HOLLYWOOD star John Legend is in the process of mending a strained relationship with his mother. He often shows off his music and family life on social networks.
The dad-of-two has spoken about rebuilding his connection with his mom, Phyllis, through the years.
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John Legend and his mom Phyllis StephensCredit: Getty
Who are John Legend’s parents?
John Roger Stephens, whose stage name is John Legend, is the son of Phyllis and Ronald Stephens.
The All Of Me singer grew up in a divorced home in Ohio but his parents reconciled 12 years later.
They ultimately split up again and Ronald remarried a woman named Deidre Hamlar.
Ronald was a factory worker at International Harvester and an amateur drummer.
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His mom, Phyllis, was a seamstress and award-winning quilt maker and a singer for their church choir.
Currently, Ronald is the owner of a hat company called Pop Topz.
Speaking with OWN Spotlight, Legend shared that it was his dad who primarily raised him when he was a kid.
“I lived with my dad most of my adolescence,” he said.
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“My parents got divorced, and my mom wasn’t in a good place during our adolescent years. So we all lived with my dad.”
He added, “So I’m not the norm when you see a lot of kids talking about growing up in a single-parent home because the single parent was our dad.”
“And I’m still very close with him. I think our personalities are very aligned… I still carry a lot of lessons that he consciously or unconsciously taught us.”
Legend also opened up about his strained relationship with his mom back in 2019 to Radar Online.
Phyllis reportedly spent time in jail as Legend was growing up and was arrested various times for theft, drug abuse, and soliciting.
The singer penned an essay for Time about his mother’s absence in his life, writing: “As a teenager growing up in Ohio, I watched my mother disappear into more than a decade of drugs and despair after my maternal grandmother … died.
“My mother’s addiction didn’t just tear her life apart; it tore me and the rest of our family apart, too.
He continued: “Drug addiction, for anyone who doubts it, is a serious problem, and our society is right to want to tackle it.
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Legend and Phyllis had a strained relationship as he was growing upCredit: Getty
“But we’ve been going about it wrong.
Adding: “My mother didn’t need punishment; she needed help. Criminalizing drug abuse only further shatters people and families that are already in pieces.”
Legend told People magazine that the relationship between him and his mom is on the mend, and now her mom spends time with her grandchildren.
“My mom spends a lot of time with the kids, and she loves coming to visit me at The Voice too,” he said.
“We’re really close now partially because of the kids. […] But you have to do some forgiving too, when you’re older. We’re in a really good place now.”
Is John Legend married?
John Legend has been married to Chrissy Teigen since 2013.
The pair met on the set of Legend’s Stereo music video in 2006, in which Teigen had been tapped to star in.
They hit it off instantly and initially tried to keep things casual, but their relationship quickly turned serious.
They got engaged in 2011 and married in 2013.
The couple had a small wedding at a courthouse in New York City with model Irina Shayk as a witness, and days later, they had a luxurious ceremony in Lake Como, Italy.
How many children do John Legend and Chrissy Teigen have?
The couple are parents to four kids: Luna Simone, Miles Theodore, Esti Maxine, and Wren Alexander.
In August 2020, they confirmed they were expecting another child, Jack.
Tragically, Teigen announced that the couple had lost the little boy.
She shared the news on the evening of Wednesday, September 30, and posted heart-rending black and white photos of her grieving at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Esti and Wren were born within six months of each other.
Teigen carried Esti, while their surrogate, Alexandra, carried Wren.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted four children,” Teigen shared on Instagram.
“As a little girl, 2 glow worms and 2 cabbage patch dolls were perpetually in my arms, helping me stir in my kitchen, watching ‘Alf’ with me. We’d sleep together nightly, each getting the same amount of kisses as to not make the others jealous.”
After they lost Jack, Teigen and Legend decided to try for another kid via surrogacy, but around the same time, they wanted to see if Teigen could carry another child.
The surrogate ended up becoming pregnant shortly after Teigen, resulting in Esti and Wren being born just months apart.
