We became friends and started hanging out, especially since she was going through a rough patch with her divorce and her ex-husband’s remarriage. We didn’t rush things; we just enjoyed each other’s company—traveling, spending time together, and letting our connection grow naturally. Little by little, we became closer, and it was like everything just fell into place in the most beautiful, organic way. But as they say, all good things come to an end. And now, it’s official: Tina Knowles and Richard Lawson have finalized their divorce.
Here’s the surprising part—Tina has to pay Richard some money as part of the settlement, even though she didn’t get anything from him. Rumor has it that before they even agreed on this, Richard was pushing for more than just a one-time payment; he wanted spousal support. But knowing Tina, she probably wasn’t having any of that and might’ve been like, “Here’s your one-time payment—take it or leave it.”
But it makes you wonder, right? Why did Tina have to pay him anything at all? Shouldn’t they have just kept what they brought into the marriage and split whatever they made together? Why was it Tina who had to pay Richard? Is there something more to this? And let’s be real, $300K isn’t exactly enough to buy someone’s silence, especially not someone like Richard. So, what’s really going on here? That’s what we’re going to try to figure out.
For a bit of context, Tina and Richard were married for eight years. They got married on a yacht in Newport Beach, California, back in 2015. It was the second marriage for both of them, and before things started falling apart, they really seemed to be in love. Richard even talked about how, when they reconnected, everything just clicked. They had this amazing energy, they talked about the same things, and everything felt so natural. He once said that when he held her hand, he felt this powerful energy, a connection that made him feel proud to be with her. It was like they were in sync on a spiritual level.
So, about what went down between Tina and her ex-husband, Matthew Knowles—honestly, it’s not exactly a shocker. Matthew had a reputation for being unfaithful, hooking up with pretty much anyone who was willing. They actually split up back in 2009 after it came out that Matthew had a child with Alexandra Wright. At first, Tina dropped the divorce, but she ended up refiling in 2010, citing that their personalities just clashed too much to make things work. And let’s be real—it wasn’t just about Alexandra. Matthew had been cheating for a while with other women too.
And oh my gosh, can we talk about that photo of someone crying next to a garbage dump? I mean, seriously, that’s some next-level drama! But hey, even when life’s messy, you can still find time to get your nails done, right? Okay, girl, I see you! And then there’s Jakoa, who was pregnant around the same time as Alexandra. It’s all a blur whether Matthew was officially divorced from Tina or just in the middle of it. Either way, the whole situation was a mess. I can’t help but wonder what Solange had to say about all this. Knowing what we do about her, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had some strong words—or actions—for him. And let’s not forget those serious sexual allegations against Matthew, especially from Farrah Franklin, who was in Beyoncé’s band at one point.
“Unfortunately, my manager was Beyoncé’s father, Matthew Knowles. He propositioned me, invited me to his hotel to talk.”
“So, did Matthew try to sleep with you, Farrah?”
“Let’s just say I don’t know too many people who don’t like me. I’ll leave it at that.”
Now, as for Richard, he was married to actress Denise Gordy from New Year’s Eve 1978 until 1989. Denise is pretty private, so we don’t really know much about what happened in their marriage. But fast forward to last year, Tina filed for divorce from Richard. And while most Hollywood divorces are drawn out with loads of drama, this one was surprisingly quick.
Court documents show that they split due to irreconcilable differences that made it impossible for them to stay married. The terms of the settlement were pretty straightforward—neither of them would get spousal support, but Tina did have to make a one-time payment of $300,000 to Richard.
When it came to dividing up their stuff, Tina got a 2018 Tesla, a 2020 Bentley, her “Matriarch” book deal with Penguin Random House, a small stake in Kirby Beauty Management LLC, all the furniture and art she already had, and any creative work she did during the marriage. She also kept her own property, which included her LA home, a place in Texas, all her furniture, jewelry, retirement accounts, and anything she earned since they separated. Plus, she agreed to pay off her own credit cards and any household expenses.
On the flip side, Richard got a 2021 Cadillac Escalade, his bank and retirement accounts, any money owed to Richard Lawson Studios, his earned royalties, and any creative work he did during the marriage. He also kept the rights to his studio artwork, jewelry, clothing, royalties, and his SAG pension plan. Richard’s covering his own credit card debt and any debt related to the Cadillac.
So, like I mentioned earlier, Tina agreed to pay Richard a one-time amount of $300,000. But the settlement wasn’t just about the money; it also included a non-disparagement clause. Basically, neither of them can say anything bad about each other, their kids, or their kids’ spouses. And get this—the clause specifically mentions that they can’t talk about their grandkids, now or in the future, to anyone, whether it’s the media or just some random person. It’s like, “Seriously, you have to tell Richard not to gossip about Beyoncé and the family?” But honestly, it’s a smart move. You know all those radio shows would’ve jumped at the chance to get him on air just to dig for details. And rumor has it that back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Richard had a bit of a reputation for running his mouth, so maybe Tina knew what she was doing by adding that clause.
To be fair, Richard has talked about the grandkids before, but he’s always been positive about it.
“You can see the transition in terms of her being a little bit more calm. She’s the diva, but she’s sharing her diva.”
