Photo: Getty
It's over!
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Apr 15, 2020
The split between Monica and her now-ex-husband was a long time coming. But what was most shocking about their split is the fact that the R&B superstar actually left him the house in the divorce!
Who is Shannon Brown, Monica's ex-husband?
On the surface, the marriage between Monica and Brown seemed to be a match made in heaven.
Monica Denise Arnold — known as Monica — burst onto the scene with her debut album, Miss Thang, in 1993. Her hit song, "Don't Take It Personal," was the first of many hits for the R&B songstress, and her most famous hit was a duet with Brandy called "The Boy Is Mine."
Brown, meanwhile, was a professional basketball player who first came to prominence with the Cleveland Cavaliers. They began dating in 2010 after meeting on the set of her video for "Love All Over Me." They were wed in a secret ceremony later that year, and, in March 2019, Monica filed for divorce, which was finalized in October 2019.
Although it was speculated that the reason for the split was due to Brown's infidelity, Monica recently addressed these rumors and told fans not to believe what they had read, since most of it wasn't true.
Who is Shannon Brown, and why did Monica leave him the house? Now that the divorce is final, let's look at what we know about the couple and their split.
Her son didn't want her to get a divorce from Brown.
In 2019, Monica said that her son, Rocko (who is a product of her first marriage to producer Rocko Hill), didn't want her to get a divorce from Shannon Brown.
"My 11-year-old asked me, ‘Can you stop divorce? Can you stop it?' I asked him, ‘Did you ask me that because you were asked or are you asking because it’s something you want to know?’ He said, ‘No, it’s something I want to know. Can you stop it, what does it mean, what does it take, what does it require?’ So I told him the truth,” she said.
Even though Monica and Brown are now divorced, Monica says she still has "nothing but love" for her former flame.
While out and about in New York City in summer 2019, Monica said that she "shares children" with Brown, and, because of that, she wasn't ever going to trash him publicly or do anything less than her best to co-parent with him.
Unfortunately, Monica's fans aren't fans of Brown.
The Internet went creeping under Instagram comments and noted that Brown started leaving thirsty comments under pictures by Monica. (The comments have since been deleted, but not before the outlet got the screenshot.)
When fans saw the comments, they immediately pounced on Brown and dragged him for filth.
The couple's divorce was finalized not too long ago.
Monica and Brown's divorce was finalized on Tuesday, October 29th, 2019. The hearing was reportedly super quick — lasting less than 10 minutes.
The terms of the divorce weren't disclosed, either.
"Because I still have such a love and respect, even for Shannon, there are certain things that are just not up for discussion. We don’t have to be together to respect one another. We don’t have to be together to uplift one another and make sure that my kids always see that mom is looking forward to you having a relationship [with dad] forever and ever. Anything I can do to really assist in making sure it continues to be everything that it’s always been, that’s what I’m going to do," she said in an interview.
But Monica left Brown the marital home.
Court documents revealed Monica left Brown the couple's marital home in Fayetteville, Georgia. Monica and the kids had six months to get out of the house that she once shared with the basketball player.
She also now has primary custody of her two children from her previous relationship and her child with Brown.
Monica has finally addressed the cheating rumors.
While she has tried to maintain her silence on anything about the divorce, Monica recently spoke out about the cheating rumors that had started after the separation.
On the season premiere of Friends & Family Hustle, she said, “A lot of what you read about us did not happen. People feel like I’ve been really tight-lipped about my divorce. Even my friends were surprised about how they found out the news. But I noticed that the more silent I would be, the more people took their ideas of what was happening in my life, and made it a reality. That’s the type of s*** that p*sses me off.”
She has no regrets about her relationship with Brown, despite how things turned out.
Monica really doesn't have anything but love for her former husband.
While in the studio recording for a new album, she recently said, “He’s not gonna forget me. I’m the only woman he ever married. I got his only daughter. My wedding was still one of the best days of my life. I had the most surrounded by the most love ever. That’s how I want people to feel when they hear the song. That feeling, that moment, make you feel happy.”
About the divorce rumors, she also added, "It’s definitely clickbait, but you’re not considering that there are kids involved and other things that are important. I’ve had to endure every opinion possible because I haven’t told nobody what it was."
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted on October 30, 2019 and was updated with the latest information.