Meet Grace Harry, Usher's Ex-wife

May 2024 · 11 minute read

Grace Harry is the ex-wife of Usher, the American R&B singer-songwriter and recording artist. She was born on April 2nd, 1969, and is 54 years old. Grace has worked in many capacities as a caterer, TV personality, music executive, businesswoman, activist, and joy specialist.

Grace Harry met Usher while working in the music industry as an executive and according to reports, they were first sighted together in the Dominican Republic sometime in 2009. Their relationship resulted in marriage in 2015 after dating for several years. However, it turned out to be short-lived, ending within three years (in 2018). Harry and Usher didn’t have any children together but she was already a mother of two before she met him. Usher, on his own part, also has four children from other relationships.

Summary of Grace Harry’s Biography

When was Grace Harry Born?

Grace Harry was born on April 2nd, 1969 and according to reports, she is a New Yorker, born in Brooklyn, New York. She is obviously an American by nationality but her ethnic background is mixed – Afro-American from her father’s side and Caucasian from her mum’s part of the family. She was given the full name, Michelle Grace Harry at birth.

Grace has never disclosed the names of her parent in the public space but reports have it that she was born to a teenage mother. Her mum was 17 when she had her and as a result of the challenges of raising a child at a young age, she (her mother) decided to put her through foster homes, but they eventually reunited.

In an interview session with ThinkCommon, by American actor and rap artist known as Common, Grace said her separation with her biological mum came to an end after a short while; she didn’t specify the length of time.

Talking about her father, Grace Harry described him as an activist who had to spend time behind bars. The kind of crime that sent him to prison is not known but he battled addiction to hard substances. With a teenage mother and a father that did time in jail, Grace experienced a highly challenging childhood but she was raised to be a Christian and has upheld the Christian faith to date.

While we know a bit about her background, we know nothing about the details of Grace’s academic journey.

How did Grace Harry and Usher Meet

The details of how Grace Harry met Usher for the first time are not known, but according to reports, the duo started having a romantic relationship as far back as September 2009. It was during this period that they were first sited together in the Dominican Republic.

It was revealed that the couple have an eight-year-long age gap between them with Grace as the older partner, but that didn’t stop them from falling in love. In January 2015, their relationship became the talk of the town after it was reported that Usher popped the big question to his love interest, Grace. Considering the fact that they have always kept everything about their love life under wraps, fans expected them to have a private wedding and that was exactly the case.

The Couple Wedded in September 2015

The prediction of Usher’s fans came to pass in September 2015 when news broke that he had exchanged wedding vows with Grace Harry in a private wedding ceremony. As new reports unfolded, it was revealed that they had their wedding ceremony in Cuba; this was confirmed by Usher when he appeared on the set of Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Tameka Foster, Usher’s first wife, never got along with Grace. When Grace showed up at her home, she actually spat on her. The case ended up in court where Tameka confessed to pushing her ex-husband out of the way because she was ”extremely upset” when he was making an attempt to move her and even referred to Grace as his mistress.

What Happened to Usher and Grace?

The marriage between Grace and her husband, Usher, was barely three years old when they decided to go their separate ways. Reports had it that it was the American musician who filed for divorce from Grace.

The couple later announced their impending separation in a joint statement when they let their fans know that the decision to split was a mutual one and there were no hard feelings from either party.

The couple also said they would remain connected in a bid to nurture their friendship and shared love, and would continue lending each other support as they enter the next phase of their lives.

Grace Harry and Usher’s divorce news broke months after Usher’s name hit the airwave for infecting three people with herpes virus without their knowledge. Usher was eventually slammed with three lawsuits from one man and two women who came up with claims that they had sexual encounters with him several years ago and that it was during those encounters that he passed down the virus to them. The plaintiffs kept their identities private throughout the case

During Usher’s tying time at the court, Harry was a pillar of support for him, and with the kind of united front they presented at the court, fans really thought their marriage was set to last longer, but their separation in 2018 came as a rude shock to many.

On the real reason behind their divorce, it was reported that Grace wanted them to have kids via surrogacy but the American musician was opposed to the idea as he preferred adoption.

How many Children Does Grace harry Have?

Reports show that Grace Harry has two children and they came from her previous relationships before crossing paths with Usher.

Her daughter goes by the name Leaf McLean and works in the entertainment industry as a musician. She has some tracks under her belt and her first hip-hop album entitled Trinity hit the music stand in 2017. Her son, on the other hand, is called, Raiden McLean. Though his career path has never been mentioned, Raiden is very much active on the love scene and has dated Selah Marley, the daughter of Lauryn Hill.

On his own part, Usher is a father of four. From his first wife Tameka, he had two children – Usher V and Naviyd Ely – all boys, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea, gave him two children, a son named Sire Castrello Raymond and a daughter, Sovereign Bo.

