They were almost a couple who joined the dozens of other celebrities who ended their marriages during the pandemic, but Ne-Yo and Crystal Smith were able to persevere. It seems as if with each new week that passes, another seemingly happily married couple announces their divorce. Most recently, that news came courtesy of Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet, a Hollywood pairing that many can’t believe are calling it quits.
In early 2020, Ne-Yo confirmed the rumors that he and his wife Crystal Smith were planning to divorce. He released a song, “Pinky Ring,” to set forth his new single life, but later, he and Crystal opted to work things out.
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In a recent interview with Essence, Ne-Yo explained how quarantine forced them to confront issues and communicate.
“What the quarantine did was kind of force us to sit down and have these really uncomfortable discussions that we, honestly, would not have had otherwise,” Ne-Yo said. “We would’ve never had the patience to sit in each other’s face and really just talk about what we don’t like about each other. If I’ve got an excuse to be gone, I’m gone, just to avoid the conflict.”
The pandemic “made us face the conflict head-on and what that did is basically strengthen us because now, I don’t have to pull punches when I talk to you. You know exactly where I stand. I know exactly where you stand and through that we’ve decided to keep going and it’s a more genuine feel to what it is we’re doing now.”
The singer and his wife welcomed their quarantine baby girl, Isabella, in July 2021. She is their third child together, but Ne-Yo’s fifth, and he said he’s done after this one. Check out “Pinky Ring” below.
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