Brandy Was Once Almost A Real Life Basketball Wife – Her Dating History
Brandy has been blessed in the career department with huge success in music and acting. The “I Wanna Be Down” singer remains a favorite in the industry for her vocal ability. But her love life hasn’t had as much sparkle.
The songstress has been open about the pitfalls of dating, a history that includes a fake marriage, and two broken engagements – one to an NBA star.
Brandy’s marriage secret revealed
Brandy and Robert Smith announced they were married in 2002. At the same time, the singer announced that she was pregnant with her first child. Things went crazy after their relationship ended and Smith revealed in interviews that they faked their marriage after Brandy became pregnant. According to him, the singer and her label did so in order to protect her squeaky clean image.
Brandy admitted that she lied about the marriage but claimed that she and Smith had a “spiritual union.” She also confirmed that they were engaged to be married but decided they would be best as co-parents. She claimed that Smith was trying to destroy her image and was bitter about their breakup.
“We still share a common bond through our daughter, Sy’rai,” she said in a statement at the time. “He is not thinking about her, me, or what we had together. He is trying to destroy my reputation while using me and our daughter to get publicity and radio airplay for his artists. I am stunned that he is being so dirty about it.”
Brandy gets engaged to NBA player Quinten Richardson
Brandy had already begun dating basketball star Quinten Richardson when news of the fake marriage spread. Richardson basketball for the Los Angeles Clippers before playing for the Phoenix Suns. In a June 2004 interview with MTV News, Brandy spoke of her relationship with the baller.
“It’s definitely going well,” she said. “We’re taking it day by day because we’re both young and I’ve been through a crazy experience.”
Just a week after the back and forth between Brandy and Smith, Brandy announced that she was engaged to Richardson.
The Today Show reported that Richardson proposed to the singer with an 11-carat $1 million ring. “It was a total surprise for her,” said jeweler Jason Arasheben, who designed the ring for Richardson. The couple were surrounded by their families, close friends, and rose petals during the reception following the surprise proposal.
Brandy moved to Pheonix to live with Richardson. She also got a tattoo of Richardson’s face on her left shoulder and was often seen supporting him at games. They ended their engagement in October 2005 and Brandy changed the tattoo of Richardson’s face to an image of a cat.
Did Brandy ever marry after ending engagement with Quinten Richardson?
Brandy took a break from dating after suffering back-to-back heartaches. The singer was also dealt a blow when she was involved in a multi-car accident in Los Angeles that left one person dead. Though she was not found legally responsible, she settled with the family of the victim for an undisclosed amount. The ordeal took a toll on the singer.
After taking a hiatus from love, she’d finally found her prince charming in music executive Ryan Press. Press also took on managerial duties of the singer’s career. They became engaged while vacationing in Hawaii in 2012. She’d previously spoken about finding love in Press to Us Weekly.
“I had given up on love a long time ago. It just didn’t seem to work for me, so I was single for a very long time,” she said. “I stopped looking for love and then I ran into my boyfriend. “He just loves me for who I am.”
Unfortunately, they never made it down the aisle. US Weekly reported the couple called off their engagement in 2014. Brandy told Wendy Williams that the breakup was devastating to her and her daughter as she considered them all to be a family.
After the split with Press, she was linked to gospel artist Sir The Baptist but reportedly dumped him after just a few weeks of dating. She’s since focused on music and motherhood and even declared that she doesn’t foresee marriage in her future and chooses not to date.
