In a recent interview, R. Kelly‘s ex-wife Drea Kelly revealed that her heart “breaks” for their children after Kelly was convicted of multiple sex trafficking charges earlier this week.
R. Kelly was found guilty on all nine charges after his racketeering and sex trafficking trial concluded in New York City on Monday, theGrio previously reported. Kelly was “charged with eight counts of violating the Mann Act, an anti-sex-trafficking statute, and one count of racketeering,” theGrio’s Stephanie Guerilus reported.
Following this news, Kelly’s ex-wife, with whom he shares three children, appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to respond to the verdict.
Drea Kelly shared in the interview that it is “sad” that it took so long for this verdict.
She explained, “I’ve always said if any of his victims were blonde and blue-eyed it wouldn’t have taken this long. Women of color tend to be lowest on the totem pole when it comes to subjects of domestic violence and sexual abuse.”
As Kelly’s ex-wife and mother of his three kids, she revealed, “I sit in a very difficult place because unlike the rest of his victims, I also share children with him, I was married to him, so I wear two hats. I wear the hat of a survivor and an advocate, but I also wear the hat of a mother and an ex-wife. So it’s very difficult for me.”
“I feel that my heart is in two places,” she added. “‘My heart definitely goes out to the survivors and the courage that it takes to come forward and tell the story, but my heart breaks as a mother because this is now the legacy that my children will have to deal with and their children’s children.”
She continued, “At the end of the day, you cannot walk away from your bloodline. I have the ability to separate and distance myself from it, but his blood runs through my children’s veins and it’s part of their DNA and they couldn’t escape it even if they wanted to. So it’s very difficult for me to sit in that position.”
Drea, who divorced Kelly in 2009, also opened up about the cycle of abuse she lived through while married to Kelly during their 13-year union.
“It’s a life of constant fear and if anyone has done their research — and I hope more journalists will if you decide to interview more victims and survivors. Knowing the cycles of abuse — it’s called walking on eggshells, that’s what it means. That is the term that is used when you never know what you’re going to get. Like I said in the interview before, having the milk too cold and the one time it’s not cold enough.”
She referenced Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, citing the “constant fear” and “intimidation,” that abuse survivors face from abusers who can go from charming to violent, sometimes in a matter of seconds.
Kelly, who has been bullied online for speaking out about her ex-husband and her experience with him, said she agreed to the interview to acknowledge the strength and courage of survivors who shared their stories.
Watch the emotional clip below:
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