A couple of months ago, Usher shocked us all when he spontaneously decided to tie the knot with his partner Jennifer Goicoechea. One person who might have been particularly surprised was his former wife, Tameka Foster. But what she told TMZ about her thoughts on the marriage might be more surprising still.
The new couple had an impromptu in Las Vegas in February after Usher’s showstopping Super Bowl performance. TMZ Hip Hop quickly found Tameka to ask for her take on the event. What she said may come as a shock.
Tameka was being interviewed ahead of the launch of her new reality TV series Bold and Bougie. But after what had happened, it was obvious she would be asked about Usher and Jennifer’s surprise nuptials.
However, it seemed like the news was not information Tameka had heard about. She told TMZ, “I thought he been married” while reportedly shaking her head. She went on to say, “I don’t know – I stopped keeping up with that type of thing.”
The interviewer responded by agreeing that it was unusual for people to keep up to date about their ex’s love life but went on to say that after the news of the wedding broke, Tameka’s name was repeatedly brought up on social media.
When asked why, Tameka could only say, “I don’t know. It seemed like she wasn’t even sure how many marriages her ex actually had. She said, “Like that’s his like second, third… I don’t know.”
Tameka and Usher Have a Good Relationship Now
Although she didn’t seem to have any interest in his new marriage, Tameka made sure to say only positive things about Usher in response to the questions. She told the interviewer, “He’s a good dad. That’s what I care about.”
She also praised his performance at the Super Bowl, saying, “And he’s a dope performer ‘cause did y’all see the halftime show?”
RELATED: Usher’s New Marriage Details
A short time later Tameka doubled down on her praise for her ex in an interview with People Magazine. Once again she focused not so much on their old relationship but on how great Usher had been as a co-parent to their children.
Tameka said that “everything is great” between her and Usher when it comes to their kids. She went on to say, “We’re friends and the kids are at an age now where they can kind of say where they want to be as far as, ‘Hey I want to be at Dad’s. I want to go to Mom’s.’”
She went on to explain that the former couple had “a very open door policy” about their two sons, which meant that they “let ‘em go where they want to go.” So far, Tameka said, it was all going “pretty smoothly.”
Usher and Tameka Had a Nasty Custody Battle
While it’s great to hear how easy they both found co-parenting these days, anyone who followed the story of their divorce knows things weren’t always smooth sailing. During their custody battle, some shocking allegations were made about Usher’s ability to be a good father to their sons.
Tameka alleged that Usher had a history of using all kinds of illegal substances during their marriage and that it had a serious impact on their family life. During proceedings, Usher did not deny his substance use, but he said that it was all in the past. He also stressed that he never used anything in front of his and Tameka’s kids.
Tameka doubled down on her belief that Usher was an unfit parent. She hinted heavily that Usher would usually prefer to be out partying than taking on his responsibilities as a father.
During his deposition, Usher couldn’t control his feelings. He showed how much his custody battle was affecting him, not only professionally, but also emotionally.
Usher finally addressed the public’s interest in his messy divorce battle in an interview with Oprah. He talked about how betrayed he felt by how harshly Tameka was treating him as a father.
Tameka Took Usher Back to Court
It looked like their long and brutal custody battle was finally over in 2012 when Usher was awarded primary custody of the boys. However, less than a year later, a horrific incident brought Usher’s ability to take care of them back into question.
Tameka sought legal action after the ex-couple’s older son got caught in a pool drain while in the care of Usher’s aunt. Tameka wanted to get temporary primary care of the kids, alleging that they were in a dangerous environment.
Usher’s aunt, Rena Oden, was looking after the boys on the day of the accident. Usher’s son fell to the bottom of the pool and became stuck in the drain.
The court heard that a housekeeper tried unsuccessfully to free him. Then, a contractor working on the house pulled him free and performed CPR.
Although emergency medical workers later arrived, the child was conscious and alert by that time. However, he was still taken to the hospital for assessment.
The next day, Tameka filed for custody, citing the accident as proof of a lack of supervision. During the proceedings, it was Tameka’s turn to break down in the stand.
However, Usher’s lawyer claimed that Tameka had different motivations for going to court. What he said was pretty brutal.
The lawyer claimed that rather than being grateful that her child was alive, Tameka was using the episode to revisit the custody battle and gain publicity, which seemed pretty unfair, considering what happened. It was understandable that Tameka was worried about her kids’ safety after such a scary moment.
Tameka Failed to Get Primary Custody
Tameka claimed that Usher never communicated with her about anything to do with the kids. He would allegedly not tell her where he or the kids were at any time, or who was looking after them.
She went on to say that because of Usher’s frequent traveling, he used caregivers, like his aunt, who Tameka felt weren’t qualified for the job. However, Usher told a different story. He stated that he sent Tameka a weekly email detailing the children’s plans for the upcoming week and that she could contact the children or the people looking after them at any time.
Tameka’s lawyer then attacked Usher for failing to tell her about the accident until 45 minutes after it happened. Usher said that he wanted to get information about how serious it was before calling her.
In the end, Tameka failed to get primary custody. The judge in charge of the case said that what happened was an awful accident. But, he wasn’t certain that anyone could really have done anything to prevent it.
However, the judge also advised Usher to make sure he was keeping Tameka informed of his whereabouts. When the verdict was announced, Tameka broke down in tears again. Everyone was shocked at what happened next.
Usher immediately went over to his ex-wife to give her a hug. Maybe this was the first step they took towards healing their broken relationship for the sake of their kid. If so, it seems to have paid off, with the former partners now only seeming to want good things for each other.
