Smokey Robinson talked about his long friendship with Diana Ross and said they were more than just friends for a while. He told the Guardian in a recent interview that they had a romantic relationship for about a year, even though he was already married to his first wife, Claudette Rogers. He admitted that it happened while they were working together, but he described it as a beautiful experience.
Smokey Robinson & Diana Ross attending the Broadway Opening Night Performance of ‘Motown The Musical’ at the Lunt Fontanne Theatre in New York City on 4/14/2013… (Photo by Walter McBride/Corbis via Getty Images)
The famous singers, Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross, have been friends since they were 10 years old. They got even closer when Ross and her family moved to the same street where Robinson and his family lived. They also lived near Aretha Franklin.
Robinson said, “It’s wonderful to know we were kids playing together. And now, these people are some of the most famous people in the world. We had so much fun.”
As a teenager, Robinson had a crush on Franklin, but nothing happened between them. However, his friendship with Diana Ross turned into something more.
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Robinson said that neither of them made the first move; their relationship just happened naturally.
He explained, “She was young and focused on her career, and I was trying to help her. I even introduced her to Motown. I wasn’t pursuing her, and she wasn’t pursuing me.”
But eventually, their affair ended. Robinson shared that Diana told him she couldn’t continue because she knew his wife, Claudette, and she knew he still loved her very much.
Reflecting on his relationship with Ross, Robinson said it helped him understand something many find difficult: love. He realized that people can love more than one person at a time, and society often makes it taboo. He explained that love is uncontrollable, and if it were, nobody would take the risk of getting hurt.
While Robinson admitted to his affair with Ross, he laughed off rumors that they were Michael Jackson’s biological parents. He found the idea amusing and denied it outright.
