Brandy (47) Opens up About Past With Wanya Morris (52) Saying He Took Advantage of Her – ‘The Shame Ends Here’
Brandy is breaking her silence regarding a past relationship that she describes as a lingering shadow over her life. In her recently published memoir, Phases, the R&B icon provides a detailed account of her late 1990s romance with Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men. The singer, now 47, clarifies that their connection began when she was only 16 years old while Morris was in his early 20s.
Their professional collaboration on the 1994 track “Brokenhearted” quickly evolved into a secret romantic entanglement. Brandy describes the immense pressure of hiding the affair from her family and the public to avoid a career-ending scandal.
She recalls the deception required at the time, writing, “I was in over my head. Sneaking around with Wanya and lying to my parents had become a constant. They barely liked the idea of me dating at all, and telling them about us was out of the question.”
To protect their reputations, the pair crafted a narrative that they were merely friends waiting for her to reach legal adulthood. Brandy reveals that she eventually lost her virginity to Morris, but the relationship soon became a source of deep insecurity.
She notes that Morris frequently compared her to other high-profile vocalists and became increasingly elusive, requiring her to page him before they could speak. Looking back, the Grammy winner recognizes these behaviors as major red flags that she was too young to understand.
She reflects on her mindset during that era, stating, “These are the things that, with hindsight, you realize are wildly obvious signs of something wrong. Neon warning signs that I chose to ignore because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, or what he was doing with me. Just that I was in love — or what I believed was love.”
The partnership ended after Morris admitted to being unfaithful, an event he has historically dismissed as a simple case of unrequited teenage infatuation. Brandy firmly rejects this characterization, insisting that the power dynamic was inherently skewed due to their age difference.
She concludes this chapter of her life with a powerful declaration, “The shame ends here. The silence ends here. I was not a fast girl with a crush. I was not a dramatic teenager who couldn’t handle rejection. I was not an unstable, obsessive fan. I was a child. And he was an adult. And it’s time the world understood the difference.”
Beyond the release of her memoir, Brandy has remained incredibly active in the entertainment industry throughout the year. As she continues to promote Phases, published by Hanover Square Press, she is using her platform to advocate for better protections for young performers.
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