American singer-songwriter R. Kelly has been in the news lately as he was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison over sex crimes. The final verdict of his case was announced on Wednesday. Read on to learn more about the three kids of the singer.
How many children does R. Kelly have?
The disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly is a father of three kids. The names of his three kids are as follows: Joann Kelly, Jay Kelly, and Robert Kelly Jr. He shares all of his children with ex-wife Andrea Danyell Kelly. His ex-wife is an American choreographer, dancer, and actress.
For those of you who are unversed, let us share with you Robert Sylvester Kelly popularly known as R. Kelly was married to Andrea from the year 1996 to 2009. The two of them got married in 1996 and their divorce got finalized in 2009.
Kelly’s ex-wife Andrea also accused him of abusing her emotionally and physically
Yes, you heard it right. Kelly and Andrea had a very complicated relationship back in the day. Later on, she stated that the When a Women’s Fed Up singer abused her emotionally and physically and that her heart breaks for her and her kids.
During an earlier interaction with Good Morning Britain, Andrea said, “This is now the legacy that my children will have to deal with and their children’s children. At the end of the day, you cannot walk away from your blood line.”
Drea further added, “I have the ability to separate and distance myself from it, but his blood runs through my children’s veins and it’s part of their DNA and they couldn’t escape it even if they wanted to. So it’s very difficult for me to sit in that position.”
Meet R. Kelly’s eldest child Joann Kelly
The eldest kid of the Step In The Name of Love singer is his daughter Joann Kelly. He and his ex-wife Andrea welcomed their first child into the world on March 19, 1998. She decided to follow in the footsteps of her dad, and be a singer.
The 24-year-old artist releases her music under the name Buku Abi. In November of 2020, Joann revealed to her fans that she had suffered a miscarriage just a month ago. In a rare interview with Associated Press, she talked about her father and his crimes and she went on to say that she is fully estranged from him.
Joann told the media outlet, “I don’t let that be a part of my every day (life). We don’t have a relationship, so it’s not like me to check in on him. I don’t personally go look it all up and read. I keep myself out of it.”
The singer explained how being R. Kelly’s daughter affected her in the music industry. She further added, “I definitely run across challenges — people wanting to work with me to spite him or people not wanting to work with me just because of who he is. I’ve definitely come across turmoil … being judged for really no reason at all, just based off associations. I’ve been pushing through it.”
What does R. Kelly’s second child Jay Kelly do for a living?
Jay Kelly is the middle child of the singer R. Kelly and his former partner Andrea. The pair’s second kid Jay joined them earthside in the year 2000. Jay was born as a female and originally his parents named him Jaya.
In 2014, Jay revealed that he was transgender meanwhile his dad R. Kelly did not support the transition of Jay. Later on, while interacting with WGCI, the It Seems Like You’re Ready singer said, “You don’t really wanna open it up by saying my daughter is becoming my son, because if that were true… Don’t even give the blogs that kind of credit. You know what I’m saying? Real talk.”
Around the time, Jay also pointed out the lack of support from his father. During a Q&A session with website ask.fm, the host asked Jay, “You mad your dad knows?”, Jay simply replied with: “Nope.” He confirmed that his mom referred to him as a boy. He also talked about how he tries to ignore the questions about his dad and he doesn’t think of himself as a celebrity.
Just like his elder sister Joann and his famous dad R. Kelly, Jay pursued a career in music. As of now, he is 22 years old. He goes by the name of JaahBaby. He released his first song Reservoir in the year 2014. He dropped another single titled Focus in October of 2019.
All you need to know about R. Kelly’s youngest child Robert Kelly Jr.
Robert Kelly Jr. is the youngest child of R. Kelly and his ex-wife Andrea. The singer’s then-wife Drea gave birth to the pair’s third child in the year 2002. As per the reports, at that time, Andrea was dealing with abuse at the hands of R. Kelly.
As per Heavy.com, Andrea said, “I was under so much stress that when I went to the OBGYN they couldn’t find his heartbeat,” in the Surviving R. Kelly documentary.
Drea also recalled an incident when she arrived in the emergency room she learned the doctors had to induce labor right away in order for Robert Jr. to survive. She further added, “I went through the labor and I just remember falling so in love with little Rob because he came here so strong. I was in that much stress.”
Unlike his older siblings, Robert Kelly Jr. likes to stay away from the spotlight. He leads more of private life. Up until now, he has not spoken much about his dad’s crimes. Whereas, in the past, Andrea said that none of her kids including Robert Jr. speak to the R&B singer.
While making an appearance on The Bert Show in January 2019, Drea said, “He has no relationship with his children now. He doesn’t call them, he changed his phone number. We don’t have that phone number.”
Do you think the strained relationship between R. Kelly with his three kids will ever get better? Kindly let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Don’t forget to stay tuned with us for the latest updates from the world of showbiz.
I truly don’t think his kids will have a relationship with his kids and vise versa I don’t think his kids want a relationship with him mostly due to him never being in their lives, then his case and him going to jail it seems like he never played a major role in their lives so they are not trying to be in his life, to me it doesn’t seem like they will be in each other’s lives