What does Grace Harry Do for a Living

Grace Harry has been described as a woman of several hats. She is an American entrepreneur, an executive chef, an activist, a music executive, a joy specialist, and many more. In fact, she has been described as a multi-talented individual, an inspirational boss lady, and a talented music executive.

She Started her Career in Catering

When Grace Harry kick-started her career, she was focused on catering and worked with a lot of catering firms. After a while, she launched her own catering company and was majorly focusing on the entertainment industry.

It was during this period that she was hired to work on the set of The Cosby Show as an executive chef. The show eventually ran for several years and ended sometime in 1992. When the show wrapped up, Harry said she decided to pursue something totally different.

She worked as a Music Executive

It was at this point in Harry’s career journey that she took the decision to go and explore the music industry. According to her, she was already acquainted with many people in the world of showbiz, thus getting in was rather easy.

In the music scene, Grace Harry worked with a lot of A-listers, including The Island Def Jam Music Group where she rendered her services as Executive Vice President Of Marketing and Creative Services.

Before going to work with The Island Def Jam Music Group, Grace put in a few months with another record imprint, MCA Records. She also made a stop at Jive Records and Geffen Records, but the capacity at which she worked in those companies is undisclosed. Her most notable role remains that of Executive Vice President at The Island Def Jam and reports have it that she had to diligently work her way to the top from humble beginnings.

It was not until 2012 that the music executive started working for the man who would become her husband, Usher. She put in several years as his manager and during those years, she also oversaw his philanthropic activities through his organization, New Look. New Look is focused on young people and makes an effort in engaging them and assisting them in finding a path to leadership.

The charitable organization also works on aiding the youths to make informed career decisions that will be aligned with their personal interests. According to Grace, she learned the act of giving back to society from her own mother and she was very young when she imbibed those tenets in her

Grace Harry’s days with Usher yielded a lot of positive results as his music career bloomed. The American musician himself had to voice out, describing Grace as an incredible partner. According to Usher, it was Grace who came to his rescue during his hardest times both in his personal and career life.

Grace eventually spent 29 years on the American music scene before going to look for something new to do with her time.

Grace Worked for Several Years as an Arts Promoter

Right from her formative years, Grace Harry had always harbored a healthy dose of interest in arts, thus, it came as no surprise that she chose to become an art promoter at adult age. She majorly promotes abstract works of art.

As an art promoter, Grace was neck-deep in the promotion of artwork from young people. However, the details of this part of her career life are not known.

Usher’s Ex-wife Currently works as a Joy Specialist

In recent times, it was revealed that the ex-wife of Usher has changed her career path once again and this time around, she doing something out of the ordinary.

Grace Harry now prides herself as a joy strategist cum specialist and, according to reports, she works with the firm known as Rapture & Grace. The details of the company’s ownership are not public knowledge, however, many have concluded that she must be the founder since her first moniker is embedded in the company name.

The studio where Rapture & Grace operates is located in Lower Manhattan and their services include helping clients in attaining joy in their life journey.

According to the joy strategist, in a bid to achieve joy in life, one needs to focus more on feelings as opposed to goals. Grace said she also assists clients in visualizing their future to know how they would want to feel in the next five years.

In April 2021, the joy specialist opened up to People in an interview session. According to her, she gets a lot of benefits from her life as a creative individual. She said she finds happiness by surrounding herself with a lot of vibrant and stylish pieces at home. Grace cited an example with the new home she shares with her current boyfriend, Questlove. Their beautiful New York City apartment provides them with a stunning view of the big city. In fact, Grace referred to the abode as a “place in the sky,”

In the course of her work as a joy specialist, Usher’s former wife has worked with a lot of people and her clientele base expands to include A-list celebrities like Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z, Common, and many more. Grace said her goal is to assist them in becoming “more emotionally satisfied.”

Who Is Grace Harry’s Boyfriend Now?

After she got divorced from Usher, the mother of two found love again in the arms of Questlove – an American musician, drummer, and songwriter whose real name is Ahmir Khalib Thompson.

Ahmir belongs to the hip-hop band known as “The Roots.” The duo appears to be enjoying their time together as they often take to social media to share stuff about each other. During the latter part of 2022, Ahmir tweeted that he is in the best relationship of his life and is extremely happy.

The duo is currently co-habiting in the apartment that Ahmir purchased in New York City after the Covid 19 lockdown was lifted.

Speaking to Coveteur, Grace Harry described how the quarantine assisted her in coming to terms with some misgivings that she had been battling in the past. Going further, she described herself as someone who has found happiness and joy on her journey of self-discovery. The lockdown didn’t just help in resolving her sadness, Grace said it also gave her a profound understanding of herself and what she would rather do with her life.

She also talked about societal restrictions that have served as hindrances to many people. What Grace described as “bizarre societal-imposed definitions and standards of right and wrong” are not necessarily important in finding true happiness and joy.

She also declared her plans to lead what she called, a “revolution of joy” in a bid to help individuals discover the truth and be able to understand that joy was actually a birthright.

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