We Finally Understand Why Omarion And Apryl Jones Split

While the name Omari Ishmael Grandberry may not ring a bell, perhaps Omarion will — you know, the ringleader of early aughts boy band B2K, responsible for hits that fueled our high school dances such as "Bump, Bump, Bump" or even "Uh Huh." While the "Boys of the New Millennium" may have broken up in 2004 only to band together again in 2019 for a reunion tour, their comeback has come with its own share of controversy — in part due to Omarion's relationship with now-ex, Apryl Jones.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of Omarion's split from Jones and how it affected B2K, let's refresh a little bit. The "Distance" crooner and Jones became reality TV icons after they appeared together on the first and second seasons of Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood as part of the show's original cast in 2014.

From there, the lovebirds were mysteriously missing from the taping of the second season reunion in 2015 — presumably due to Omarion touring as a solo artist. It was later revealed that the duo quit the show, and then broke up the following year — right after Jones gave birth to their second child, A'mei. Although the pair have kept the details of their breakup relatively private, they sure do talk about it a lot — all while seemingly giving nothing away. Don't worry though, we've done all the digging to understand why Omarion and Apryl Jones split up. Read on and find out.

Although Omarion and Apryl Jones' relationship really flourished during the first season of Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, the former B2K frontman also had his music career to focus on — not just his family with Jones.

In fact, in 2015, while viewers were yet to see Season 2 of LHHH, Omarion spoke to XXL mag, offering up some hints as to what sort of issues viewers would get to see play out on camera. "I'm a father, so I have to make time for that. Aside from that, having the career that I have in this time. So something is going to have to take some sacrifices." Gulp, is that foreshadowing we hear? As he went on, "It's going to be all of those things. It's going to be an interesting season as far as Omarion and Apryl goes. I'll tell you that."

A few months later, the couple skipped the Season 2 reunion special, and it was revealed that the pair had quit the show ahead of Season 3. In an interview with Essence Live, Jones dished, "We didn't go to the reunion because obviously Omari was on tour," and she was at home with their child. By the time the couple split in July of 2016, an insider revealed to E! News, "The traveling that Omarion had to do started to put a toll on Apryl."

Although Apryl Jones and Omarion split in 2016, eyebrows really shot up when the reality TV starlet started dating none other than her former beau's B2K bandmate and fellow Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood co-star, Lil Fizz (real name Dreux Pierre Frédéric). Deciding to go public with the news on an episode of the VH1 show in October 2019, it wasn't until Fizz posted a since-deleted Instagram photo of the couple in a warm embrace with the caption, "Good things come to those who wait" (via The Jasmine Brand).

So, did their hookup happen earlier than they let on? Who knows, but it looks like Omarion had to learn to let go of any negativity surrounding Jones' new relationship. "I did a lot of self-reflecting," the singer told Madame Noire. "There would be certain consequences that wouldn't just affect me, but it would affect my kids ... I just made the decision to be respectful to my kids and to be respectful to myself."

While Omarion remained tight-lipped, Jones decided to "spill all the tea" on Nick Cannon's radio show in November 2019. "People have this perception that this boy band was like a brotherhood ... But there were a lot of issues that they were having ... The only time they were ever around each other was for the filming purposes. Outside of that, there was no friendship." Okay, that's cool and all, but it doesn't really answer the question, does it, Apryl?

Did Omarion's mom, Leslie Burrell, influence her son's breakup with Apryl Jones? Who knows, but both ladies definitely have a thing or two to say about it.

As it turns out, the strain between the two women came to be a plot point on Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood. In one scathing episode, Burrell speaks out in the camera confessional, dishing, "Ever since this little heifer came around, I feel like she thinks for [Omarion], she speaks for him. She whipped it on him, put it on him, and now he just don't know how to act anymore." Friendly, huh?

