Usher: Variety Contributor Chilli: Slaven Viasic
Usher recently revealed that his ex-girlfriend, Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas, was his childhood celebrity crush.
Essence reports that the Atlanta crooner admitted his truth during an interview for the publication’s ‘Sexiest Men of the Moment’ spread.
Essence promoted ‘The Men’s Issue’ with a 60-second clip of Usher, captioned, “Step into the bedroom. We got Usher alone, in his robe, and asked him to bare it all, answering the questions we all want to know.”
Usher began, “Imma be real honest with y’all today.”
Seductive background music played as he admitted, “Chilli was my first celebrity crush. I think I was 11 or 12, something like that.”
In February, the 45-year-old told PEOPLE, “At the age of 8, I put her poster on my wall and said, ‘Man that girl is so beautiful. One day, I’m going to meet her.'”
US Weekly reports, that Usher and Chilli initially met in 1993. The pair began dating roughly a decade later in 2001. Their romance lasted for three years before they broke up due to Usher’s alleged infidelity in 2004.
Chili told PEOPLE in June 2023, that she stayed in touch with Usher over the years.
“I love hard. I was like, ‘God why can’t I get over this?’ He couldn’t either,” Thomas said.
The TLC member admitted they connected intermittently for years when they weren’t in relationships. Usher also recently admitted that he popped the question to Rozonda but she turned him down.
As of late, they both have moved on. Usher is married to Jenn Goicoechea, and Chilli is dating actor Mathew Lawrence.
Later in the Essence clip, the ‘Super Star’ singer revealed more about his personal life.
“I don’t really have days off but if I choose to take some time off or not work, I’m either doing yoga or with my kids. I’m a homebody man. I really like to be at the crib,” Usher said.
He also spoke about fatherhood, stating, “The best thing for me about being a father is knowing that I can be the one that my dad couldn’t be to me.”
