Ne-Yo and his wife remarried in April 2022 after planning to divorce, and he says the pandemic helped save their marriage.


The three-time Grammy winner has been married to Crystal Renay Williams for six years, and they have three children together. They were separated in 2020, and Ne-Yo says, ironically, COVID-19 helped bring them back together.


“It took the pandemic for us to really sit and have those necessary, yet really uncomfortable, conversations,” the 42-year-old entertainer told Billboard. Ne-Yo released his eighth studio album, Self-Explanatory, on Friday.

“Those situations for whatever reason always make for incredible song lyrics. A lot of those song lyrics are on this album,” he continued. 

Despite his success as an artist, as well as writing for several superstars, including Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Mary J.Blige, Ne-Yo says he began to question if his music was still relevant in 2022.


“There was a point in time where I was like, ‘OK, the look has changed. The sound has kind of changed a little bit, where do I even fit in what’s going on right now.'” Then he stopped worrying about trying to follow trends.

“My job is just to be as honest and real as I can be within my art.”


The singer stars in the Step Up: High Water TV series and is looking forward to season 3 beginning later this year on Starz. Christina Milian will join the cast in the role of Collette Jones, previously portrayed by the late Naya Rivera, who passed away in 2020.


“Christina Milian came in, and became that character and she did an amazing job,” Ne-Yo says. “Coming behind another actress, she rose to the occasion.

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