Singer Marques Houston has defended his decision to marry his then 19-year-old wife after facing criticism for the relationship.
Houston, who produced tracks with the group Immature/IMx and as a solo artist, was 38 when he tied the knot with Miya Dickey, who was 19-years-old at the time, in 2020.
They first met through the daughter of Houston's former manager, Chris Stokes, in 2018 and in 2021, the couple welcomed a daughter, Zara.
Houston has previously responded to the backlash he's received for marrying someone 19-years his junior.
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During an episode of TVOne’s Uncensored, the singer explained that Miya was just 17 when they first met - but he insists their relationship didn't develop until she turned 18.
'We had no [real] conversation…no [real] connection until…you know…she was of age," he said.
And now, the 41-year-old star defended himself over the criticism he's faced regarding his relationship.
Nearly three years after tying the knot, Houston revealed in a new interview with Page Six that women his age often come with 'baggage and kids', which he says is a 'red flag' for him.
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He said: "A red flag to me [was] always with a woman that had a kid. Nothing against single women, but single mothers with children are a red flag for me."
However, Houston added that he did have respect for single mothers.
He continued: “I tip my hat and respect women that are raising children on their own,
“But when I grew up, I never really wanted to have kids.”
He'd previously explained that they initially connected over a shared love of music, saying: "Her spirit, her kindness, her heart, reminds me a lot of my mom. We just connected on so many different levels."
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"There’s so many different women I’ve been with throughout my life, and it just so happens to be that this one [Miya] caught my heart.
"Everything that I prayed for — and everything that I wanted in a woman — she came with. Although she was young, I’m young in spirit.”
“I would talk to my dad a lot, and he would always tell me to have your own kids because you never know what the baby daddy‘s are about.
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"So if you’re gonna have kids, make sure it is with a woman that never had kids.
"So that was always my red flag… and a woman with an attitude. I don’t like women with funky attitudes.”
He says that he could have married a 44-year-old woman, but that would have been a 'disaster'.
"There’s a lot of women my age I’ve dated, they may have baggage. They may have kids, they may not." he added.
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“Women that are my age… they kind of have a different outlook on life. Like a lot of women my age are very independent.
"They are very like, ‘I don’t need a man to do this for me ’cause I can do it for myself.’ I come from a generation that I love to provide for my wife.”
But Houston says he's always faced criticism over his choice in women: “In the Immature days, we [would] have light-skinned girls in our music videos.
"Then people would question… ‘Why can’t you get a black girl?’
"And then it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I only like light-skinned girls.’ Then the plus-size girls will come and get me. I was like, ‘Man, I can’t catch a break.”
Topics: Celebrity, News, US News, Sex and Relationships