You’re probably already familiar with Ne-Yo, the hat-wearing R&B singer who gave us mega hits like “Miss Independent” and “Closer” back in the 2000s.
Well, in more recent years, conversations about Ne-Yo have been less about the music and more focused on his personal life — primarily due to a messy cheating and paternity scandal that played out over the course of his split from Crystal Renay between 2022 and 2023.
For context, Ne-Yo and Crystal married in 2016 and share three children. In 2022, Crystal publicly accused Ne-Yo of cheating on her with numerous women and subsequently filed for divorce. The following year, court documents revealed that the singer fathered two children while he and Crystal were still married. Ne-Yo also has two older children from a previous relationship, meaning he has seven children.
Since then, the 45-year-old has more openly started embracing polyamory, announcing in March this year that he is currently in a relationship with four women. He introduced his “pyramid” to the world via Instagram, revealing that each of his partners has a nickname: Cristina (“Pretty Baby”), Arielle (“Twin Flame”), Moneii (“Phoenix Feather”), and Bri (“Sexy Lil’ Somethin’”).
In April, he talked about the terms of the polyamorous relationship, revealing that his girlfriends aren’t allowed to date other people. And more recently, while appearing in a livestream with YouTuber Kai Cenat, he shared some extra insight into his unconventional lifestyle.
“I’m 45 years old. At this point in my life, everything I do is about what’s best for me, what’s best for my kids, and what’s best for my tribe,” he said, going on to explain how his split from Crystal led him to officially choose polyamory going forward. “I was married before this, to one woman. Things didn’t go well…and I made my mistakes. We got divorced, and a lot of people got hurt in the process. And I told myself in that moment, ‘I ain’t lying to nobody about nothing ever again.’”
Talking about how he kept things transparent with his various partners, he recalled telling one of his now-girlfriends, “Listen, you know I rock with you. I absolutely rock with you. But it ain’t just you. I also rock with her, and her, and her. So what I wanna do is bring this whole thing together.”
Ne-Yo also answered questions about their sleeping situation, saying that he has an Alaskan King-sized bed in his house. “That’s like two California Kings next to each other,” he explained. “You gotta get that mattress made.”
In a previous interview with Angie Martinez, Ne-Yo said that the secret to success in his relationships is honesty. “When I got with these women, I did not ask for their exclusivity. I did not demand their exclusivity. They asked for it,” he recalled. “I ain’t selling no dreams, and I’m not forcing anybody to be here.”
Well, whatever we might think, it sounds like it works for them. LMK your thoughts on this in the comments.