Lionel Richie recalled the marriage-ending fight between his then-wife Brenda Harvey and Diane Alexander, whom he was seeing at the time, in his new memoir.
The 76-year-old singer — who made a health confession in June — detailed the memorable, heart-wrenching incident in the tell-all.
Truly: An Inspirational Journey Through the Life of a Musical Legend was published on September 30, and contains little-known stories about his life.
One of them was about a love triangle that ended in heartbreak when Harvey was arrested in 1988 on suspicion of corporal injury to a spouse, resisting arrest and battery.
She and Richie married in 1975, and later daughter Nicole Richie in 1983. ‘The point of no return’ came in June 1988.
‘What very few people knew was that Brenda and I were separated. I got a place at the beach, and I was hiding out there, trying to be alone, trying to decompress somehow, because it was killing everyone,’ the singer said in an excerpt, per E! News.
Lionel Richie, 76, recalled the marriage-ending fight between his then-wife Brenda Harvey and Diane Alexander, whom he was seeing at the time, in his new memoir; pictured in September
He recalled driving into town one morning and stopping ‘to see Diane.’
‘Shortly after I arrive, there is a knock at the door,’ he recounted. ‘When the door opens, Brenda is standing there. There is a massive confrontation. Diane is in total shock and I’m trying to leave, to draw Brenda away.’
He described the confrontation as ‘the most awful screaming match of my life’ and said it took place in a small entryway.
‘The question is — How to stop it? How do you physically move a tragedy that is exploding in front of you?’ Lionel penned.
He and Brenda eventually left the house, but the Hello hitmaker said his then-wife Brenda ‘went back and resumed the argument.’
The neighbors subsequently called the police and ‘charges were brought and then dropped.’
According to the Los Angeles Times, Brenda was booked on suspicion of corporal injury to a spouse, resisting arrest and battery.
And Lionel told them he was ;kicked in the stomach area’ by Brenda during the argument.
In retrospect, the entertainer said the story ‘took on a life of its own.’
‘The most painful part, the tragedy of our lives, was that Brenda was heartbroken,’ he wrote in his book.
The singer detailed the memorable, heart-wrenching incident in the tell-all; Brenda and daughter Nicole Richie pictured in 1992
Lionel and second wife Diane Alexander pictured in 1998
Lionel and Diane pictured with son Miles and daughter Sofia in a throwback photo shared by the latter in 2020
Truly: An Inspirational Journey Through the Life of a Musical Legend was published on September 30, and contains little-known stories about the singer’s life
It was added, ‘You never know what you are going to do or feel until you’re in the moment and it’s in your face. None of us had been in this situation.’
And he noted, ‘We all deserved a pass because we didn’t know what the story was going to be. It was just raw and ugly and disastrous. Prior to that morning, I recall there was a cloud of uncertainty as to whether I wanted to try to reconcile and not be separated.’
But after the incendiary fight, he was sure the marriage was over.
Lionel and Brenda divorced in 1993 following 18 years of marriage, and Lionel married Diane two years later.
The couple welcomed son Miles, 31, and daughter Sofia, 27, before divorcing in 2004.
