Mary J. Blige’s divorce almost cost her everything.
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul lost her family and husband when she broke up with music industry worker Kendu Isaac. She also lost thousands of dollars in attorney fees, spousal support, and child support payments. Issac says that the split hurt him, too, and that he had to go to the hospital because of it.
Kendu Issac seemed like he would be Blige’s happy ending. “Be Without You,” one of her biggest hits, was written for him. She even cast Terrance Howard in the video because he had green eyes like her man.
After years of being married, it turned out that Kendu had been fooling around with an artist that he and Blige were helping. Some people think that the woman was dating both Mary and Kendu and got too serious with Issac. Either way, it broke up their marriage for good.
Kendu Issac’s Mistress Chucks Up The Deuces…. ? https://t.co/tGqjPgy6wl pic.twitter.com/Uj5OMEwz4K
— ✨✨ Let all your pain be champagne 🥂 (@BrooklynCreme) February 4, 2018
Blige’s work has gone from strength to strength since she took a short break to sell their house and get her finances in order. She’s back on top in 2023 thanks to a bunch of big Grammy nominations, a part on 50 Cent’s Power, and a successful tour.
Issac’s career is pretty much over because he played one of the music industry’s top ladies. This has made him “unemployable” in the music business. Before Blige was ordered to pay him a lot of money, Issac went to the hospital because he was so upset that his career was over.
The Blast said in 2018 that Kendu “experienced physical manifestations of stress and emotional distress from this matter, which led to him being hospitalized” after learning that the divorce had ended his career for good. Blige was finally told to give him $30,000 a month so he could keep living the way he did.
NEW: Mary J. Blige says she had to go on tour to pay the $30,000/month she owes her ex-husband in alimony.
She barely had money to pay her bills because he spent it all while they were married. pic.twitter.com/X1nJByIJDc
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) February 15, 2022
Blige was the only one in the marriage who brought in money, so when they broke up, she had to fight hard to get her things back from Issac.
This included her Grammys and a pre-paid Mercedes. When they broke up, they had over $10 million in debt between them.