Usher recently married longtime girlfriend Jenn Goicoechea, but at one point in time he wanted Chilli to be his wife.
In this week’s People cover story, he discussed the time he popped the question and the TLC star turned him down. The two dated from 2001 to 2004.
“I wanted to marry her,” he shared. “I proposed and she told me no.” He said the relationship didn’t work out because “I was a young man, and she had very specific rules that didn’t work for me.”
“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,” he continued. “She didn’t believe that I was actually in love with her as much as I was.”
Usher expressed he “went through a great deal of pain after” Chilli rejected his proposal, noting he was “not trusting women or wanting to open up.” While he admitted he also caused her pain, he said that particular situation “broke my heart,” which is why he moved cautiously while remaining cordial after the breakup.
“We were cool with each other, but I was very careful with that,” he said. “I really did love that girl, and I was like, I don’t want to play with you. Like, ‘I can’t give you what I gave you. I did everything that I thought you would’ve wanted me to do, but I guess my good wasn’t great enough.'”
Nowadays, Usher’s not at all hurt over things not working out with Chilli. “We’ve since become cool with each other, celebrate each other and it’s always light when we see each other,” he said.
Chilli is now dating actor Matthew Lawrence.
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