Now, word on the street is that Richard wasn’t too happy with just getting the $300K and was pushing for spousal support. Some people were already confused about why he got that lump sum, to begin with, and then to hear he might want more? It’s like, “Really? Spousal support too?” Personally, I can’t say for sure if Richard actually asked for it because he seems like someone who’s more than capable of standing on his own two feet. But then again, some folks think that after what Tina allegedly put him through, maybe he does deserve it. The buzz is that Tina was supposedly pretty mean and disrespectful to Richard for the whole time they were married.
Fans have been noticing the signs for a while now. Things first started looking shaky when Tina decided to keep the last name of her ex-husband, Matthew Knowles—who, let’s not forget, was a serial cheater. Like, why would you keep the name of someone who disrespected and embarrassed you for years? Some people think it’s because Tina played a big role in building the Knowles name, but others believe she just never really saw Richard as worthy, which is why she didn’t drop the Knowles name.
And let’s not forget when they were still together, and Tina said in an interview that Richard was far from perfect.
“I envisioned the type of man I wanted. I prayed for the type of man I wanted, and I got pretty much that. Is he perfect? Absolutely not. But, you know, he has a lot of the qualities that I love, and we’re having a really good time. I’m enjoying life, so there is hope, women.”
Hey, I get it—nobody’s perfect, and Tina wasn’t wrong to point out that Richard isn’t either. But the way she said it? That’s what really stung. She totally embarrassed her ex-husband, and it was obvious he was hurt. Honestly, when she saw the look on Richard’s face, she could’ve eased the tension with something like, “Babe, no one’s perfect, but you’re perfect for me,” or even, “I love you, flaws and all.” I mean, given her background—having a daughter who sings love songs and her own long career in the music industry—you’d think she’d handle it with a bit more grace.
Another thing that got people talking was how Richard was so into Tina while she was still married to Matthew. But to be fair, they’d known each other for decades before they finally got together.
“It was wonderful. You know, I’ve known Richard for 40 years, and when we reconnected, it felt like a gift from God. I really mean that because after my divorce, which was devastating after 33 years, I prayed for this. I always hoped to get married again if it was in God’s plan because I love being in a relationship, but it was scary for a while. Then he came back into my life, and it’s been wonderful.”
But Richard himself admitted he was blown away the first time he saw Tina. In a post where he looked back on that day, he actually wrote:
“What struck me most was that your beauty was only enhanced by your incredible heart, compassion, empathy, generosity, and philanthropy. You were pregnant with Beyoncé at the time and married, so my strong attraction to you had to stay in my imagination.”
Here’s the thing—Richard wasn’t just drawn to a pregnant, married woman—he was married too! He’d been married for three years, and his daughter Bianca was only two years old at the time. Even though Richard kept his feelings to himself, he stayed close to Tina as a friend until she divorced, and then he made his move—or at least that’s what people say. But we’ve all heard the rumors that while Matthew was cheating on Tina, she was also stepping out and had something going on with Richard.
David Lee Brewer, Beyoncé’s childhood vocal coach, spilled some serious tea in his book Beyoncé: Raising Genius, A Teacher and His Prodigy. He talked about Matthew’s affair, saying, “He had escalated to stronger drugs and even stranger behaviors. Rumor had it that coke wasn’t cutting it for him anymore, so he turned to crack cocaine.” Then he spilled about Tina’s thing with Richard, adding, “I soon discovered that although she was unhappily married, Celestine wasn’t suffering alone. One afternoon, I went over to the main house to grab my keyboard and walked in on Celestine kissing a man. I recognized him right away—Richard Lawson, a famous actor. She was clearly caught off guard and had no choice but to introduce us. It was awkward, to say the least. She was supposed to be at her salon. I shook Richard’s hand and told him how much I admired his work.”
They had been together for years, but in the months leading up to Tina filing for divorce, people began noticing some subtle yet telling changes. For a couple who used to frequently post about each other on social media, the last time Tina shared anything with her second husband on Instagram was at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in mid-March—months before their separation was announced. Even more telling, she quietly changed her Instagram bio from “Tina Knowles Lawson” back to “Tina Knowles,” dropping Richard’s last name entirely. And if that wasn’t enough, Richard was notably absent from Jay-Z’s mom, Gloria Carter’s, wedding to Roxanne Wilshire, an event that the whole family attended except for him.
There were other signs too. For example, Tina didn’t show up at Richard’s screening of his film Black Terror at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. But the moment that made everything crystal clear was when Richard was seen without his wedding ring. They even skipped their usual heartfelt anniversary posts on social media, which only added fuel to the rumors that their marriage was over. Fans also noticed that Tina had been deleting comments and blocking people who kept asking, “Where was Richard?” on her Instagram. The couple even missed Magic Johnson’s annual summer cruise with friends last year—a trip they usually attended and documented with plenty of photos. Basically, fans were right all along; a divorce was definitely in the works.
Besides the official reason of irreconcilable differences and whispers of Tina being disrespected, there was some juicy gossip floating around that Jackée Harry might have been involved in the split. Allegedly, Richard was getting cozy with someone—reportedly Jackée—while Tina was on tour with Beyoncé, and someone snapped a photo and sent it to Tina. Word on the street is that Jackée and Richard had been in an on-and-off relationship for almost 40 years. Again, these are just rumors, but what do you think about how the divorce played out? Why do you think Tina has to pay Richard $300K? What’s your take on what really happened? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
