Kelis has accused her ex-husband Nas of "mental and physical abuse" during their four-year marriage.
Kelis
The 'Milkshake' hitmaker was married to the hip-hop artist - with whom she has eight-year-old son Knight Jones - from 2005 until their split in 2009 and divorce the following year, and she has now spoken in depth about their "really dark" martial problems, even alleging that Nas was violent toward her.
She said: "It was really dark. There was a lot of drinking. There was a lot of mental and physical abuse. I probably would have stayed longer had I not been pregnant [with Knight] because I really did love him and because we were married. We weren't dating, we were married. Like, this was my person."
Kelis - who also has two-year-old son Shepherd Mora with current husband Mike Mora - also admits that she "hit him back" during the times he was allegedly violent with her, and expressed her concerns for her son, who is now old enough to start discovering what happened between the pair.
She added: "I've waited nine years to say anything. I have never talked about this man, ever. The amount of airing out that I could do, and I've chosen not to. Our kids will find out. They're finding out now. I've never painted myself as a saint. Did he hit me? Mmhm. Did I hit him back? Mmhm."
The 38-year-old singer left Nas in 2009, the same year Rihanna and Chris Brown's physical altercation hit the headlines, and Kelis admits their incident pushed her to separate from Nas.
She told 'Hollywood Unlocked' on Thursday (26.04.18): "I remember so clearly when the [Rihanna] pictures came out. Because I [also] had bruises all over my body at that time. I wasn't ready to walk [away]. I just wasn't. I'm not weak but I'm really private. I don't like people knowing my business. I felt like, 'This is my partner. I chose this. We're gonna do this, we're gonna make it work.'"