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Paras Griffin/Getty ImagesFollowing the revelation that she was abused for years by her ex-husband R. Kelly, Andrea Kelly is now opening up to ABC News’ Linsey Davis on tonight’s edition of Nightline about her tumultuous relationship with the singer — including the moment when she realized she was a victim of domestic violence.
Andrea says that after a series of altercations between her and Kelly, she reached a breaking point in which she almost tried to end her life.
“The only thing that kept me…first God, but my kids. ‘Cause I remember I climbed out on the balcony and I looked down and it was, like, God had helped me to see my body was layin’ in blood,” she said. “Then in the background I hear my kids go, ‘Mama. Mama. Why did Mama jump? Why did she leave us?'”
During her vision, Kelly says she remembers being told to “get [her] laptop… and type in domestic violence.”
“I go to their web page and there’s a survey,” she continues. “I take the survey, and of the 17 things on the list, Robert had already done 15. And it just dawned, I was like, ‘Wait.'”
She said before that moment, she had not considered herself a victim of domestic violence.
“And the more I said yes, the more I would replay things in my mind. The things he’s done,” she added. “The things he’s said. The sexual abuse. The physical abuse. The emotional abuse. The financial abuse. And I was like, ‘No. This is you. You’re that girl.'”
R. Kelly and Andrea married in 1996, and divorced in 2009. They have three children.
Watch Andrea Kelly’s full story on ABC News’ Nightline tonight at 12:35 a.m. ET.
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