Montell Jordan had the clubs and radio bumpin’ throughout the mid 90’s to early 2000’s, with classic R&B joints like “This Is How We Do It,” “Get It On Tonight,” and many others. He was holding it down as the top male solo artist at Def Jam for a while and then all of sudden it seemed like he just fell off the face of the earth. Fans wondered what happened to him and now Montell and his wife/manager, Kristin Hudson, explain what went down between them behind the scenes.

We previously covered Montell’s eventual comeback as a gospel artist, but what was unknown at that time, was that he wasn’t just singing for the Lawd, he was rejoicing for having been able to save his marriage after almost destroying it during the height of his career.

Now after 23 years of marriage, Montell and Kristen explain in an interview with Oprah, how they got past the infidelities that plagued their union:

Pressures From Music Industry

Montell explained how he was pressured by music execs to pretend Kristen was nothing more than his manager, to increase his marketability to his millions of female fans back in the day:

Montell: “We were told that no one’s gonna want a tall, handsome, unavailable R&B singer and that no one’s gonna respect ‘Montell’s wife.'”

So instead of being truthful to the public about their marriage Montell and Kristen had a plan:

“She was gonna stay ‘Kristen Hudson, my manager’ and I was gonna say I’m ‘married to my music,’ as opposed to being married to my wife.”

And it was that decision to lie to the public, combined with he and his wife’s constant separation – as he was toured the country and she focused on negotiating his contracts, shows, etc.- that caused Montell to fall into bed with other women, according to the Mr. and Mrs. Jordan.

That’s when Kristen said she realized that they needed to put an end to their lie and focus on their marriage. So Montell then decided to drop everything regarding his music career because he could not stand the thought of losing his wife. See what else they revealed about this in the video clip below:

Watch Montell Jordan & His Wife Explain Past Infidelities

I understand where they’re coming from regarding how Montell ended up cheating multiple times- he was a young man getting panties thrown his way all day, everyday by beautiful women. However, I still gotta call a spade a spade- it was still his choice to take that bait. Sure, the temptation was much higher in his position, than the average man gets tested, but he could’ve said “No thank you m’aam” to the thousands of THOTS throwing it at him on the regular.

Overall though, I definitely respect Montell Jordan’s wife for sticking by her man’s side through thick and thin. I also give Montell his props for publicly sharing his past faults and his eventual redemption with the world. Wishing the Jordan’s many more years of marital bliss, because no matter what trials and tribulations they’ve faced, they’re obviously doing something right.