Kandi Burruss, of Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta, reacts to the sudden death of her fiance.
By nicole — Written on Oct 05, 2009
Sad news coming from Atlanta this weekend. A.J. Jewell, familiar to fans of the Bravo series The Real Housewives of Atlanta, died early Saturday morning of massive head injuries.
Jewell was the ex-fiance of the newest Housewife, Grammy-winning songwriter Kandi Burruss. The drama from their engagement, real and imagined, had been the focus of many of this season's episodes. Kandi revealed to Essence.com in early September that the couple were on 'hiatus' and that she had become legal guardian to his 12-year-old twin daughters.
Sources say Jewell was fatally injured after getting in a fight with an employee, Fredrick Richardson, of the popular Atlanta strip club, Body Tap. There is little information about how or why the fight started, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Richardson was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Upon learning of A.J.'s death, Kandi took to her Twitter account to convey her grief.
im bout 2 giv my swollen eyes sum rest now. i just wanted to say thanks 2 every1 for their prayers. i gotta get up & go 2 my uncle's funeral
11:26 AM Oct 3rd from webI could never n a million years imagine this happening. please pray for AJ's children. that's who im the most concerned 4.
11:30 AM Oct 3rd from webim just in one of those moods where i dont wanna talk, i dont wanna b held & told its gonna b ok. i just wanna cry myself 2 sleep, alone.
11:32 AM Oct 3rd from web
She later released a statement to E! News, as well as posted an emotional blog about the loss of A.J. and her beloved Uncle Ray on the site HelloBeautiful.com.
Fans of the show may find it strange that Burruss has turned to the web to express her feelings. Kandi has been vocal about her anger and hurt at the comments posted about A.J. on various "blogs." She turned her frustration into inspiration, as evidenced by the first single off her new solo album "Fly Above."
Celeb Love would like to join all of Kandi's friends and fans in sending our sympathies to Kandi, daughter Riley, and A.J.'s family, especially his six children.