The eventual breakup didn't stop the verbal catfight, either, as Jones went on Instagram Live in April 2020 to shed more goss about the situation. "First and foremost, what I believe about any parent — and this is what I had a problem with and I'm just gonna say this — with the father of my kids' mother, she was very nasty. And I genuinely feel like at the end of the day, a mother is supposed to allow the son to soar. She should be happy with whoever you choose to love and be with. It may not be fitting for her, but she may not know the dynamics of the relationship." Perhaps both women should just let this feud die already?

While some celebrity duos are total power couples (ahem, Jay-Z and Beyonce), others may struggle to encourage their partners to shine professionally. In a radio interview with Nick Cannon, Apryl Jones claimed that while Omarion was the one who left her, "he seemed really mad that [she] kind of just flourished outside of that relationship." That being said, did she?

Speaking to Sway's Universe in March 2020, Omarion shared his side of the story, revealing why he split with Jones — and ultimately, why he didn't want to marry her. "I don't really subscribe to the marriage business — business concept. It's not really beneficial for a person like me to work hard and then split half with someone else," agreeing that it was a "financial decision." Uh... right.

Since their breakup, it looks like Jones is finally thriving in her own career. During an interview with Claudia Jordan on Fox Soul, the starlet revealed, "When I was going through my breakup in 2016, how I came up with my wine [brand] was ... I named it after my daughter, her name is A'mei. It means 'beautiful.' So I named [my wine] A'mei La Vie, which means 'beautiful life,' because at that time ... I'm like, 'Well what can I do with this product?' and I could sell it, I have the platform to sell it, but what do I want it to mean? So I'm like, 'I just want a beautiful life!'"

It takes both parties to make a relationship work, but what happens if you aren't speaking the same language? It looks like this may have been the case for Apryl Jones and her ex, Omarion. "I was raised a little bit different than she was raised," the "Bump, Bump, Bump" crooner told Madame Noire, explaining, "I think that is really, at the end of the day, always a thing in relationships."

So, how was Omarion raised exactly? As it turns out, his mother had him when she was only 16, something he revealed to VladTV in 2018. "You know, kids raising kids," he explained, later adding, "We weren't very money-hungry, we weren't money-driven. So, things like that didn't really matter, you know?" It's hard to say what Jones' upbringing was like. As of this writing, Nicki Swift couldn't find any comments she's made about her childhood, but perhaps she did grow up in a different environment. "It's just miscommunication and different love languages," Omarion summarized to Madame Noire. "So, that's what I would really attribute it to."

Now that they're separated, are things any better? Well... not exactly. As Jones told fellow reality TV star Tiffany "New York" Pollard on a January 2020 episode of Brunch With Tiffany of the couple's co-parenting skills, "It's getting even more harder that it's not doing anything for our children. So, as far as co-parenting, it's not been easy." Figure it out, you two!

There's no denying that Apryl Jones has a strong personality. It's something that the starlet isn't afraid to admit, either. Speaking to Hip Hollywood back in 2014, Jones revealed, "[Omarion] has a lot of intense women in his life. From his grandmother to his mom, to his auntie, like they're strong women. You know, so he can't obviously date anyone that's like, not strong, either."

So, was the wine entrepreneur just too much to handle? Perhaps, as after the duo's breakup, Omarion's friend Bow Wow took to Instagram to congratulate his buddy on getting "[his] freedom." While you may think Jones would have had a lot to say on the subject, she instead remained relatively neutral, releasing a statement (via E! News), claiming, "As far as Bow Wow, his friend is Omari. Whatever he feels like he needs do or say for media purposes doesn't pertain to me."

While it may be easy to brush Omarion off as a pushover in their relationship, Jones sure painted a different tale while speaking to Nick Cannon on his radio show. As the host tried defending the B2K singer, declaring, "O's is the nicest dude in the world!" His ex disagreed. "He put that smile on, I know that smile," adding, "You're getting the on-the-surface O. You're getting the perception of O when he's out ... You not hanging out with this man every day. You don't see the life he's living. You don't know."

Omarion has taken the public by storm with his calm demeanor following his very public split with Apryl Jones. In fact, according to People, he's even been dubbed the "King of Unbothered" by online fans.

