Appearance, Interview, Lifestyle, News

Chilli Focused on Matthew Lawrence After Usher Claims He Was Heartbroken She Rejected His Marriage Proposal 20 Years Ago!

Chilli and Usher (2002)

Usher tore down the TV ratings this past weekend when he headlined the Super Bowl with a show-stopping performance, and secretly married his long time girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea in Las Vegas.

However, the R&B superstar decided to dive into his past and touched on his previous relationship with the ‘C’ of TLC, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, whom he dated from 2001 to 2004.

In a cover story he did with PEOPLE magazine, Usher said, “If I am to be honest, I was her No. 1 fan, and she was my superstar. 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.’”

Explaining why the relationship with Chilli didn’t work out, he admits, “I was a young man, and she had very specific rules that didn’t work for me,” he says. “We were missing each other. I really did want to have a different type of relationship where she was there with me, and she couldn’t be. She didn’t believe that I was actually in love with her as much as I was.”

Usher then stuns readers with his admission, saying, “I wanted to marry her. I proposed, and she told me no. I went through a great deal of pain after that, not trusting women or wanting to open up.” He admits, “I hurt her too,” but the situation “broke my heart.”

Chilli and Usher (2003)

Of course, the media would expect a response from Chilli after Usher’s recent revelations. However, a spokesperson for Chilli has informed TMZ that Chilli is far too occupied with her current beau of 2 years, Matthew Lawrence, to be focused on anything that is going on in the press.

Chilli was in fact spending some quality time at the Sandals resort in Jamaica with Matthew, celebrating his 44th birthday.

“More importantly,” TMZ states, “[Chilli’s] mind is a world away from all this Usher stuff. Speaking of which, our sources tell us that Chilli, generally, takes marriage very seriously … and she’s not just going to hop into a commitment like that until she’s totally convinced she and her partner are both ready for marriage.”

Chilli with boyfriend Matthew Lawrence (2023)
Usher with wife Jennifer Goicoechea (2024)

Time is a healer, after all. And Usher seems to have finally moved on. These days, “I’m not hurt over that at all,” Usher says of him and Chilli not working out. “We’ve since become cool with each other, celebrate each other and it’s always light when we see each other.”