The 'Tracks of My Tears' crooner also divulges that the 'If We Hold on Together' songstress decided to end their secret romance because she felt guilty about his first wife, Claudette Rogers.
- Apr 29, 2023
AceShowbiz - Smokey Robinson revealed that he had an affair with Diana Ross while he was married to his first wife, Claudette Rogers. The "Tracks of My Tears" crooner made the honest confession in a new interview with The Guardian.
"I was married at the time. [Ross and I] were working together and it just happened. But it was beautiful," the 83-year-old shared. "She's a beautiful lady, and I love her right til today. She's one of my closest people. She was young and trying to get her career together.
Robinson said he "was trying to help" Ross break into the scene at that time. However, he noted, "I wasn't going after her and she wasn't going after me."
The "Cruisin' " singer then divulged how they ended their secret romance. "After we'd been seeing each other for a while, Diana said to me she couldn't do that because she knew Claudette, and she knew I still loved my wife," he explained. "And I did. I loved my wife very much."
According to Robinson, his affair with Ross gave him a new perspective on love. "I learned that we are capable of loving more than one person at the same time. And it has been made taboo by us. By people," he elaborated.
"It's not because one person isn't worthy or they don't live up to what you expect - it has to do with feelings. If we could control love, nobody would love anybody. Nobody would take that chance," he continued. "Why would you put your heart out there for somebody to be able to hurt you like that and make you able to have those feelings?"
Robinson didn't detail when the affair started. The legendary singer himself was married to Rogers from 1959 to 1986.
Robinson is now married to his second wife, Frances Glandney. As for Ross, she was married to Robert Ellis Silberstein from 1971 to 1977. She then tied the knot with Arne Naess, Jr. in 1985, but they called it quits after 15 years of marriage.
