This week, Chilli did an interview with People, where she opened up about her past relationship with Usher.
For context, Chilli and Usher met in the ’90s after signing to the same record label, and were together from 2001 to 2004.
“We definitely had some chemistry,” Chilli told People. “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.”
Chilli said that while they may have looked “great” to fans, “in real life,” the relationship was not sustainable. “He knew he had to be a certain way with me and he couldn’t.”
Usher’s 2004 album Confessions — which features songs about heartbreak and infidelity — has long been speculated to be inspired by his breakup with Chilli, which Chilli denied. Instead, she says the split came down to their “differing values and trust issues.”
Still, she dated Usher off and on for years after their initial split. “I love hard,” Chilli admitted. “I was like, ‘God, why can’t I get over this?’ He couldn’t either.”
Their contact finally ceased in 2019 when Chilli decided to “focus” on herself. “I even stopped dating,” she shared. “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.”
Today, Chilli seems to have fully moved on. She said she has “no hard feelings” toward Usher — and even credits the romance for laying the groundwork for her current relationship with Matthew Lawrence.
“I have never experienced anything like this,” she told People of the relationship. “He wants to be the best guy he can be and who God wants him to be. God-willing one day we’ll get married.”
You can read Chilli’s People interview here.
