Brother of Ralph Tresvant Reveals Struggles He Had After Ralph’s Success
By now, most of New Edition’s fans have seen their BET biopic, The New Edition Story, and learned that Ralph Tresvant has a younger brother. In case you didn’t catch that part of the movie, it was in the first episode of the three part miniseries, when the ‘kid-Ralph’ and his N.E. brothers were trying to figure out who could be their fifth member. ‘Kid-Ralph’ told their then-manager, Maurice Starr, that they couldn’t possibly pick his brother because he’d “just learned to walk a year ago,” LOL. Well, fast forward to today and we’ve found Ralph’s baby bro.’
The Tresvant brothers are really tight and they recently shared stories to about their family, their beloved mother, and their days coming up in Boston, MA. Keep scrolling to check out Ralph’s brother and what they reminisced about…
Meet Ralph Tresvant’s Brother
Introducing Andre Tresvant. He’s 38 years old and has nothing but love and admiration for his 48 year old big brother, Ralph.
In the video below, the Tresvant brothers reminisced and laughed about how Andre was bad as hell as a child and how their mom, Patricia Tresvant, had to repeatedly go to his school for him. Andre also recalled how their Momma once pulled up on the school playground angered, rockin’ her house robe and slippers, after Andre came home and told her one of his teachers had just called him a “ni&&er.” They both agreed that Mama Tresvant was NO joke when it came to protecting her babies.
WATCH RALPH & ANDRE TRESVANT REMINISCE
Andre Tresvant Reveals Extreme Hardships He Had After Their Mother Sadly Passed Away
Sadly, Ralph’s and Andre’s beloved mother, Patricia Tresvant, passed away and Andre revealed a few upsetting things that happened to him afterwards, which the world didn’t know. If you saw The New Edition Story, you probably recall the “Home Again” album photoshoot scene, when Mike Bivins and Ronnie Devoe were feeling bad for Ralph after he’d lost his mother. She passed away just before all six of the N.E. members were preparing for their 1996 “Home Again” album release/tour.
Andre said he was just 16 years old when he and Ralph’s Mom died and that he’d been living in California when they moved there when he was age 7 (after they’d moved there from Boston, MA). According to Andre, his world was turned upside down when his mother, Patricia, died- he was left alone in Cali. to fend for himself at just 16 years old. He says he had no family there to help him, they were mostly still living in their hometown of Boston.
WHY WAS RALPH TRESVANT’S BROTHER ON HIS OWN AT 16?
At that time, Ralph had a ton of weight on his shoulders. He had to fulfill his contractual obligations on the road, so he couldn’t be there with Andre. He also needed the money (as a result of their jacked up N.E. contract), and he had three small children to feed with his then-wife, Shelly, whom he was going through a nasty divorce with. FYI: Shelly was apparently referred to as “Zena” in the N.E. biopic.
WHERE WAS HIS DAD?
Andre revealed that he’d “never got to shake my dad’s hand” because he never met him- a reality that became even more real when he had to instantly learn how to survive as a man at only 16. He eventually got a one bedroom apartment at 16 years old and it was there that he leaned on his religious beliefs for guidance:
Andre Tresvant: “I just knew on the inside that God could fill that void and make up for who I lost…so one day I began to go on a 3 day fast and seek God for the HolySpirt fullness, I did this in my 1 bedroom apt., cut off the phone,closed the blinds and began to pray like never before & study the word of God.”
THE GOOD NEWS
The good news is that after the extreme hardships and heartbreak, Andre Tresvant made it through and although Ralph couldn’t physically be there for him when they were both grieving their mother’s death, he was always there in spirit and just a phone call away if Andre ever needed him.
Today, Andre has a daughter, Adora Patricia Tresvant, whom he named after his mother, Patricia. Adora graduated from high school in 2016. Andre is still very close to his big bro’ and the rest of the family, including Bobby Brown’s fam’…in fact, Andre was there chillin’ with them at N.E.’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on January 23, 2017…
WATCH ANDRE, RALPH, AND FAM’ AT N.E.’S HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME CEREMONY
Like we always say, here at ILoveOldSchoolMusic, celebrities have accomplished great things in life, but they’re still human just like the rest of us, with real life problems to match. By the way, speaking of Ralph’s and Andre’s family members, in 2017, Ralph and his wife celebrated their son’s graduation and the birthday of his eldest daughter. Check out the family photos below…
Ralph Celebrated Son’s Graduation & Daughter’s Birthday
New Edition’s frontman was looking like the proud pops that he is, when his son graduated from high school on June 9, 2017. Not only was he happy to have a son graduating high school, he was also hella happy about his daughter, Na’Quelle, turning 28 on the same day as his son’s graduation.
Ralph is the father of four children: three with his first wife, Shelly- Na’Quelle, Mariah, and Ralph, Jr.; and one son with his wife, Amber Serrano- his youngest child, Dakari Tresvant.
Dakari had his parents smiling from ear to ear on graduation day. These days, the young brotha is towering over his “Cool It Now” pops and looks like this…
As you can see, from the below Instagram graduation photos below, both Ralph and Amber- Ralph’s wife since 2004- are extremely happy about their son’s graduation and his progress thus far. Check out their posts below (be sure to swipe left to view all of the graduation pics of Ralph and his fam’)…
Dakari Tresvant’s Graduation Photos
Ralph’s Emotional Messages To His Son & Daughter
Ralph posted this message to his son, Dakari, for his graduation and also to his 1st born child, Na’Quelle, for her 28th birthday in June of last year (2017)…
Ralph’s 28 year old daughter, NaQuelle Tresvant, with her daddy…
What a blessing it is to have happy, healthy children and to be able to watch them flourish in life. We wish the best for Ralph and his fam’…it looks like he’s done an incredible job as a father. On a side note, y’all make sure you check out Ralph’s latest album, Rizzo: It’s Lonely At The Top, which released in 2017.
