R&B star Usher and Tameka Foster-Raymond's impending divorce was confirmed to the public on Friday, but it appears as though the couple's split did not come as a surprise to their friends and family. Since tying the knot, the two kept the rumor mill afloat with claims of infidelity, family problems and Foster-Raymond's alleged controlling behavior. In the beginning, both Usher, 30, and Foster-Raymond, 38, refuted such stories, but recently they've chosen to remain silent.
"No one I've spoken to is surprised," says a source close to the pair. "As bad as this is [going to] sound, it was never a matter of 'I wonder if they'll divorce,' but more like 'I wonder WHEN they'll divorce.'"
Other members of their circle spoke of their dilapidated union unraveling shortly after the wedding. "They peaked before they even got married," said a friend of Foster-Raymond's. "Right after it was over, they started to drift apart. [Usher] just wasn't ready to settle down, at least not with her."
Two months after their September 2007 nuptials, Foster-Raymond, already a mother of three from a previous marriage, gave birth to the couple's first child. Usher Raymond V, nicknamed "Cinco," made his public debut by way of a magazine photo shoot alongside his doting dad. "He's [going to] admire me," Usher said in the interview. " He's [going to] look up to me. He's [going to] say, 'I [want to] be like my father.'" The Grammy winner also addressed his critics. "They think that it [the marriage] was forced," he said alluding to being "trapped." By 2008, Usher and Foster-Raymond welcomed their second son, Naviyd Eli Raymond.
"She wasn't pregnant when I asked her to marry me. As a man, I have to take responsibility and take a hold of my life. I'm accountable for what happens to my life now." Taking control of his life also included firing his mother Jonetta Patton, as his manager. Patton also did not attend his wedding ceremony. He has since re-hired her.
Though unsubstantiated to the public, the two had been living separate lives long before the split. "They've been going their own way for awhile," said a friend. "They don't spend a lot of time with each other. When they were together, it was all about the boys."
While his divorce petition was being filed in an Atlanta Superior Court, Usher was spotted at a Los Angeles nightclub hanging out with friends. The singer was described as "smiling and talkative." Prior to the filing, Foster-Raymond opted for a family outing attending a screening of the movie 'Imagine That,' with her mother and three of her five sons.
Earlier last week, Foster-Raymond went head-to-head with an angry blogger claiming to know details of her impending divorce. Today though, the mother of five, is singing a different tune and protecting her own image. "We were hoping this case would be resolved privately," said her lawyer Randall Kessler. "But since Usher filed it publicly we will have to respond." Kessler also stated that his client was a "faithful and loving mother."
Reps for Usher have yet to respond.
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