Just days after Ne-Yo reacted to cheating allegations from his wife Crystal Renay, 31, HollywoodLife can confirm she filed for divorce on Monday, August 1. The couple, who were married back in February of 2016, are reportedly on the outs following Crystal’s claims that the singer, 42, fathered a bay with another woman. Per TMZ, Crystal filed the papers stating that the union is, “irretrievably broken with no hope for reconciliation.” Additional details state that they separated on July 22, 2022, with Crystal caring for their children, Isabella Rose, 1, Roman Alexander-Raj, 4, and Shaffer Chimere Jr., 6, since they went their separate ways. The former Crystal Smith is reportedly asking for primary physical custody, with joint legal custody. She is also requesting both child support and alimony.
The model first leveled cheating allegations against Ne-Yo via a since-deleted Instagram post on July 30. The singer responded via Twitter the following day, July 31, with his own statement. “For the sake of our children, my family and I will work through our challenges behind closed doors,” he wrote. “Personal matters are not meant to be addressed and dissected in public forums. I simply ask that you please respect me and my family’s privacy at this time.”
Ne-Yo (real name Shaffer Chimere Smith) began dating the stunning model in 2015 and married her in 2016. They famously renewed their vows back in April with a lavish Las Vegas celebration. But Crystal’s filing still doesn’t come as a complete surprise — over two years ago, the songwriter announced that they were separating via the Private Talk With Alexis Texas podcast.
“It’s slowly but surely becoming public knowledge that myself and my wife have decided to go ahead and get a divorce,” he said in February 2020. “It’s not a sad thing, it’s more of us realizing that — long story short, I’m never gonna talk bad about her. I’m not that person. There’s nothing bad to say about her. She’s a fantastic woman. She’s the mother of my children and she’s always gonna be that and I will always respect her.”
Ne-Yo shares two children with ex-fiancée Monyetta Shaw, son Mason and daughter Madilyn, in addition to his three kids with Crystal. It’s worth noting that he previously dated Jessica White, who gave birth to her first child Chimera, a son, in 2005. Ne-Yo raised the baby as his own for a time, before discovering via paternity test in 2012 that he wasn’t the biological father, per Page Six.