Divorce almost cost Mary J Blige everything. Not just did the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul lose her spouse and family, but she also lost thousands of dollars in lawyer fees and the spousal support and child support she was order to pay after he separated from music industry professional Kendu Issac.
Issac claims the separation was detrimental to him as well, and he had to be hospitalized as a result.
Kendu Issac looked like he would be Blige’s happily ever after. The vocalist dedicated one of her career’s biggest hits to him, “Be Without You,” even casting Terrance Howard in the video because he shared same green eyes to her man.
Somehow, after years of wedding, it was opened that Kendu was sneaking around with an artist he and Blige were mentoring.
While some speculate that the woman was actually dating both Mary and Kendu and just got too serious with Issac, either way, it caused a permanent rift in their union.
Blige has gone from career strength to strength since, after briefly taking a step back to sell their house and sort her finances.
A slew of major Grammy noms, a character on 50 Cent’s Power, and a successful tour have her back on top in 2023.
As for Issac, his career has been pretty much ruined, and he’s been rendered “unemployable” by the music industry for playing one of its leading ladies.
Before Blige was order to pay him some big bucks as a result, Issac ended up in the hospital from the sheer stress of wondering his career was ruined.
The Blast said in 2018 that Kendu “experienced physical manifestations of stress and emotional distress from this matter, which has caused him to become hospitalized” after realizing the divorce had completely sidelined his career.
Blige was eventually ordered to give him $30k a month so that he could maintain his lifestyle.
Blige was the only breadwinner in the wedding and had to fight hard to get back her possessions from Issac after the divorce.
This added her Grammys and a Mercedes that she pre-paid. While their split, the couple had accumulated over $10 million in debt.