1991: After being discovered by a music executive, a 24-year-old R. Kelly signs with Jive Records.
Aug. 31, 1994: Kelly, 27, marries 15-year-old R&B singer Aaliyah.
October 1994: R. Kelly’s marriage to Aaliyah is annulled in Detroit and court records are sealed.
1996: R. Kelly marries Andrea Lee, a choreographer and dancer from his stage show.
January 2001: An anonymous videotape is sent to the Chicago Sun-Times showing R. Kelly having sex with what appears to be an underage female.
August 2001: R. Kelly is sued by Tracy Sampson, a former intern at Epic Records who claims to have lost her virginity to the singer at age 17. The case is eventually settled out of court.
June 5, 2002: R. Kelly is indicted on 21 counts of child pornography.
September 2005: Andrea Kelly files for an order of protection against R. Kelly and the couple separates.
June 13, 2008: R Kelly is acquitted of all child pornography charges.
January 8, 2009: R Kelly and estranged wife, Andrea Kelly, finalize their divorce.
Robert and Andrea enjoy a fun moment grilling together at a backyard barbeque. “He made me laugh,” says Andrea of her former husband. “He’s silly and I’m a very silly person.”
Andrea is all smiles for the camera. “People hear it in his music but I get to see it in his life. He has a tender heart,” the former Mrs. Kelly once said of her husband.
Andrea cuddles with the family dog.
Don’t rain on her parade.
Andrea dances in the street.
Lovely and confident, a stylish Andrea strikes a pose.
“I was a dancer before I met Robert, and I’ll be a dancer long after,” says Andrea.
Andrea soars at dance rehearsal. She has choreographed and danced for R. Kelly’s Best of Both Worlds, Key in the Ignition and TP2.com tours and appeared in his “Happy People,” “Thoia Thong” and “You Remind Me of Something” videos.
Andrea, left, in her professional persona. She has also volunteered at a Chicago public high school as a dance instructor.
Andrea, center, founded Dream Tu Dance Productions. Her goal is to open a dance academy on Chicago’s Southside, where Black girls can learn the styles of dance luminaries such as Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse and Martha Graham.
One year Andrea received the ultimate anniversary present from her former husband. It was a surprise. He pretended to take her to a restaurant and told her to close her eyes. He really took her to Debbie Allen’s studio to meet her idol and first dance teacher from watching “Fame” episodes.
Andrea, surrounded by dancers, watch their performances back at a rehearsal.
