Ne-Yo and Wife, Crystal Renay Smith, Split; What Triggered The Breakup?

Ne-Yo may soon be a single man. The “Sexy Love” crooner and his wife, Crystal Renay Smith, are said to be headed for splitsville. The pair have been having marital trouble for some time. Crystal has reportedly decided she’s fed up with the World Of Dance judge and is planning to file official divorce documents.

Ne-Yo and Crystal Renay Smith’s relationship

Ne-Yo and Crystal met in 2014. The “So Sick” singer told the VIBE Magzine in a 2018 interview that Crystal was set to star in one of his music videos as the leading lady. 

“I initially met Crystal on what initially was supposed to be a music video,” he said. “I wanted to shoot a little video for the album I was putting out at the time. I was going to cast her, but in the process of us talking and getting to know each other, there was a click, there was a connection.”

They married in February 2016 in a Los Angeles oceanfront ceremony. At the time of the ceremony, Crystal was pregnant with the couple’s first child. Ne-Yo told PEOPLE Magazine that it was love at first sight meeting his wife. 

“I kind of knew right away,” he said. “From that first encounter, I knew there was something different about her, something special.”

The singer faced harsh backlash for his marriage to Crystal after he failed to marry his longterm girlfriend, Monyetta Shaw. He also was under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that Shaw had her tubes burned after Ne-Yo told her he didn’t want any more children. He and Shaw share two children together and after some bumps in the road, Shaw, Ne-Yo and Crystal began a co-parenting partnership.

Ne-Yo and Crystal have two sons, Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr., born in 2016 – and Roman Alexander-Raj Smith – born in 2018.

Ne-Yo and Crystal Renay Smith split

On Feb 8., The Jasmine Brand exclusively reported that Ne-Yo and Crystal split. Sources told the media outlet that the couple have been having issues for some time now and by the looks of their social media accounts, there have been many signs. 

Crystal wiped her Instagram page clean of any photos that included Ne-Yo. She also shared a few cryptic posts that hint to the problems they may have been facing.

Ne-Yo’s new year’s post made note of 2019 being a rough year for the two but promised that they were fighting for their marriage. 

“2019 had its bumps and bruises, yea sure…But it’s not about the difficulty, it’s about one’s ability to realize when something is worth fighting for and one’s willingness to push thru to the potential greatness of a situation,” he began with accompanying smiling and kissing photos with Crystal. “There’s no such thing as perfect, a lesson we both had to learn and lock in. But perfect for each other is a real thing. And that’s you and me.”

The source also told The Jasmine Brand that Crystal was the one who walked away. “Crystal left him. She’s had enough,” they said.

It’s not clear what type of issues the soon-to-be-divorced couple were experiencing, but many believe infidelity may have been involved. The Jasmine Brand reported that Crystal will be filing actual paperwork soon.