Although you sign on for “better or worse,” when you get married, not every couple’s happily every after is forever.
In the case of soon-to-be divorced lovers T.I. and Tiny, the once madly in love couple has decided to call it quits and now the King of the South has made some questionable comments about his wife.
Sitting down with longtime radio host Angie Martinez, T.I. recently called his marriage a distraction but says the former Xscape singer is one of his best friends in the world.
“I can just be a better best friend than a husband,” he said before adding, “There will people, places and things that help me get there and there will be people, places and things that will distract me deter me [from getting there] so, you know, it just seems to me that marriage and what marriage means and what marriage does it’s just one of those things that just distracts me and deter me. That could be selfish but ultimately, I’m the patriarch of this family and it’s my responsibility to take us onward and upward and that’s what I intend to do.”
Let’s take a walk down memory lane, through the ups and downs of T.I. and Tiny’s relationship and recount the many, many times Tiny was anything but a distraction when she was holding her man down.
1. They met and began dating in 2001.
T.I., born Clifford Harris, was just 21 and 26-year-old Tameka “Tiny” Cottle started off their relationship as one of the cutest couples in hip-hop. The Xscape singer revealed in an interview to Vibe that she had no interest in the young up and comer but over time, sparks did fly.
“T.I. always says I gave him such a hard time when we first met and I did… I stood him up a couple times. When I met him, I was kinda on hiatus, I’d broken from Xscape, but I had co-wrote (sic) the song ‘No Scrubs’ for TLC, so you know, I was living good and doing my thing…Somehow we exchanged numbers – he was calling me and calling me, wanting to come hook up and I’d be like, ‘Yeah, we gonna…let’s hook up, such and such’ and then I wouldn’t answer the phone and he’d be like, ‘You know time after time…’And one night, and it’s probably the best thing he could’ve did (sic), he invited me to one of his shows…First of all, it was jam-packed outside, it was crazy and I’m like, ‘All these people (are) here for this guy?’ We went in there and he tore the house down. And I was like, ‘OK, I think I like him.’ He’s got something there.”
2. He was briefly jailed in 2006.
In 2003, T.I. assualted a police officer in a Florida Mall, XXL reports. After an altercation in 2006, the rapper was arrested on an outstanding probation violation for not completing the required number of community service hours that were a part of the terms of his agreement from the assualt charge.
3. He served time in federal prison in 2009.
In 2007, T.I. was arrested for buying unregistered machine guns and silencers from undercover federal agents. After accepting a plea deal, the rapper was sentenced to a 366 day prison bid.
Beginning his prison sentence on May 26, 2009, Tiny was left had home with their two youngest children, King and Major who at the time was just over a year old, as well as co-parenting on his behalf children from previous relationships.
4. They tied the knot in 2010.
Following his release, the two began planned the wedding of their dreams. In 2010, the longtime couple made it official and became Mr. and Mrs. Harris after saying “I Do” in a Miami Beach court house.
5. They were arrested in 2010.
Just a few months after swapping vows, T.I. and Tiny were both arrested in L.A. on charges of possession of a controlled substance. Both were arrested and chargd with felony possession including methampheamines and ecstasy.
At the time of the arrest, T.I. was on probation stemming from his 2007 arrest.
6. He served 11 months in prison in 2010.
For violating the terms of his probation after being arrested alongside Tiny, he served 11 months.
via GIPHY
Since T.I.’s comments in the interview with Angie Martinez, Tiny’s friends have been vocal about their support of her during his moments of disrespect.
Tiny’s best friend, Shamra as well as others have posted messages to hold down their friend when her man isn’t.
All while T.I. served time and built his career which includes acting, producing and owning businesses, Tiny–a successful Grammy winning artist in her own right–focused on their family hustle, including raising their seven children. Not so much of a distraction after all.
