Andrea Kelly, the ex-wife of R.Kelly, has given her thoughts on him recently being convicted of sex trafficking and the toll it will take on her children.
“I feel like my heart is in two places, ” Kelly said in an interview on Good Morning Britain.
R.Kelly was convicted on all ten charges he was being prosecuted for including racketeering and sex trafficking. The testimony at the trial revealed a trough of devastating information that confirmed that he is the abusive pedophile that he was accused of being over 20 years ago.
Kelly, who has three children with the disgraced R&B singer, expressed her concern that their father’s reckless and immoral behavior would be stuck to them for a lifetime.
“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,” Kelly said.
She compared the situation to having a parent that is an addict and how bloodlines (between R.Kelly and her children) keep her in an uncomfortable position.
She married R.Kelly in 1996 when she was a 22-year-old background dancer. The couple shares two daughters and one son. Their divorce was finalized in 2009.
Kelly has spoken publicly about the fact that her marriage to the convicted sex offender was rife with abuse and drove her to contemplate suicide at one point.
Still, Kelly said what most people have known for decades. R.Kelly was able to remain free for so long and evade an earlier conviction due to the poor standard of care that society has for Black girls and women.
“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,” Kelly said.
While her thoughts on how his conviction will affect her children are salient, the most notable part is that R.Kelly will finally be held accountable for the harms he committed against other people’s children.
