child support whenever he wanted to. Sometimes paying in full, sometimes not paying at all. After she alleged he abused her, the “Ignition” singer stopped paying the payments completely.
In a recent interview with Gayle King, R. Kelly claims he is trying to have a relationship with his kids but can’t because of all of the sexual abuse allegations. Sources told TMZ that’s not true because R. Kelly hasn’t reached out to the family since 2017.
R. Kelly was arrested Thursday for allegedly failing to pay $161,000 in back child support.