Israel Houghton is married to Adrienne Bailon, and he has a total of seven children from different women. They are Jordan Houghton, Mariah Houghton, Sonny Houghton, Milan Houghton, Kingston Houghton, Khristian Houghton, and Ever James Houghton. Israel Houghton’s marriage to Adrienne is his second, while his first wife was Meleasa Houghton.
Houghton’s wife, Adrienne Bailon, born on 24 October 1983 (age: 40 years old), has become famous in her own right as a singer, actress, and TV personality, although she has often been mentioned in reference to her marriage and husband. Here is a look at the marriage between Isreal and Adrienne, as well as his previous marriage and all his kids.
Israel Houghton and Adrienne Bailon Met Through Work
The love story between Israel Houghton’s wife caused so much wagging to tongues when it came to public light in 2016, as many thought he was still married at the time. However, it was later made known that before the pair became an item, his marriage had already secretly ended for a few months.
However, their journey together started two years prior, in 2014, when they started working together. Houghton revealed that after meeting through work, they soon became close friends, and their circles got connected. They remained close friends since then, and after Israel Houghton’s marriage to his first wife came to an end, the pair explored the possibility of dating.
The first time that they were seen in public together was in March 2016, only a month after the singer announced that he was parting ways with his wife. They were seen when on vacation at the Dreams Tulum Resort & Spa in Tulum, Mexico. It was after this vacation that rumors around them began, forcing Israel to state that they were two single adults when they began dating.
Adrienne made it known in an interview that following the cheating claims against Houghton, she got her publicist to do some diggings, and she found out that there was a mix-up with the divorce papers as the former couple filed under their initials instead of their names for the sake of privacy.
Adrienne Became Israel Houghton’s Wife a Few Months After They Started Dating
Israel Houghton and Adrienne Bailon dated for only a few months before they decided to tie the knot in November 2016. Their marriage took place at the Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, France. The ceremony was a small one, with the presence of only close friends and family members. The guest of only about 70 people were people like Tamera Mowry-Housley and Jeannie Mai.
According to Adrienne Bailon, she wanted the ceremony to be very small and special, which was why they did not invite many people. She also added that she felt blessed and grateful as she and never felt that happy in her life.
Prior to the wedding, Adrienne Bailon made it known in September of that year that Houghton had engaged her when they were in Paris. She added that soon after the engagement, she began planning the wedding while she was on a flight back to Los Angeles. She also took to her Instagram to tell her fans and followers to anticipate her wedding, describing herself as The Future Mrs. Houghton in the post.
Their Marriage Produced A Child After Five Years
Israel Houghton’s marriage to Adrienne has now been blessed with a son, Ever James Houghton, who was born in August 2022, almost five years after the couple got married. The pair made it known that for five years, they made an effort towards expanding their family, but it was all to no avail.
The couple revealed that they went through many disappointments in their attempt to have a baby, and they tried everything, including prayers and IVF, but it yielded naught, and Adrienne suffered many miscarriages along the way.
However, they were fortunate to later welcome their kid through surrogacy. Having their first kid together fulfilled the wish of Bailon, who, in 2017, made it known that she had a strong desire to have kids.
Adrienne Bailon is 12 Years Younger Than Her Husband
Amidst other interesting things about the marriage of Adrienne Bailon and Israel Houghton is their age difference of more than a decade. This is because while she was born in 1983, as stated, and is 40 years old, her better half was born on May 19, 1971, which means he is 53 years old. The media personality was 33 years old when they got married, and Houghton was already 45.
He was brought up by his mother, Margaret Houghton, who became pregnant with him when she was only 17 years old. Although she was advised to abort the kid because his father was black, she refused and gave birth to him. She raised him in a highly segregated area of Waterloo in Iowa. He began his career in the late 1990s, but it was in the 2000s that he became well-known.
The Christian gospel singer got his first Grammy nomination in 2005, and then in 2007, he won the award for the first time thanks to his album, Alive in South Africa. In the years that followed, he got many more Grammy nominations and won the award 5 more times, with the latest being in 2015 when he won Best Gospel Album for Covered: Alive in Asia.
Before Adrienne started her relationship with the man who later became her husband, Bailon once dated a man who was 13 years older than her, music executive Lenny Santiago. Better known for his ability to spot and manage musical talent, Lenny is said to have worked with the Notorious BIG and has also worked with Jay Z for many years.
The Senior Vice President of A&R at Roc Nation started his relationship with Adrienne in 2009, and they remained together for the next 6 years before Andrienne ended the relationship. This came as a surprise to many as when she left the music executive, they were engaged for seven months and were believed to be preparing to get married. More shocking was that a few months after, it emerged that she was dating Houghton, and barely a year later, they were married.
Needless to say, she was once in a relationship with Rob Kardashian, a man who was younger than her by three years. The pair dated from 2007 to 2009.
Israel Houghton’s Wife, Adrienne Bailon, is Also Famous
Now referred to as Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, she was born Adrienne Eliza Bailon on October 24, 1983, which means she is now 40 years old. She was birthed to a father who was from Ecuador, Freddie Bailón, and a mother who was from Puerto Rico, Nilda Alice. The TV personality and actress was brought up in Manhattan alongside her older sister, Claudette Bailon.
