Usher has revealed that he once proposed to TLC's Chilli.
The R&B artist has admitted that he was heartbroken after Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas turned down his marriage proposal in the early 2000s.
In a new interview with People, Usher, 45, opened up about his past relationship with the singer, whom he dated from 2001 to 2004.
"If I am to be honest, I was her No. 1 fan, and she was my superstar," Usher said of his ex-girlfriend, who was seven years his senior. "At the age of eight, I put her poster on my wall and said, 'Man that girl is so beautiful. One day I'm going to meet her.'"
Usher and Chilli dated for three years but went their separate ways at the end of 2004.
"I was a young man, and she had very specific rules that didn't work for me," Usher explained. "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."
Despite the struggles in their relationship, the Love in this Club singer said that he was keen to marry the No Scrubs hitmaker.
"I wanted to marry her. I proposed and she told me no," Usher revealed. " I went through a great deal of pain after that, not trusting women or wanting to open up."
He added that he "hurt her too." but he admitted the rejection still "broke my heart".
Last week, Usher surprised fans by tying the knot with longtime girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea after headlining the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show. Meanwhile, Chilli, 52, has been dating actor Matthew Lawrence since November 2022.
