Marques Houston is addressing the backlash he’s faced regarding the 19-year age difference between he and his wife, Miya Dickey.
Houston’s relationship with Dickey made headlines a few years back when it was revealed that the R&B singer, now 41, met Dickey, 22, when she was 17 years old. The couple got engaged in March 2019 after just five months of dating, before tying the knot in August 2020.
In a preview released ahead of his upcoming appearance on TV One’s series, Uncensored, Houston sheds light on how he met his wife.
“Me and my wife’s situation is a little different, how we met through mutual friends and everything like that,” Houston explains. “When I met my wife, she was 17. We had no, really, conversation and no, really, connection until she was of age”
Houston goes on to address the criticism he’s received due to the couple’s nearly 20-year age gap.
“People don’t understand it. And of course, I got a lot of backlash for marrying someone that was 19,” he shares. “And, you know, when we did finally start to talk, I was like, ‘This woman is like me’… For one, we had a spiritual connection, and I feel like that’s the most important thing… and being able to start being around her… we connected through music and her spirit, her kindness, her heart, reminds me a lot of my mom and we connected on so many different levels.”
Back in June 2020, Houston first responded to the backlash, taking to Instagram to explain to his followers how he and Miya met.
“I met Miya in 2018 through a mutual friend,” he said at the time. “Never before then, did I even know she existed… Miya is like a daughter to Chris Stokes because we are all like family. Being a Jehovah’s Witness, we all showcase true love like family. That’s it. Chris’ real daughter, Chrissy Morales became friends with Miya in 2018, where we all first met Miya at a Jehovah’s Witness convention. It was then that Chrissy and Miya became friends. Miya and I didn’t start dating until she was an adult. We fell in love and got engaged in March of 2019.”
Read Houston’s full post about his and Miya’s 19-year age difference below.
