Married life of Tomi Rae Hynie and James Brown serves so much controversy that it took twelve years to settle on Brown's marital state. There is a report which suggests that Hynie was already in a conjugal relationship while she walked down the aisle with James Brown.
Brown even ditched his fourth wife, Hynie, and her son in his final will. What's all the drama about her previous married life? Well, if you want to know more about it then, read along.
Tomi Rae Hynie is the wife of James Brown!
Tomi, before getting into the relationship with Brown, was a backup singer in James' songs. Besides that, Hynie also had her rock band and performed in the early 80s, the same year when another rock artist, Alecia Demner, was born.
The couple started having an affair in the late 90s, which led to the pair tying the knot in 2001.
Source: TheHollywoodReporter
Brown, who is known as the "Godfather of Soul," exchanged wedding vows in an intimate wedding ceremony. In June 2001, Hynie gave birth to a son named James Brown II.
In an interview, Tomi said that,
"When he named him he said,'I gave him my name because I knew that having my name and being half white, he might actually have a shot in this world. He could become the president of the United States one day'".
Source: TheHollywoodReporter
Tomi had a successful career singing and touring with her hubby James. Brown loved his wife, but despite the sweet relationship, Hynie's secret of her relationship cost her the marriage.
The annulment and Questions on Brown's fourth Marriage!
Nearly after three years of marital relationship, in 2004, James filed for an annulment from his relationship with Tomi Rae Hynie. In all these years, Hynie was already married to a Pakistani guy named Javed Ahmed.
Source: Alchetron
According to Forbes, Tomi tied the knot with Javed in 1997, who already has multiple wives in Pakistan. As per Tomi, she lawfully wedded Ahmed because Javed wanted a green card. Shortly after the matrimony, Ahmed went back to Pakistan.
Brown found out about Rae's previous marriage, and because she did not divorce Javed before tying the knot with James, he filed for an annulment.
'I've had enough!' James Brown
The couple was together until the death of the rock and roll singer in 2006. But before that, according to the report by E! News, James got arrested for domestic violence against his fourth wife in 2004. As per the report, he threw Tomi to the floor and threatened to kill her at their home.
Source: Daily Mail
But Brown denied all of this allegation while Tomi rushed to the hospital for her injuries. James said,
"The main thing is I would never hurt my wife and beat up on her like that. I love her very much".
After this incident, Brown filed for an annulment, and the Family court judge Charlie Segars Andrews cleared the path for Brown to remarry his wife. As per South Carolina Law, the couple had to remarry after the annulment to officially be husband and wife, which they did not perform.
The battle over Brown's $100 million estates
After the death of rock and roll legend in 2006, the dispute among the Brown's family over the distribution of his estate started to grow. The dispute is still not cleared as per the report on Forbes.
Before dying, Brown wrote a will in which he stated that neither Hynie nor her son would be the beneficiaries of his $100 million estates. James' family argued over the marital proof of Hynie and Brown at the time of his death.
Source: ajc
After a long battle, finally, in 2015, a judge in South Carolina decided that Tomi is indeed the wife of James, despite her void marriage with Javed Ahmed. The court decision did bring some happiness to Hynie, but the conclusion of the distribution of his entire wealth is not made as of now.
As per the will, Brown wanted to provide all of his wealth to help the needy children through his foundation. But Hynie still fights for any potential claims to the estate.
For further updates on Celebrity Divorce, keep reading Married Celeb!!!