Brandy Speaks On Previous Relationship With Boyz II Men Member Wanya Morris, At Age 16 When He Was 22: “I Was A Child, And He Was An Adult—It’s Time The World Understood The Difference.”

Noir Nation, this is a heavy one! Following decades of whispers, mixed rumors, and speculation, Brandy is pulling back the curtains on her previous relationship with Boyz II Men singer Wanya Morris!

In her new memoir ‘Phases,’ the R&B icon revisits her past relationship with Wanya, revealing that their connection crossed serious lines due to a wide age gap. According to excerpts, Brandy confirmed that the relationship began when she was just 16, while Morris was already 22 years old.

What was once framed publicly as a “young love” situation, Brandy now sees very differently. Brandy says the two originally connected back in ‘94 after joining forces on the hit single ‘Broken Hearted.’ She says their friendship turned romantic quickly and that he took her virginity.

“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.”

Brandy says that the two were aware of the scandal that would erupt if anyone knew details of their relationship and that they decided to say that they waited until her 18th birthday to connect.

“But it wasn’t just about upsetting — or disappointing — my parents,” she added. “Wanya and I understood, with diamond-cut clarity that public knowledge of our relationship would ignite scandal, potentially threatening everything we’d both worked for, so he and I opted for elaborate fiction: we would pretend patience and claim we were waiting until my eighteenth birthday before pursuing any romantic connection.“

The singer didn’t shy away from the emotional weight of it all, reflecting on how the relationship was kept secret and left her navigating feelings she wasn’t equipped to handle at such a young age. 

The now 47-year-old says that as their relationship progressed Wanya began comparing her to other R&B artists like Mariah Carey. Brandy explained that she often had trouble contacting him and that he required her to page him before calling.

“These are the things that with hindsight you realize are wildly obvious signs of something wrong,” she wrote. “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.“

Brandy says the two later split after Wanya admitted to cheating on her.

According to PEOPLE, Wanya often described their relationship as “the young ingénue having a schoolgirl crush and getting her heart broken.” However, Brandy says that’s nowhere near the truth, “I believe he took advantage.”

“The shame ends here. The silence ends here,” she adds explaining that she felt manipulated into and throughout their relationship. “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.”

Back in 2021 during an Instagram live with fans Wanya was asked about his relationship with Brandy. He shared, “we were young, you’re young and you fall in love.” He added, “as time progressed we grew out of each other … she grew out of me and I grew out of her. I might have grown out of her a little bit faster.”