Ne-Yo’s ‘Behind the Music’ special aired over the weekend and while fans got a taste of his ups and downs in the industry, the real business was the story of his ex-girlfriend who broke his heart over some baby mama drama that inspired some of his biggest hits.
Shortly after being signed to Def Jam, Ne-Yo met an aspiring singer by the name of Jessica White who eventually had a son she named Chimere (Ne-Yo’s middle name). Although photos of Ne-Yo and his new son were posted online, years later, Jessica dropped a bomb on Ne-Yo when she revealed that her son wasn’t his child. Even still, she was able to get a few dollars out of him in child support and shortly afterward she disappeared.
Last night on ‘Behind The Music’, Ne-Yo, his mom and his sister discussed the incident and their reservations about the girl from the beginning:
Ne-Yo On Jessica
She was just cool, that was the thing that attracted me to her. It was like, ‘I don’t give a damn about your money and that was refreshing to me.[…]I’m gone all the time working. Jessica would call me from time-to-time and go, I need some money for this or for that. I’m like, okay whatever. So I’m sending her ungodly amounts of money every single time she calls.
Ne-Yo’s Sister Talks His Relationship With Jessica
One month he was calling saying, “Oh, I’m dating this woman,” and then the next month it was, “Oh, we’re going to get a place together.” Everything was just like, boom boom boom boom. Fast.[…]I think from the mother/sister perspective, we always kind of have our eyes open like, ‘Hmmmm, does she see dollar signs?’
Ne-Yo’s Mother On Her Knowing Jessica Was Bad News
I strongly felt that she was not the right person for my son. I had suspicions immediately.[…]In the back of my mind I’m kind of keeping score and checking things off and then of course when the time came for me to put in my two cents, I gave a couple [of] bucks. So he wasn’t surprised by my suggestion that they do a paternity test.
Ne-Yo On Finding Out the Baby Wasn’t His
Jessica called me, balling crying. I’m like, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ And all she could say is, ‘He’s not yours, he’s not yours.’ She just kept saying it over and over and over again, to the point where I dropped the phone. Chimere’s not mine. That hurt ’cause I had attached myself to this guy, you know. This is my son. I’m looking at him and I’m picturing I’m gonna be old, and he’s gonna be — this is my son! It’s not my son.
On Trying to Take Care of Chimere & Jessica Taking Him to Court for Child Support
I didn’t care who the father was. In my mind, I was still Chimere’s father. I was there when he was born. I saw him when he first came out. I held him. He was my kid.
In the state of California if you put yourself out there as the father, the mother can then come after you in court like you’re the biological father so we settled out of court for what I thought was an ungodly amount of money. Shortly after that Jessica and Chimere vanished. [So you’re not in touch with him now?] No. Nope. [Sorry.] Life goes on and so do we.
WOW I just can’t imagine how hurt he was by this! Just so F’ing sad!
