Is Adrienne Bailon the Other Woman in the Israel Houghton Divorce Dramz?
Adrienne Bailon and Israel Houghton, pictured here at her 2013 birthday party, only recently started dating, he insists. (Photo: Getty Images)
Adrienne Bailon doesn’t do “boring” when it comes to romantic relationships.
The 32-year-old host of The Real, whose breakup from Rob Kardashian played out in the press, is being labeled the other woman after she was photographed on a bikini and tropical drink-filled vacation with Christian musician Israel Houghton, 44, in Talum, Mexico. After Us Weekly ran the exclusive photos on Tuesday, Houghton — who announced just last month that he’s divorcing his wife of 20 years, Meleasa, after he “failed and sinned” in their marriage — took to Facebook to deny that he was sinning with Bailon.
“I met Adrienne Bailon a bit over 2 years ago, we worked together & became friends,” he wrote. “Our circles connected & we remained good friends. From a friendship, as two single adults we have very recently begun to explore a dating relationship.”
Houghton continued, “As I previously wrote in a statement I released a while back, My marriage had been over for quite some time before going public with my divorce announcement. Where I shared, or as some have pointed out ‘over-shared’ my failure in my marriage… From over 5 years prior. It seems to be simple math that I had not even yet met Adrienne during the time my marriage was falling apart.”
He ended by imploring his fans not to unfairly blame Bailon for his divorce, writing, “It deeply saddens me that an innocent party would be dragged into this situation that I have taken personal responsibility for. Adrienne is a woman of integrity & character… Most of all she is a true friend, and she should not be blamed for my past indiscretions.”
Bailon, who got her start in girl groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls, has always had a bit of the dramz in her relationships. The NYC native dated Rob Kardashian from 2007 to 2009, popping up on Keeping Up With the Kardashians to do things like get couple tattoos. (Eye roll.) She has said they split because Rob cheated on her. In 2014, Rob’s sisters/protectors Kim and Khloé publicly slammed Bailon after she had complained in an interview that being “stuck with that Kardashian label … was so hurtful to me and to my career.”
In February 2015, it seemed like she had met Mr. Right when she announced that she was engaged to Lenny Santiago, a music exec on Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. However, by September they were over.
On Wednesday, Radar Online reported that Houghton has been ousted as a minister at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, after his admission that he was unfaithful to his wife and he was divorcing her — and likely this Bailon thing. However, Houghton’s rep insisted to the website he has taken “a personal sabbatical of his choosing.”
Either way, he now has extra time to spend not sinning with his new girlfriend.
