Richard recently shared why he ended his relationship with Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Lawson. According to him, Tina had been very controlling for years, pressuring him to change and never truly respecting him. She often compared him to her ex-husband, Matthew Knowles, who was known for his infidelity. Many people believe the marriage was doomed from the start, citing several red flags, like Tina’s refusal to change her last name from Knowles to Lawson after marrying Richard.
Richard admitted he wasn’t perfect but felt he had many good qualities. Before diving into the messy details of the divorce, it’s essential to understand their history and why the marriage seemed destined to fail because of Tina’s controlling behavior.
Richard and Tina first met decades ago when Tina was still married to Matthew and pregnant with Beyoncé. They were introduced by Richard’s sister, Gwen, who was also a good friend of Tina. According to reports, Tina and Richard felt a mutual attraction, but they remained just friends since they were both married at the time.
Richard had a wife and a two-year-old daughter named Bianca, aside from Tina. He seemed to confirm this in a heartfelt post he wrote for Tina back in 2021. It read, “39 years ago, my sister Gwen R.I.P. introduced us. I thought you were one of the most beautiful women I had ever met. You were pregnant with Beyonce at the time and married, so my incredible attraction for you then could only live in my fantasy.”
Even though Tina was married, Richard kept her in his life until she eventually divorced Matthew, making his move then. Things get interesting here. While they claim nothing happened between them while Tina was still married, some sources suggest Richard and Tina had a secret affair. Tina even mentioned meeting Richard at her house when she was pregnant with Beyonce, acknowledging their mutual attraction despite both being married.
Richard admired Tina deeply, calling her one of the prettiest women he’d ever seen, with an even more beautiful spirit. Tina filed for divorce from Matthew in 2009 but decided to stay with him initially. She eventually filed again in 2011, partly due to infidelity scandals involving Matthew. Two women, Alexandria Wright and Sequoia Branscombe, accused Matthew of getting them pregnant and then abandoning them. Matthew denied these allegations, even claiming he had a vasectomy.
Many people speculated that Tina might have initially gotten involved with Richard out of anger over Matthew’s actions.
She knew her marriage was failing, with a cheating husband, and she felt trapped without a way out. After enduring this for over 30 years, it made sense why she hesitated to finalize the divorce initially and then filed again in 2011. This was confirmed by Beyoncé’s vocal coach, David Lee Brewer, in his tell-all memoir, where he revealed private details about Tina and Matthew’s relationship. Brewer disclosed Matthew’s battle with addiction, saying, “It turns out he had moved on to stronger drugs and even more bizarre behaviors. Rumor had it that cocaine no longer satisfied him, so he turned to crack cocaine.” Brewer also recalled finding Tina and Richard together at her house when she was supposed to be at her hair salon. He said, “I discovered that, despite being unhappily married, Celestine wasn’t suffering alone. One afternoon, while retrieving my keyboard from the main house, I stumbled upon Celestine kissing a man I immediately recognized: Richard Lawson, a famous actor.” Startled, Celestine had to introduce them, making for an incredibly awkward moment since she was supposed to be at work.
I reached out my hand to Richard, telling him how much I admired his work. He nodded and replied, “It’s a pleasure, no doubt.” In my mind, Celestine was cheating on her husband with Richard. So, as you can see, the way Tina and Richard started their relationship showed the marriage was doomed from the start. It was definitely not balanced. Do you remember when Tina said Richard wasn’t the perfect man, and even Richard was surprised and disappointed?
“I envisioned the type of man I wanted. I prayed for the type of man I wanted, and I pretty much got that. Is he perfect? Absolutely not, but he has many of the qualities I love. We’re having a great time, and I’m enjoying life. So, there is hope, women,” Tina said.
Honestly, a lot of people have wondered if she ever really loved Richard. Even after marrying Richard Lawson, she still kept Matthew’s last name. This is the same man who cheated on her and had children outside their marriage, yet she wants to keep his last name? To me, that sounds super weird. How do you have a wonderful, handsome husband, and when people Google you, the first name that comes up is Tina Knowles?
As if that wasn’t disrespectful enough to Richard, Tina kept referring to Matthew as family and bringing him up at every chance. “I hear my ex-husband is getting married. Now, this is my family. My ex-husband is my family,” she said. She didn’t want to get back with Matthew, but it still hurt a bit.
Some sources even speculate that Tina was still in love with Matthew while she was with Richard. For example, in 2019, when Matthew was diagnosed with breast cancer, Tina was the first person he called after getting the diagnosis.
Two months ago, Knowles noticed a little blood on his shirt, even though he hadn’t been scratched or injured. “I told my wife,” he said, “and she mentioned seeing a dot of blood on the sheets too.” Worried, he went to his doctor, got a mammogram, and found out he had breast cancer. Tina talked about Matthew’s diagnosis in an interview with E.T., saying, “Thank God he discovered it early on, and he’s gonna be fine.”
Recently, Tina and Matthew were seen having an intimate dinner at a restaurant while Beyoncé performed at the opening of the Royal Atlantis hotel in Dubai. This stirred up fans, wondering why Tina was dining with her ex-husband instead of her current husband, Richard. People started noticing something was off between Tina and Richard, who were usually inseparable. Richard wasn’t invited to Jay-Z’s mother’s birthday party, even though the whole family was there. Tina also missed the premiere of Richard’s new film, Black Terror, despite being an executive producer. Instead of supporting Richard’s movie, she chose to follow Beyoncé around the world for her Renaissance World Tour, which is already sold out.
A source close to Richard told Media Takeout, “Do you know how hard it is for a Black film directed by a Black director to succeed? Tina, Beyoncé, Jay-Z—everyone should have come out to support the film.”
“The source added, ‘This was the last straw. Richard has always supported Tina in everything she’s done, and now, when he really needs her, she chose to do the Electric Slide at her daughter’s concert instead.’ To make matters worse, Tina removed Richard’s last name from her social media profiles and now goes by Tina Knowles again. She confirmed the separation rumors last week by officially filing for divorce from Richard, citing irreconcilable differences. Tina also requested the court terminate Richard’s ability to receive spousal support from her.
Allegedly, Tina disrespected Richard and often made him feel inadequate by comparing him to Matthew. Some sources claim Tina was the dominant partner in their relationship, always making decisions since she had more money. Others say Richard is relieved to be free. This drama between Tina and Richard has sparked a lot of discussions. One person commented, ‘Tina seems like she wants to be in charge, and he is more traditional. She’s prideful.’ Another criticized Tina, saying, ‘Richard was a rebound marriage. He probably wanted a wife, not a socialite chasing A-listers. It likely started as just them, but then she became a socialite.’
Now, I want to know your thoughts. How do you feel about this unusual marriage ending? Do you think Tina has secretly been in love with Matthew all these years? Let me know in the comments below