In his newly released memoir, Truly, music legend Lionel Richie opens up about the painful and public end of his first marriage to Brenda Richie, recalling the infamous 1988 confrontation that became “the scandal of my century.”
Richie and Brenda, college sweethearts from Tuskegee University, married in 1975 and later adopted daughter Nicole Richie, 44. However, amid the height of his fame with The Commodores and his solo career, their relationship fractured.
Richie writes that by June 1988, he and Brenda were separated, and he was staying in a quiet place at the beach. He admits that on the morning of the incident, he had stopped by his girlfriend Diane Alexander’s Los Angeles home. That’s when Brenda showed up.
“When the door opens, Brenda is standing there,” he recounts. What followed was a massive, screaming confrontation. Richie writes that he attempted to leave, hoping to draw Brenda away, but once he was gone, she returned to resume the argument. Neighbors called the police, and though charges were ultimately dropped, the incident was splashed across the news.
Richie reflects on the tragedy of the moment, stating, “the most painful part… was that Brenda was heartbroken. And I get it.” He describes the ordeal as “raw and ugly and disastrous,” noting it was the final straw in their embattled marriage, marking “the saddest day in the life of a marriage” when they both knew, despite their history, it was finally over.