Porsha Williams recently gave more insight into her romance with R. Kelly.
After the disgraced singer became convicted on racketeering charges in September 2021, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star admitted that Kelly was her ex. Throughout Williams’ book, The Pursuit of Porsha, she provided details regarding their relationship’s nature. According to the project, she dated him before his most recent allegations.
During her interview on The Tamron Hall Show, Williams shared why she felt responsible for the abuse she endured by Kelly while they were together.
Porsha Williams said she initially didn’t think of herself as one of R. Kelly’s ‘victims’
Williams, 40, made her debut on RHOA in 2012. At the time, the Pampered by Porsha CEO was married to former NFL star Kordell Stewart. Once they divorced in 2013, Williams gave viewers a candid view of her dating life. In 2018, her engagement and split from Dennis McKinley became a significant RHOA storyline.
While Williams gained recognition from her fans for being transparent about her love life, she intentionally kept her romance with Kelly under wraps. The mother of one told Hall that, when the singer’s sexual abuse allegations resurfaced in 2019, she knew she had to disclose the relationship.
However, Williams admitted that she didn’t feel like the suitable “victim” to discuss her abuse.
“You know, I was a grown woman,” she explained. “I had a penthouse in Buckhead, and I had my own business. I wasn’t your usual so-called victim. But because as a young woman, I did not value who I was, I only wanted to be what someone else thought I needed.”
Porsha Williams hid her abuse from her mother, Diane T. Williams
R. Kelly and Porsha Williams met in Atlanta in 2007. When she first connected with him, the reality star wanted to become a singer. However, they eventually grew closer, and Kelly invited Williams to his Chicago home.
In an interview with People, she claimed he locked her in a room for hours before asking her to get undressed. The pair hung out two other times until Williams allegedly heard another woman being harmed by Kelly.
Although she eventually stopped speaking to the Grammy winner, the Porsha’s Having a Baby alum kept the abuse to herself. Until recently, Williams didn’t even tell her mom, Diane T. Williams, about the dark parts of the relationship.
“I think for any woman or man who’s been in an abusive situation, you don’t want to tell your parents because you don’t want them to think that they had let you down in any way,” she explained to the outlet. “I don’t want her to think that she had done anything wrong. And so I took it upon myself.”
Ultimately, Williams opened up to her mother about her experiences. The reality star now hopes that sharing her story will continue to help other domestic violence survivors.
R. Kelly was found guilty of racketeering, sexual exploitation of a child, kidnapping, bribery, and sex trafficking on Sept. 27, 2021.