Marques Houston is being criticised for saying that women his age often come with “baggage or kids”.
The 41-year-old singer and actor, who is married to 22-year-old Miya Dickey, was attempting to explain why he preferred to date women who were younger than him.
“A red flag to me [was] always with a woman that had a kid,” he told Page Six. “Nothing against single women, but single mothers with children are a red flag for me.
“I tip my hat and respect women that are raising children on their own,” he added. “But when I grew up, I never really wanted to have kids.
“I would talk to my dad a lot, and he would always tell me to have your own kids because you never know what the baby daddy’s are about. So if you’re gonna have kids, make sure it is with a woman that never had kids. So that was always my red flag… and a woman with an attitude. I don’t like women with funky attitudes.”
Dickey gave birth to the couple’s first child in 2021.
Speaking of his relationship with Dickey, the singer said: “I’m 41, she is 22. I could’ve married a 44-year-old woman, and it could’ve been disastrous.
“Women that are my age… they kind of have a different outlook on life. Like a lot of women my age are very independent. They are very like, ‘I don’t need a man to do this for me ’cause I can do it for myself.’ I come from a generation that I love to provide for my wife.”
Many people have condemned Houston’s remarks on social media.
“Who gives af what Marques Houston’s opinion is?” one person wrote.
Houston’s former Immature bandmate Young Rome also issued a statement about Houston’s comments, saying: “As a member of Immature, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies in regards to the insensitive statements made by my former group member Marques Houston.
“We were raised by a tribe of strong independent women who faced hardships we will never fully understand. Women today have enough battles to endure including the policing of their bodies, equal pay in the workplace, and beauty standards. It is never ok to degrade one group of women in order to praise another.”
Young Rome also clarified that “[Houston’s] views do not reflect those of the group.”
One person wrote: “Between Jonathan Majors, David Choe, and Marques Houston, the news cycle on toxic masculinity has me depressed. Masculinity needs a better PR team because it’s been synonymous with negativity for a while now.”
Houston previously dated singer Jamila Chilombo and My Wife and Kids actor Jennifer Freeman, with whom he starred in the 2004 film You Got Served. Rumours surfaced in November 2007 that Freeman and Houston were engaged, but they broke up a few months later.
He was also in a relationship with Marlena Campbell in 2008. He confirmed their relationship publicly in March 2010, celebrating their second anniversary on his Twitter page. The couple reportedly split in 2015.
Houston released a new album titled Me in February 2022. His follow-up EP, Me: Dark Water, was released later in November.
