Usher.Photo:Paras Griffin/GettyUsherand his family know about true, unthinkable heartbreak.The star, 45, tells PEOPLE about that and more inthis week’s cover story, where he opens up like never before about his ups and downs in the spotlight.Back in 2012, Usher and ex-wifeTameka Foster, 53, learned that her son Kile, 11 (with ex-husband Ryan Glover), was the victim of atragic boating accident.“I received the call back then, she was in Italy at the time, and I chartered a private plane to get her home as fast as I could because she was just so distraught,” he recalls of being there for Foster, whom he’ddivorced in 2009after two years of marriage.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Usher and Tameka Foster.Johnny Nunez/WireImage"We were not even together at the time. But I was like, ‘OK, let me try and be of help to her and help her as much as I possibly can’. It’s a real hard thing to lose a child.“For his part, “It hurt me,” he says. “Kile was an amazing child. For the time that he was here, he was a great influence. There’s not a day that his brothers and his mother don’t think about him.“He and Foster share sonsUsher V, 16, and Naviyd, 15. As for their currentco-parenting relationship, “I’m not going to lie, we have more difficult days than we have great ones,” Usher says.In 2013, Usher V, then 5,nearly drownedin the singer’s pool. “That was one of the hardest days of my life,” he says, “and I’m certain one of the hardest days of hers.”He adds, “To know that I would have a similar situation that could have just taken my son’s life. It’s like I understand and have great empathy for what both her and Ryan, her ex-husband, had to deal with because I’ve experienced a portion of it in real-time.“Naviyd Raymond, Usher Raymond IV and Usher Raymond V.Paras Griffin/Getty ImagesHe and Foster were already in the middle of a long custody battle, and the scary incident exacerbated tensions before a judge found that there was no negligence on his part. Says Usher: “I love my boys, and I would never do anything to compromise or endanger them.”These days, “we are raising our sons together,” he says of partnering with Foster, who stars on WE tv’s new reality showBold & Bougie. “It’s a process, he adds, but “we’re doing our best.”For more on Usher’s life and loves pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
Usher.Photo:Paras Griffin/Getty
Paras Griffin/Getty
Usherand his family know about true, unthinkable heartbreak.The star, 45, tells PEOPLE about that and more inthis week’s cover story, where he opens up like never before about his ups and downs in the spotlight.Back in 2012, Usher and ex-wifeTameka Foster, 53, learned that her son Kile, 11 (with ex-husband Ryan Glover), was the victim of atragic boating accident.“I received the call back then, she was in Italy at the time, and I chartered a private plane to get her home as fast as I could because she was just so distraught,” he recalls of being there for Foster, whom he’ddivorced in 2009after two years of marriage.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Usher and Tameka Foster.Johnny Nunez/WireImage"We were not even together at the time. But I was like, ‘OK, let me try and be of help to her and help her as much as I possibly can’. It’s a real hard thing to lose a child.“For his part, “It hurt me,” he says. “Kile was an amazing child. For the time that he was here, he was a great influence. There’s not a day that his brothers and his mother don’t think about him.“He and Foster share sonsUsher V, 16, and Naviyd, 15. As for their currentco-parenting relationship, “I’m not going to lie, we have more difficult days than we have great ones,” Usher says.In 2013, Usher V, then 5,nearly drownedin the singer’s pool. “That was one of the hardest days of my life,” he says, “and I’m certain one of the hardest days of hers.”He adds, “To know that I would have a similar situation that could have just taken my son’s life. It’s like I understand and have great empathy for what both her and Ryan, her ex-husband, had to deal with because I’ve experienced a portion of it in real-time.“Naviyd Raymond, Usher Raymond IV and Usher Raymond V.Paras Griffin/Getty ImagesHe and Foster were already in the middle of a long custody battle, and the scary incident exacerbated tensions before a judge found that there was no negligence on his part. Says Usher: “I love my boys, and I would never do anything to compromise or endanger them.”These days, “we are raising our sons together,” he says of partnering with Foster, who stars on WE tv’s new reality showBold & Bougie. “It’s a process, he adds, but “we’re doing our best.”For more on Usher’s life and loves pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
Usherand his family know about true, unthinkable heartbreak.
The star, 45, tells PEOPLE about that and more inthis week’s cover story, where he opens up like never before about his ups and downs in the spotlight.
Back in 2012, Usher and ex-wifeTameka Foster, 53, learned that her son Kile, 11 (with ex-husband Ryan Glover), was the victim of atragic boating accident.
“I received the call back then, she was in Italy at the time, and I chartered a private plane to get her home as fast as I could because she was just so distraught,” he recalls of being there for Foster, whom he’ddivorced in 2009after two years of marriage.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Usher and Tameka Foster.Johnny Nunez/WireImage
Johnny Nunez/WireImage
“We were not even together at the time. But I was like, ‘OK, let me try and be of help to her and help her as much as I possibly can’. It’s a real hard thing to lose a child.”
For his part, “It hurt me,” he says. “Kile was an amazing child. For the time that he was here, he was a great influence. There’s not a day that his brothers and his mother don’t think about him.”
He and Foster share sonsUsher V, 16, and Naviyd, 15. As for their currentco-parenting relationship, “I’m not going to lie, we have more difficult days than we have great ones,” Usher says.
In 2013, Usher V, then 5,nearly drownedin the singer’s pool. “That was one of the hardest days of my life,” he says, “and I’m certain one of the hardest days of hers.”
He adds, “To know that I would have a similar situation that could have just taken my son’s life. It’s like I understand and have great empathy for what both her and Ryan, her ex-husband, had to deal with because I’ve experienced a portion of it in real-time.”
Naviyd Raymond, Usher Raymond IV and Usher Raymond V.Paras Griffin/Getty Images
Paras Griffin/Getty Images
He and Foster were already in the middle of a long custody battle, and the scary incident exacerbated tensions before a judge found that there was no negligence on his part. Says Usher: “I love my boys, and I would never do anything to compromise or endanger them.”
These days, “we are raising our sons together,” he says of partnering with Foster, who stars on WE tv’s new reality showBold & Bougie. “It’s a process, he adds, but “we’re doing our best.”
For more on Usher’s life and loves pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
source: people.com
