Marques Houston Addresses Backlash For Marrying Teen Wife

In the 1990s, entertainment fans best knew Marques Houston as a member of the R&B group Immature or as a cast member on the Sister, Sister sitcom. The 41-year-old singer/actor made headlines in recent years for his relationship with Miya Dickey.

Marques Houston and Miya Dickey got married in 2020. Dickey was 19 years old at the time. Houston was 38. They first met when Dickey was just 17 years old. The “That Girl” performer spoke about the nearly 20-year age gap.

“Me and my wife’s situation is a little different, how we met through mutual friends and everything like that,” states Houston in a clip from an upcoming episode of TV One’s Uncensored series. “When I met my wife, she was 17. So, we had no real conversation, no real connection until, you know, she was of age.”

Many people online have accused Marques Houston of grooming the then-teenager. Those accusations of sexual manipulation came in conjunction with B2K member Raz-B suggesting Houston committed sexual abuse in the past.

Additionally, Marques Houston said about his marriage, “People don’t understand it, and I got a lot of backlash for marrying someone that was 19. When we did finally start to talk I was like, ‘This woman is like me.’ And when I would talk to her she’d just… For one, we had a spiritual connection and I feel like that’s the most important thing. We both love God. We both love Jehovah and that was key.”

Marques Houston previously responded to the grooming allegations in a lengthy Instagram post from 2020. The Jehovah’s Witness claimed Miya Dickey was like “a daughter” to Chris Stokes, the manager who discovered Houston and B2K. Raz-B has also claimed Stokes sexually molested him.