The Real Reason Ray J Is Getting Divorced After Reconciling With Princess Love

Ray J, the kid brother to R&B superstar Brandy, has officially filed for divorce from Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood star Princess Love, per People. Reports also indicate that the rapper has requested joint custody of their 2-year-old daughter Melody Love and 9-month-old son Epik Ray.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll recall that Ray J's filing comes on the heels of Princess's request to dismiss her own divorce petition from May 2020. Princess filed her dismissal request in July 2020, giving fans hope that the two were ultimately headed toward reconciliation and that the family of four could become whole again. Ray J even went as far as to publicly wish his wife a happy birthday on social media. "Happy birthday my love! I'm so happy and blessed to spend today with you and our family," he gushed on Instagram. "God is the greatest! Everybody pls wish my wife @princesslove #HAPPYBIRTHDAY."

Alas, those hopes were immediately quashed with Ray J's move to dissolve their marriage. But what could've caused the abrupt change of heart? Keep reading after the jump to find out!

Divorce rumors first surfaced in November 2019 after Princess Love took to Instagram to accuse her husband, R&B musician Ray J, of leaving her and daughter Melody "stranded" in Las Vegas. Princess was pregnant with their second child, Epik Ray, at the time. As reported by Entertainment Tonight, Ray J posted a family photo of Princess, daughter Melody Love, and himself on Instagram. The caption read, "Thank you @bet. #SoulTrainAwards @princesslove @melodylovenorwood." However, Princess was quick to call out Ray J's lies. Before the picture was deleted, Princess left a shady comment for the rapper: "Left me and Melody stranded in Vegas and blocked me from calling.. now you wanna post family photos."

While the details of their alleged abandonment are a bit murky, People noted that Princess shared an Instagram Story, during which she claimed that Ray J had "not called me; hasn't checked on me or [our daughter] Melody. So, we're just here." ET also reported that the fashion designer said she felt stranded as she wasn't comfortable flying or driving home alone with a toddler while eight months pregnant. "Yes I can fly home.. I have my own money," she wrote. "But my car is here and I don't want to drive back alone with my daughter because I'm over 8 months pregnant and I don't even want to have to stop for gas or go into labor with all of this human trafficking going on..."

After Princess Love went public with her accusations, Ray J refused to take the allegations lying down. Like his wife, Ray J took to Instagram to vehemently deny all claims, according to People. In his video, Ray J addressed "all the media outlets out there that's putting out these stories about me." He went on to describe himself as a family man and said "to insinuate that I would do anything to harm my daughter is just sad man."

"People are going to get into arguments here and there that are small stuff that you can work out," Ray J explained. "To take this to social media and create this crazy story about me leaving my baby in harm's way is not cool. Our circle needs to be tight like that. Nobody should be able to get in it," he continued, noting that they "should be able to ... listen to each other and understand what we need to do to make it right." He added, "How can I make adjustments, how can I compromise to make you happy — it goes both ways in a relationship. This is not it." 

Yet, while the pair seemingly reconciled over the summer, Ray J's new divorce filing indicates one thing, for sure: we can probably expect more details soon — possibly by way of another Instagram live sesh? Regardless, we wish Ray J, Princess, and their two children nothing but the best!

Along with requesting joint custody of the the couple's children, TMZ also reported that Ray J has asked the judge to uphold the couple's prenuptial agreement. As reported by VH1 News, the couple's prenuptial agreement has been a source of contention in the past. As it turns out, it was Ray J's mother, Sonja Norwood, who strongly advised her son to consider a prenuptial agreement before making the long walk down the aisle. Eventually, Princess Love came around to the idea, as well. "I have no guarantees that Ray is not going to step out on me. But if he does, you better believe I'm taking half of everything," Princess declared.

Ultimately, it appears Ray J took heed to his mother's advice and now he's presumably working overtime to make sure the agreement still stands. But will the judge choose to honor said agreement? Only time will tell, we suppose.