Ne-Yo and his wife, Crystal Smith, are going their separate ways.
The singer confirmed the news on an episode of the Private Talk With Alexis Texas podcast, released on Saturday, sharing that he and Crystal are getting a divorce after four years of marriage.
Recommended Videos
"It's slowly but surely becoming public knowledge that myself and my wife have decided to go ahead and get a divorce," Ne-Yo began, referencing recent rumors of a split. "It's not a sad thing, it's more of a us realizing -- long story short, I'm never gonna talk bad about her. I'm not that person. There's nothing bad to say about her. She's a fantastic woman. She's the mother of my children and she's always gonna be that and I will always respect her."
"Long story short, she's got demons just like everybody else, just like me," he continued. "We realize that our demons don't mesh and until both of us get a hold of our personal demons, it's gonna be just difficult for us to stay married. With that being said, that's that, that's the end of that chapter, not the end of the book. Like I said, that's the mother of my kids and I love her to death. We're going to be family forever."
Ne-Yo and Crystal married in 2016, and share two kids together: 2-year-old Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. and 1-year-old Roman Alexander-Raj Smith. The singer is also dad to 9-year-old Madilyn and 8-year-old Mason from his previous relationship with Monyetta Shaw.
On Saturday's podcast, Ne-Yo also revealed that his split from Crystal inspired his upcoming new single, "Pinky Ring."
"The song is not a diss to her, the song is not about her," he explained. "The song is about how I chose to handle the situation, the way that I chose to lift myself up and keep moving, as we all must do."
Ne-Yo opened up about his relationship with Crystal and how she was pushing him to "do better" in a 2018 interview with ET. See more in the video below.
RELATED CONTENT:
Ne-Yo Calls Being a Father 'the Best Thing You'll Ever Do in Real Life' (Exclusive)
Ne-Yo on Pitbull Calming His Nerves About Singing in Spanish (Exclusive)
Ne-Yo Dishes on Jennifer Lopez’s Engagement: ‘It’s the Happiest I’ve Seen Her’ (Exclusive)