During an interview with Hollywood Unlocked, singer-turned-chef Kelis detailed the physical abuse she suffered at the hands of Nas during their marriage. Kelis described the marriage as tumultuous and abusive, so much so that she would walk around with bruises all over her body.
“There was a lot of mental and physical abuse,” Kelis said.
Kelis also spoke about the “highs and lows” within the marriage because of their use of alcohol and other substances.
“We had really intense highs and really intense lows. It was never normal. An intense high would be when money was rolling in. But I was 22 when I met him. We were drinking a lot, getting high a lot. So when that comes down, it was bad,” she said.
Kelis said she decided to walk away from the marriage after she saw photos of Rihanna’s face after she was beaten by Chris Brown.
“When the Rihanna and Chris Brown pictures came out, I thought about coming out because I also had bruises all over my body. But I didn’t say anything because I’m private. But seeing her the way she looked and then looking at myself, I felt embarrassed,” she stated.
Over the past several months, Nas and Kelis have been dealing with a bitter custody battle over their 7-year-old son, Knight, which came to a head over Easter weekend. In court filings, Nas has claimed that Kelis has tried to prevent him from spending time with their son, which Kelis vehemently denies.