Jones, on the other hand, has seemingly garnered quite a few haters for her, well, preference for dishing out unfiltered goss about her ex. Deciding to drag Omarion publicly after their split and her subsequent hookup with Lil Fizz, the starlet took to her Instagram in a since-deleted video (via Capital Xtra) and revealed of her new flame, "It's the best d**k of my life. It really genuinely is, I can't even be mad I can't not be happy because the happiness comes from just being happy." Naturally, Omarion fans were not impressed.

In an apparent attempt to backtrack on the scandalous vid, the Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood celeb downplayed her own comments during an interview on Nick Cannon's radio show. "I'm not negating Omari, all I'm saying is [Lil Fizz is] the best I've ever had as far as he's patient with me, we have a connection," she said, adding, "I'm not negating O, I wouldn't have had kids if it was some garbage p***s, you know what I'm saying?" Yeah, don't worry, we felt that second-hand embarrassment, too.

While many things could be said about Apryl Jones' colorful nature, it looks like Omarion a.k.a. the "King of Unbothered," may have been just a touch too unbothered in his relationship. At least, that's what Jones seems to think. 

Again throwing all the shade on Nick Cannon's radio show, Jones threw her ex under the bus in a tirade regarding their relationship. "If my daughter was ever in a situation like this, what would I tell my daughter? You know? With a man who ain't supporting you, not doing anything, not giving me anything. So, at this point, what would I tell her? Get the f**k up out of there ... This man isn't supporting you, he has turned his whole family against you." Yikes. Clearly, something must have changed in the relationship, as back in 2014, when Jones chatted to VladTV about her blossoming bond with Omarion, she revealed that he was the first celeb she's ever dated. "Omari has, like I said, made me feel very comfortable and safe." Hmm.

Sure enough, there may be some truth to all that the reality TV starlet dished to the public. As Omarion revealed to Sway's Universe about his thoughts on splitting things in a relationship, "Y'all want me to be out here like some of these other cats? No, no, no, no" he said with a laugh. "That's not what we working hard for ... You can have yours and I can have mine."

The 2016 split between Apryl Jones and Omarion came as a shock to fans of the couple, as only weeks before the duo's breakup, the B2K crooner put up a since-deleted Instagram post (via E! News), "praising Apryl's parenting." As he gushed, "Maybe I don't express my gratitude enough. I am rebuilding some things inside myself. With all that goes on in my world, I can depend on you. Because you're solid." If that isn't confusing enough, he then went on, "Thank you @aprylsjones just in case you needed a reminder on how awesome of a mother you're [sic]. Looking at my timeline I am aware I could be dealing with someone way worst [sic]. Glad that's not our situation."

If that didn't make things murky enough already, when Apryl Jones appeared on Nick Cannon's radio show three years later, she claimed that her ex simply "left his family" when they broke up. "He did. ... I can't give you a reason why he left. So for me, that's what— my truth. He left." She later added that "he wouldn't tell [her] anything," alluding to the fact that she genuinely doesn't know what happened.

If anything, Jones did offer up the following to Cannon: "He's mean to me," adding, "My kids are happy that's all that matters ... Omari knows that he can't talk about it publicly, because he would have to tell the whole truth, and the truth is that he did what he did."

While Apryl Jones may be quick to dish some unflattering comments about Omarion regarding their breakup, the singer offers up more of a simple reason. "At that period of time in my life, I was going through a lot of changes, especially within my business. That looks different for someone who's been in the entertainment business for a long time," Omarion revealed to Madame Noire. "At that time, I was asking myself a lot of questions. I just had kids. I was like, why am I doing this? I needed a moment to be able to just recalibrate and refocus and really think about what I wanted to do. I would really attribute her not understanding to lack of communication and upbringing."

Sure enough, a source close to the former couple reiterated the same thing to E! News, explaining that they simply "started to fade out of love."

As The Blast put it in May 2020, Omarion and Jones were once "one of the most beloved couples on Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood." While that certainly isn't the case anymore, we're just hoping these two can squash whatever leftover beef they have for the sake of their kids.