Claims secret wedding was a sham

AMERICAN pop princess Brandy, who claims to have been secretly married for years, may not have been married after all, it emerged yesterday.

Music producer Robert Smith has told New York radio station WBLS-FM that he and Brandy were never wed as she had claimed.

Mr Smith said their supposed marriage was a ruse to protect the image of Brandy, who was then pregnant with their daughter, Sy’rai.

Courtney Barnes, a representative for Brandy, refused to comment.

But Brandy released a statement that said she was “deeply hurt and shocked” by Smith’s comments. “We had a spiritual union and true commitment to each other, and we still share a common bond through our daughter, Sy’rai. He is trying to destroy my reputation, while using me and our daughter to get publicity and radio airplay for his artists. I am stunned that he is being so dirty about it.”

Later, Mr Smith said: “I prefer not to air our dirty laundry through the media. I was just stating the truth. Brandy and I have many things to work out over a long period of time.”

In February 2002 Brandy said she and Smith had been secretly wed in the year before.

“I’ve fallen in love with a very warm, gentle, understanding and focused person. This summer we married quietly...I couldn’t be happier,” she said at the time.

Brandy, 25, and Mr Smith broke up in early July last year and were said to have “divorced” - another matter which is in doubt if they never married in the first place.