Lionel Richie has spoken candidly about the infamous fight between his first and second wives that took place nearly four decades ago.
In June 1988, Brenda Harvey was arrested and faced charges of trespassing, vandalism, battery and disturbing the peace after discovering the music legend at Diane Alexander’s Beverly Hills apartment. The charges were later dismissed.
Looking back on the incident in his new memoir Truly, Lionel described the dramatic confrontation as the “scandal of my century.”
“What very few people knew was that Brenda and I were already separated. I had taken a place at the beach, hiding away, trying to find space and breathe, because it was too much for everyone,” he writes in the book, in an excerpt shared by People. “Then the door opens, and there is Brenda. It turned into a huge confrontation. Diane was completely stunned, and I was just trying to walk out, to pull Brenda away. It became the most horrible screaming match of my life, all happening in this tiny entryway.”
Lionel admitted it was incredibly difficult watching the “disastrous” scandal unfold so publicly.
But what hurt the most, he revealed, was accepting how devastated Brenda had been.
“And I get it. Ladies and gentlemen, I get it,” the 76-year-old reflected. “That is the saddest day in a marriage. When you realize you might still love each other and share a history you will always have, but it is finished. And you know it in your heart.”
Lionel and Brenda, who adopted daughter Nicole Richie together, were married from 1975 until their divorce was finalized in 1993.
The Hello singer later married Diane in 1995, though the relationship ended in 2004. The pair share two children, son Miles, 31, and daughter Sofia, 27.
Lionel has been in a relationship with Lisa Parigi since 2014.
His memoir Truly is available now.
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