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Brian McKnight Says His First Marriage Was Forced
He also claimed that his ex-wife, Julie McKnight, 'poisoned' his children against him.
Bernadette GiacomazzoNovember 21, 2025
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Photo by Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images
Brian McKnight is offering new explanations for his strained relationship with his older children, telling podcaster Anton Daniels that his first marriage happened under religious pressure and that the breakdown of the family was the result of manipulation, not abandonment.
The interview follows renewed criticism from his eldest son, Brian McKnight Jr., who has publicly accused the singer of emotional distance.
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McKnight told Daniels that he and his first wife were pushed into marriage after she became pregnant. “I honored my mother and I tried to do the right thing with a woman that I hadn’t even known a year yet,” he said. “We got married in September. Baby in November.”
He also said the marriage was never compatible. “I was never in love with their mother," McKnight claimed. "They weren’t made from love to begin with.”
According to McKnight, the couple separated four times before divorcing in 2003. He said the only reason they stayed together as long as they did was because of their sons. “The kids were the thing that kept us together as long as we were,” he told Daniels.
In the interview, McKnight also claimed the relationship between him and his children deteriorated as a result of what he described as outside influence. He said that during early separations, his younger son didn’t want to spend time with him, and he believed it was because of emotional interference at home. “He didn’t know me…he’d cry for however long,” McKnight said.
Later in the conversation, McKnight said directly that his children were “poisoned” against him. Speaking about the years after the divorce, he told Daniels that although he continued to support them financially and take them on tour, “the narrative was changed” by others in their lives. He said his children were led to believe he was absent or uncaring despite his efforts.
McKnight also detailed the financial structure of the divorce, saying he paid $18,000 a month in combined child and spousal support. “$8,000 spousal, and then five and five for the two kids,” he said. He added that the obligation lasted until his youngest son turned 23 and that he gave up a percentage of the songs written during the marriage.
His comments contrast sharply with statements from McKnight Jr., who publicly criticized his father last month after McKnight announced an $8.8 million default judgment against ex-wife Julie.
McKnight posted the announcement on Oct. 16—the birthday of his late son, Niko, who died in May following a two-year cancer battle.
On Instagram, McKnight Jr. accused his father of longstanding emotional absence. “You don’t want me to start talking about the things that I had to deal with in my childhood,” he said. “The things that my brother took to his grave… because our dad wasn’t emotionally intelligent enough nor mature enough to actually be a father.”
He rejected his father’s narrative outright, calling his conduct “petty” and saying, “The gloves are off for me.”
Court records show Julie McKnight has moved to vacate the judgment, arguing she was never served.
Brian McKnight Says His First Marriage Was Forced
In a new interview, Brian McKnight claims his first marri...
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