For any couple, marriage can be an interesting road to travel. For some, the road lasts a short distance, while the path for others can continue on ’til death does them part.
In
Patti LaBelle’s case, her marriage to
Armstead Edwards, lasted more than three decades before they ultimately split. In an interview on “
Oprah’s Master Class, LaBelle opened up about her relationship with Edwards as she recalled how Edwards fell in love with her while working as her manager.
Although they enjoyed a close relationship,
LaBelle admits she initially turned Edwards down three times when he proposed to her.
“[He] asked me to marry him three times, and I said no. The fourth time, I asked him,” LaBelle says. “He said, ‘Let me give it a few days.’ So he gave it a few days, and he said yes.”
From there, it was off to the justice of the peace as LaBelle and Edwards got married in Maryland in 1969 and celebrated with hard-shell crabs and beer at the reception. According to LaBelle, the wedding was “small [and] cute.”
The birth of couple’s son,
Zuri, followed four years later, along with a successful solo career soon after. Despite the good times, reality came knocking decades after LaBelle and Edwards tied the knot.
“We realized that we couldn’t live together anymore. We liked each other from a distance,” the music icon shared. “When you feel that, somebody gotta go.”
Despite realizing their marriage was coming to an end, LaBelle mentioned that she and Edwards never fought during their time as a couple. In 2000, the couple announced their legal separation, with their divorce being finalized in 2003.
More than a decade after their split, the former pair, who LaBelle says parted as friends, still get along.
“I never hated him. He never hated me,” the vocalist expressed. “We just couldn’t live together — not because of physical fights or anything. We never fought, thank God, in 32 years. We got along even when we didn’t get along! But then we realized that we had to leave each other.”
Nowadays, LaBelle and Edwards are still strong in their relationship and remain on good terms, even though they are no longer romantic with each other.
“We’re cool now,” LaBelle says. “He’s one of my best friends.”
