Kelis Says Nas Was Abusive During Marriage: 'A Lot Of Mental And Physical Abuse'

Amid her custody battle with ex-husband Nas, singer Kelis reveals that she was physically and mentally abused, which led to the divorce.

The 38-year-old singer opened up about her failed marriage with the rapper, including infidelity and abuse. Kelis, who might be best known for her song "Milkshake," and Nas split in 2009, and her interview with Hollywood Unlocked is the first in-depth one since the fallout.

Kelis narrated that the relationship meant journeying through "intense highs and lows." She pointed out that they never found themselves in the middle of the extremes. Intense highs are the times when the money is coming in good, drinking, and getting high. Meanwhile, intense low was described by the singer as "really dark."

"A lot of mental and physical abuse and it got to the point where if I wasn't pregnant, I might have stayed with him," she narrated.

Kelis and Nas share a son, Knight, whom the former was pregnant with when they decided to call things off. She said that it was that time when she finally decided to leave the man, citing the environment the boy would be growing up on. But if she didn't carry a child at the time, she admitted she would have chosen to stay.

But if that was the case, what prompted Kelis to leave an abusive relationship with Nas? She revealed that it was the time when Rihanna and Chris Brown were surrounded by domestic violence rumors in 2009 that she thought of coming out, but didn't, thinking she and the rapper could resolve issues.

She, however, filed for divorce in April 2009, two months after Rihanna's photos surfaced. Kelis disclosed that Nas acknowledged what he had done when he had seen reports about the "Umbrella" singer's physical abuse.

Infidelity

As mentioned, she wouldn't have left the relationship. Kelis confessed that her ex-husband cheated on her for two years, and she knew this. However, it wasn't solely the reason why she decided to walk away.

"I didn't file for divorce because he cheated. He had been cheating for two years, and I knew that. It was because, on top of all the other stuff, and then you're gonna cheat? It was too much," Kelis shared.

Kelis wasn't the first to allege Nas of these things. The rapper shared another child with Carmen Bryan, who, in her memoir It's No Secret, said the "If I Ruled the World" rapper physically abused her.