Mary J. Blige on being a stepmother
It is no secret that Mary J. Blige, 36, has had a rough life, as it has been felt through her music. But now, Mary is finally happy; she gained a husband, music producer, Kendu Isaacs, and along with that, Kendu’s three children, Briana, 20, Jordan, 8, and Nasir, 7. Mary recently gave an interview to Redbook Magazine – here are some highlights where she talks about her step kids:
On suddenly being a mom with three stepchildren: I’ve been a stepmother for three years now and I love them so much. They would ask me questions like, ‘What do we call you?’ I said, ‘Call me Mary, call me what you want. You don’t have to call me Mommy until you’re ready.”
Mary makes the most out of the time she gets to be with them: The children’s mom works too, but she’s a full-time mother to them. She’s a wonderful mother, and the children are a result of what she is. When we’re out here in L.A., my husband will go and pick up his kids. Or if it’s Christmas or something like that, we’ll fly them to New York.
We don’t get a lot of time with them, but the time we do have, we try to make sure we are walking examples for what their life is going to be. It’s not like we’re throwing wild parties or anything like that. We’re homebodies. When we don’t have to work, we’re home or grocery shopping or helping with their homework or just letting them talk us to death.
She doesn’t want her kids to feel what she felt growing up. There was a lot of damage done to [my mother] by my father. I don’t want my children — my stepchildren — to see that kind of anything or to feel that kind of energy. I want them to always feel loved and secure.
Source: Redbook, May 2007 issue
