Chilli, one-third of the R&B group TLC, has admitted that she used to “Creep” with Usher Raymond long after they split ways in 2003.
In recent “Confessions” to PEOPLE, the 52-year-old mother of one said that the pair remained in contact in the years to follow.
“I love hard,” said Chilli, whose real name is Rozonda Thomas. “I was like, ‘God, why can’t I get over this?’ He couldn’t either.”
She said she finally decided to distance herself from the performing artist in 2019 because she needed “to focus on myself.”
“I even stopped dating,” she said. “Because before that I thought if I met the right guy during that time that I wasn’t over [Usher] it wouldn’t work. I would never want to straddle the fence.”
The Baby, Baby, Baby star further added that she and the 44-year-old father of four would continue to see in each other when they were not involved in other relationships.
But a Page Six report noted that Usher was “married to Tameka Foster from 2007 to 2009 and to Grace Harry from 2015 to 2018, which was one year before Chilli and Usher ended communication with each other.”
The same year Chilli and Usher split, he released the widely praised Confessions album, which many believe manifested because of his infidelity during his relationship with the Georgia native.
But in 2013, Chilli shut those rumors down, stating that Usher did not cheat on her.
“We were together when he recorded that album. All of those songs on Confessions, that was about Jermaine Dupri’s situation. Usher was just singing it. But people kind of bought into it, it was just the timing of our breakup when the album came out,” she said at the time.
She added that they split ways “because it was that time,” adding that Usher “was that real love for me.”
Chilli is currently dating Matthew Lawrence, the popular actor who starred in Mrs. Doubtfire and Boys Meet World, for some months now.
The pair were first spotted together on a beach in Hawaii last August, and more recently, Chilli invited Lawrence to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with her family in Atlanta.
“I’ve been with Chilli since 2005 and I’ve never seen her this in love,” Jordan told PEOPLE. “She is glowing. They are really cute together.”
The couple went on Instagram to officially announce their relationship by posting a joint post of them dancing in matching PJs to A-ha’s Take on Me.
“This makes me very happy!!” Danielle Fishel, Lawrence’s former Boy Meets World co-star commented.
“I don’t know why this got my FEELINGS all stirred up. I do not keep up with either. But I LOVE this connection for y’all. Why does this make me so happy? All the best. Enjoy. Happy 2023,” wrote another commenter.
Chilli has been previously linked to soul crooner Usher, producer Dallas Austin and super featherweight boxer Floyd Mayweather, and starred in the VH1 2010 reality show, What Chilli Wants, which took fans on her journey to find love.
Lawrence is also part of a famous trio. His brothers Joey Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence are both known celebrities in Hollywood.
News of the couple seeing each other comes just months after Lawrence finalized his divorce from dancer Cheryl Burke. The Dancing with the Stars contestant filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences and listed their date of separation in January 2021. Lawrence and Burke were married for three years and shared no children.
