Brian McKnight has found himself back in the news due to his personal life, which has been making a lot of headlines as of late.
Court documents obtained by Radar Online on Thursday (May 25) reveal that the R&B crooner had a much nastier falling-out with his “first family” than was initially believed.
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According to the documents, McKnight and his ex-wife, Patricia, hauled themselves into court to fight over the health insurance of their daughter, Briana. Patricia’s argument was that the “Love Is” singer agreed to pay 100 percent of Briana’s health insurance costs — despite the fact that she’d turned 18 (and thus was, at least legally, responsible for her own healthcare costs) — as part of their initial divorce settlement.
Ultimately, a judge ordered McKnight to pay his ex-wife nearly $1800 in reimbursements for the healthcare costs of their daughter.
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The documents also revealed McKnight tried to avoid paying for Briana’s therapy sessions, claiming that he “did not know why it was necessary.” He testified that “when he received the bills, he thought the therapy could be elective. After a few months of therapy, he found out the reason for the therapy,” and eventually paid the bill.
Finally, the “Anytime” singer refused to pay for his daughter’s birth control pills, which her mother said was for a medical issue. McKnight claimed that his ex-wife didn’t send him the documentation in a timely manner, which is why he didn’t pay for the pills — and the judge sided with him on that matter.
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Earlier this month, it was revealed that McKnight’s estranged daughter filed a lawsuit against her father in 2020, accusing him of being motivated by “animosity” when he told his followers that “she had some years earlier, and while a minor, engaged in sexual relations with an older cousin.”
In her suit, Briana claimed the issue started in 2019 when she decided to share “aspects of her perceptions of growing up with an unnamed absent father on her personal Instagram page.” Though she allegedly didn’t even give a clue as to who he was, McKnight responded by “publicly stating that Briana was a promiscuous and incestuous minor, and thereby (he hoped) undermining Briana’s credibility regarding a post that did not even identify him.”
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His post reportedly said: “And unfortunately along the way, a couple years ago I caught wind that there was an older cousin who was above 18 who was quite possibly having sex with her.” He also reportedly alleged that Briana’s mother, who he’d had an affair with while he was married to someone else, “only had a child with” him “for money in the first place.”
Briana denied any such activity in her lawsuit, which stated: “Briana had never engaged in any sexual contact of any kind with any relative of any age while a minor or otherwise.” She also added that she doesn’t believe anyone ever even told McKnight anything of the sort and that he was simply making it up.
McKnight then took to his Instagram stories earlier this month to dispute claims circulating that he’d “abandoned” his first family, claiming instead that they’d mutually agreed to part ways.
“To whom it may concern: NO ABANDONMENT, NO MADE UP STORY, NO FALSE STATEMENTS, NO DEFAMATION,” he wrote in the caption.
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“I never abandoned anyone,” he said in the video. “Our estrangement was mutual. But those posts made any roads towards reconciliation and acknowledging them a dead issue. And I changed my will the next day.
“I’ve spent the last 30-plus years building a recognized, respectable name. And ironically, there are still people out there who are trying to smear my name while still carrying it, hoping to use it for their own benefit.”
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He continued: “I make absolutely no apologies for naming my infant son Brian. I want him and the world to know that he is the one who is my true legacy. So I’ll be over here continuing to love and protect my wife, and our children, as we continue to love our life.”
