His ex-wife, Diane Alexander, hit the jackpot and I know many of you may be thinking ‘well she deserved to hit the jackpot,’ and to a degree you’re right, because after blessing him with two beautiful kids and 8 years of marriage, she certainly doesn’t deserve to be left out in the cold. But I also want to point out that this isn’t a case where she was there in the beginning and helped Lionel build his empire. Nope, not at all. She was an 18 year old backup dancer when she popped into his life. Lionel was already very well established.

You see, Lionel met Diane at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Remember when he was the closing act for the Olympic ceremonies? You can see that performance below…

Fast forward a few years later and Richie eventually divorced from his first wife, Brenda Richie, in 1993, then married Diane by 1996. They became tabloid favorites when Diane filed for divorce in 2004 and detailed their lavish lifestyle in her alimony petition. Diane was determined to maintain a high standard of living. Lionel reportedly claimed he was “scared to death” when he read her demands in the divorce papers. Diane was awarded an estimated settlement of $20 million. Among her alimony must-haves: a $15,000 monthly clothing allowance; $50,000 a month for manicures, massages, vitamins, and other personal services; and a plastic surgery budget of $20,000 a year.

Wow Lionel, can you make sure you have a strong pre-nuptial if you decide that a third time may be the charm? He did after all write and perform the song “Three Times A Lady”. Maybe if he does decide to marry a third time, and has a solid pre-nup in place, that 3rd marriage might be smooth and “Easy like a Sunday morning.”

To Diane’s credit, it seems that now she, Lionel, his first wife Brenda, and all of their kids are in a very peaceful and good space with each other. Word on the Old Schoool curb is that they get along great now, but Lionel is still dishing out those spousal support checks.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, it probably would have been better for Lionel to follow Johnnie Taylor’s advice because he said it best, sometimes “it’s cheaper to keep her.” Take us out Johnnie!

-ILOSM- Old School news with a new point of view