R Kelly’s ex-wife Drea’s ‘heart breaks’ for their children as rapper faces life in prison

R Kelly’s ex-wife and the mother of his three children Drea Kelly has spoken out on the devastating effects her kids will face because of his actions.

On September 27, the disgraced rapper, 54, was found guilty of sexually abusing women, boys and girls for decades, and now faces life in prison.

Kelly was convicted by a federal jury on all nine counts including racketeering and violations of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transport of ‘any woman or girl’ across state lines for any ‘immoral purpose.’

Joining Alastair Campbell and Susanna Reid on today’s Good Morning Britain, Drea said her ‘heart breaks as a mother’.

‘I sit in a very difficult place because unlike the rest of his victims, I share children with him [and] I was married to him,’ Drea told the programme. ‘I wear two hats. I wear the hat of a survivor, but I also wear the hat of a mother and an ex-wife.

Drea joined Good Morning Britain to discuss the latest developments in her ex’s case (Picture: ITV)

‘It’s very difficult for me. I feel my heart is in two places. My heart definitely goes out to the survivors and the courage it takes to come forward and tell the story, but my heart breaks as a mother because this is now the legacy my children will have to deal with and their children’s children.

‘At the end of the day, you cannot walk away from your bloodline. I have the ability to separate and distance myself from it, but his blood runs through my children’s veins. It’s a part of their DNA. They can’t escape it even if they wanted to. It’s very difficult for me to sit in that position.’

The rapper faces life behind bars (Picture: AFP)

Drea went onto add that she will support her children, Jay, Joann and Robert, in ‘whatever they feel’.

‘They have the right to feel whatever they feel but I think what is healthy… you have to know how to protect your mental state and love them from a distance and they are not allowed to be toxic in your life just because they are your parent.’

More: Good Morning Britain

An anonymous jury of seven men and five women deliberated for about nine hours across two days before reaching their unanimous verdict on Kelly.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4, 2022.

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