Chilli Reflects On Past Relationship With Usher: ‘I Was Like, ‘God, Why Can’t I Get Over This?’ He Couldn’t Either’

During an exclusive interview with People, Chilli reflected on her past on-and-off relationship with Usher and difficult it was for the both of them to move on.

“We definitely had some chemistry,” she told the publication, when asked about her time with the R&B star. “But working chemistry does not mean it works in your personal life. If we were working, it was great. But outside of that, we’re so different.”

“It looked great, but in real life … he knew he had to be a certain way with me and he couldn’t,” While she denies rumors that his hit breakup album Confessions is about her (“I was with him at the studio that whole time”), the couple still wasn’t meant to be, she says due to differing values and trust issues. Still, they remained off and on for years, reconnecting when they weren’t in other relationships. “I love hard,” says Chilli. “I was like, ‘God, why can’t I get over this?’ He couldn’t either.” 

Leaning on her Christian faith, she eventually cut off contact for good in 2019 “to focus on myself,” she says. “I even stopped dating. 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.”

It is the first high-profile relationship the singer, 52, has had since famously dating Usher from 2001-2004.