*Motown legend Smokey Robinson married singer Claudette Rogers in November 1959, two years after she joined his group The Miracles in 1957.
Sadly, Claudette suffered several miscarriages while the couple tried to conceive a child. But with the use of a surrogate, they were able to have their firstborn, a son they named Berry (in honor of music icon Berry Gordy).
Two years later, Claudette was fitted with a cervical brace that allowed her to carry the couple’s daughter, Tamla Claudette.
She then quit The Miracles to become a full-time mom, and Smokey opted to do the same to become a solo act.
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Daddy stopped by today #familyfirst #swishfamilyrobinson #berryrobinson #smokeyrobinson #TamLA
But Smokey also started having affairs and fantasies of having children with women of every race, according to amomama.com.
Claudette would continue to stay in the marriage until he had a son, Trey, with his mistress, a woman named Kandi.
After their divorce, Smokey continued to have a close relationship with all of his kids.
He previously revealed that Kandi and Claudette also have a cordial relationship, with Kandi including in her will that if something happens to her, she wants Claudette to raise Trey.
“Most wives wouldn’t want anything to do with [Kandi], but I’m telling you, Claudette is a rare sort of beautiful person,” said Smokey.
Meanwhile, Smokey is very close to his only daughter Tamla, 51, and the two got candid about their bond as part of ATTN’s campaign to celebrate Father-Daughter Day in 2017.
“My dad and I, we’re best friends,” Tamla said. “He would always give me guidance to just be true to myself.”
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She added: “I’m grateful that I have him to call whenever there’s something going on in my life.”
“And it just made me feel more confident knowing that my father accepted me for whoever I am,” she continued, with Smokey noting that “a father that stays around proves to a young girl that she’s worth being around.”
#Repost @ATTN – Pop culture often suggests that fathers aren’t cut out to have strong emotional bonds with their daughters, but the facts tell a different story. @smokeyrobinson #FatherDaughterDay pic.twitter.com/tCcMcKCJXY
— Smokey Robinson (@smokeyrobinson) October 13, 2019
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