Everything about Ray Charles is intriguing. From his undeniable talent to his lifelong blindness, the details of his life are film-worthy. One of the most fascinating things about him is his marriages and relationships with many women.
Ray Charles got married twice in his lifetime, one of which lasted less than a year, and the other lasted for more than two decades!
So, who’s the woman who Ray Charles loved for 22 years? Let’s see all about Della Beatrice Howard Robinson.
A Brief Biography of Della Beatrice Howard Robinson
Della Beatrice was born in 1929, making her 95 years old at the time of writing. She was born in Los Angeles, California, west of where Charles was born in Georgia.
While we don’t know much about Della Beatrice’s early life, we do know that her mother raised her because her father remarried in a different state.
Beatrice has been interested in music from a young age. She served as a gospel artist in live and radio shows and was Cecil Shaw’s church choir member.
Meeting and Marrying Ray Charles
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Della Beatrice’s life didn’t take a turn for the better until she met Ray Charles. In the mid-1950s, she met the iconic jazz singer for the first time in a hotel in Texas, and it was love at first sight.
Interestingly, Beatrice had already been married twice when they met, while Ray Charles had been married once.
It wasn’t long before the couple decided to get married. They had a few dates and spent a lot of time together, and in 1955, they got married in the same place they met: Dallas, Texas.
Because Ray Charles wasn’t famous back then and was struggling financially, they were staying in a back room. Despite that, they had three kids together over the first four years of marriage.
Their eldest was Ray Charles Robinson Jr., then they had David Robinson and Robert Robinson.
Infidelity, Babies out of Wedlock, and Divorce
Rev. Robert Robinson Sr., Ray Charles Robinson Jr., Alexandria Robinson and Corey Robinson at “Ray” Los Angeles Premiere
Image source: Google
Unfortunately, Ray and Della’s marriage met the same fate as most celebrity marriages—they got divorced in 1977 after being married for 22 years—they had also been separated since 1976.
At first, the details of their divorce were kept under wraps. However, with celebrities, nothing is ever private forever. So, after a while of getting divorced, it became known to the public that they separated due to Ray Charles’ infidelity and his drug addiction.
It wasn’t a secret that Charles knew a lot of women and had adulterous relationships. Rumors are that he started seeing other women only a few years after marrying Della Beatrice.
He was reportedly in a relationship with Margie Hendricks while being married, and she even had his baby in 1959 while he was still married to Della Beatrice.
That’s not the last time he cheated on his wife, though. The jazz singer got into another relationship with Mae Mosley Lyles in 1961 behind Della Beatrice’s back, and that relationship resulted in a baby as well—Renee Charles, Ray Chales’s daughter.
Do you think it ends here?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t!
Charles didn’t stop his adulterous relationships even after having two kids out of wedlock. In 1963, he was in a relationship with Sandra Jean Betts, and she gave birth to his daughter, Sheila, in the same year.
The same happened in 1966, 1968, and 1977, when he had a daughter called Reatha, a daughter named Alexandra, and a son called Vincent in the same order.
To give you a broader perspective, Ray only got married twice, yet he had 12 kids with ten different women!
It’s not hard to see why Della Beatrice decided to divorce him—the only strange thing is that she waited this long to do it.
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson’s Net Worth
Ray Charles and the Raelets
Della Beatrice has an estimated net worth of $15 million—most of which is from her divorce settlement.
Ray Charles’ fame and wealth were no secret, so naturally, the divorce settlement was substantial, especially since he had around six kids while married to his wife. His net worth was also $75 million when he passed away in 2004, so he was already pretty wealthy.
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson After Divorce
Since her divorce settlement, Della Beatrice has been living in the shadows, deciding to stay away from the spotlight. We don’t know where she currently resides, and naturally, the media’s attention has shifted away from her after she was divorced from the jazz singer.
The woman deserves a break for all that she went through in her marriage!
