Aaliyah was just 14 years old when she recorded her debut album Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, which singer R. Kelly (who was a kind of mentor to the young star) produced and wrote. As evidenced by a marriage certificate that Vibe published, the two tied the knot in Illinois in 1994; Kelly was 27 at the time, while Aaliyah was only 15.
As The Source details, it turned out that Aaliyah had lied about her age at the time of the nuptials, claiming to be 18, and the marriage was annulled just a few months after it took place. The Chicago Sun-Times revealed that in 1997, Aaliyah filed suit to have all records of the marriage expunged, and she subsequently completely cut off contact with Kelly.
As GQ described in a 2016 profile of Kelly (who has been the subject of numerous accusations of sexual assault, abuse, and statutory rape), neither of the two ever publicly admitted to the marriage. Aaliyah told The Chicago Sun-Times, "I don't really comment on that because I know that's not true," and explained, "When people ask me, I tell them, 'Hey, don't believe all that mess. We're close and people took it the wrong way.'"
For his part, when asked about the relationship, Kelly told GQ in its 2016 profile, "I will never have that conversation with anyone. Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who has asked me not to personally. But I can tell you I loved her, I can tell you she loved me, we was very close. We were, you know, best best best best friends."
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