(AllHipHop News) Three years ago, Solange Knowles hinted to Wonderwall that Kelly Rowland was adopted by their family and had “moved in when she was 5.” Three years later, Rowland’s estranged father of 20 years is publicly pleading to reconnect with his daughter.
67 Year old Christopher Lovett recently spoke to Radar Online on the tumultuous relationship he had with Rowland’s mother while Kelly was a child
It wasn’t physical between me and Kelly’s mom, but there were many days and nights when Kelly would be bawling her eyes out, clutching my leg begging me, ‘Please daddy stop shouting at mummy’. That image of her howling, begging me to stop will haunt me forever.
Lovett admitted to being an abusive alcoholic and due to that he eventually left Kelly and her mother, Doris Rowland Garrison when the singer was seven years old. Lovett says he
I just pray she comes back into my life before it’s too late.[…]I couldn’t control [the drinking and verbal abuse that Kelly witnessed]. I hoped I could make it up to her. But I’m still waiting for that day.
Lovett has tried numerous times in the past to get in contact with Kelly, which has not gone unnoticed by the Grammy award winning singer according to an interview she had with UK Cosmo in November 2011:
He reached out to me saying he wanted to see me, but it’s unfortunate he did it so publicly. I want to meet him, and soon, I really do. I forgave him a long time ago. I haven’t seen my dad for almost 20 years. It’s nothing I want a pity party for. He left me and my mom, and I was angry. I wanted to be a daddy’s girl so bad.
Kelly previously stated she planned on seeing her father on Christmas of 2011 “because tomorrow’s not promised to us.” However, the meeting has not happened and in a September 2013 interview with Essence Magazine, Rowland has no idea why she has not yet:
I haven’t [seen my father yet.] I don’t know what’s stopping me because I’ve had opportunities. But it really is time. I probably need to ask my therapist about it.
Kelly Rowland recently released her fourth solo album, Talk A Good Game. While Kelly had that monster multiplatinum selling single “Motivation” with Lil Wayne in 2011, none of her TAGG singles reached Gold and she has not had a Gold selling album since her debut, Simply Deep in 2002.