Bailon got her education from PS 110-The Monitor in Brooklyn, and from there, she pursued an education in the medical line by attending the High School for Health Professions and Human Services. But obviously, she decided not to continue pursuing her initial medical interest, although she once had the dream of becoming an Obstetrician.
She started out as a musician in 1999 after she was discovered while singing in the church choir and joined the girl group 3LW. The group was active until 2006, when it disbanded after releasing 3 albums and winning a couple of awards. She has also made musical guest appearances for different acts, including Xtreme, Ghostface Killah, and Israel Houghton.
She took to TV acting in 2001 when she appeared on the TV show Taina. She soon appeared in more shows, including The Cheetah Girls in 2003, Lovestruck: The Musical (2013), and Raven Home, which has been on since 2022. She has been the host or co-host of many shows, including All Things Adrienne and The Real, which has been on since 2014.
Also a film actress, the Daytime Emmy Award winner was in some films, including Coach Carter (2005), The Coalition (2008), and then I’m in Love with a Church Girl (2013). Her career as a musician and actress has been recognized with many incredible awards, including the NAACP Image Awards, which she won for The Real. She was also nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards with her husband for Feels Like Home Volume 2.
Who was Israel Houghton’s First Wife, Meleasa Houghton?
Israel Houghton’s first shot at marriage was with Meleasa Houghton. The pair met in the early 1990s when Houghton had just started his band, Israel and the New Breed. They got close and soon started dating. Meleasa and Israel were together as a couple for only four months before they decided to get married in the same year that they met.
For the most part, the union seemed to be a happy one while it lasted for twenty years, and it was blessed with three children. All through the union, Meleasa, who has also been described as a singer, remained in the background, supporting her then-husband in his career.
A peek into her personal life, she was born Meleasa Celeste Duncan on March 1, 1964, which means she is now 60 years old. She was brought up by her parents, Duncan III and Letrician E. Duncan, together with three siblings. Meleasa went to Penn Hills High School. She decided to pursue a musical career after she was through high school but was not as successful as her former husband.
Israel Houghton’s Marriage to Meleasa Failed Due to an Alleged Case of Infidelity
The first marriage of Israel Houghton lasted from 1994 to 2016, when it ended in divorce, more than two decades, and three children after they got married.
While legal documents to show the official cause of divorce have not been made available years later, the Grammy award-winning singer once made it known that he was the cause of the end of his marriage. According to him, he failed and sinned in his marriage, and for five years before they agreed to end the marriage, the pair was trying to fix their issues but were not successful.
While he did not explicitly state how he failed in the marriage, there were claims that he cheated on his wife, with some rumors claiming he had already started dating his current wife while he was still with Meleasa. Both the singer and his current wife have maintained his marriage had already ended before they began dating, but there are also allegations that he had had an affair with a woman known as De Vawn Moreno, who was claimed to be his mistress and the mother of his last two kids.
In a statement detailing the divorce, Houghton stated that he and his former wife had always handled their marriage and business with grace and generosity, so they would keep all things private. This was also for the sake of their children. He added that both he and Meleasa would continue to be kind to each other.
Although Houghton has since gone ahead to get married a second time, his first wife has continued to lead an unmarried life. There is still no indication that she has started any other relationship after the failed union, and it is unclear if she will be open to getting married a second time.
Israel Houghton’s Kids Are Seven
The American singer is a father of seven children; three from his marriage to his former wife, Meleasa Houghton, a child from a much earlier relationship, two kids from his alleged mistress De Vawn Moreno, and one from Andrienne. His kids are Jordan Houghton, Mariah Houghton, Sonny Houghton, Milan Houghton, Kingston Houghton, Khristian Houghton, and Ever James Houghton.
The oldest child is Jordan Houghton, who was born to him in an unknown relationship with a woman who is speculated to be his college sweetheart. Hence the name of his mother is not known. Jordan was born in 1991 in Pittsburg, which means he is now 33 years old. While he has chosen to maintain a rather private life, he has a career as a businessman.
His second oldest child and first with Meleasa Houghton is Mariah Houghton. She was born on August 31, 1995, and is now 28 years old. She was brought up in Pittsburg, which is also her place of birth. Thanks to the influence of her father, she now has a career as a gospel singer and creative director.
Israel Sonny Houghton is the next member of the family. He was born to the singer and songwriter from his marriage to Meleasa. Sonny was born in 1999 and is currently 25 years old. Unsurprisingly, he has also followed in the footsteps of his father; he is a singer, songwriter, and producer.
Milan Houghton is the late child between Israel Houghton and his former wife, Meleasa. She was born on October 23, 2003, and is 20 years old. She was 12 years old when the marriage between her parents came to an end. She is also indirectly in the music industry, where she works as a content director with her big brother, Sonny.
The next two kids of the family are Kingston and Khristian Houghton, who were born in 2013 and 2015, respectively. The mother of the kids is said to be the aforementioned alleged former mistress of the singer, De Vawn Moreno. The youngsters have been the subject of a legal battle between their parents after it was reported that their father failed to pay child support for them, however, the case was later thrown out. The kids are 11 and 9 years old, respectively.
The last member of the family is the little kid produced by Israel Houghton’s marriage to Adrienne Bailon, James Houghton.
