Adrienne Bailon caused an Internet firestorm two weeks ago when she and boyfriend Israel Houghton made their new relationship public.
“The Real” host and the divorced gospel singer were spotted vacationing in Mexico, stirring rumors that she was the reason for his recent split with his wife after 20 years of marriage.
During Tuesday’s show, the 32-year-old TV personality cleared the air – saying that Houghton is not married.
"I think I'm more than anything grateful that I have a platform like this, where I can be with my girls. The show is called ‘The Real’ it is a place where we can speak about the truth," Bailon explained. "With that being said, the man pictured here is not married. Praise God."
She went on to mention the statement Houghton released on Facebook last month saying he was single – as was she – when they decided to pursue a relationship after several years of friendship.
“The other thing people were saying was that I was the cause of the divorce, which I think any divorce is obviously a sad thing. People have to go through it, [it] takes time to get through that sort of thing, and I think no one put that time together,” Bailon said on her show. “I think people see an announcement was made at the top of the year and then they see these photos and then they think well let's put this together but this is why I'm grateful for things like this because it allows you to set the facts straight and God forbid the facts get in the way of a really juicy story. I'm going to say the truth and the truth of the matter is he isn't married. He obviously is divorced."
In his own statement, Houghton said his marriage had been over for quite some time before going public with the divorce announcement.
“It deeply saddens me that an innocent party would be dragged into this situation that I have taken personal responsibility for. Adrienne is a woman of integrity & character,” he added. “Most of all she is a true friend, and she should not be blamed for my past indiscretions.”
Bailon, who famously broke up with reality star Rob Kardashian in 2009, called off her engagement to music exec Lenny Santiago in September 2015.