Hey guys-does anyone know much about the time when Denise Matthews was married to Anthony Smith the football player?

I know she proposed to him after they dated for only a month, and they were only married for less than a year. Does anyone know why they divorced? I know Ms. Matthews is a very headstrong person, so maybe they just argued too much...

anyway, thanks!

I read somewhere that she said it was an abusive relationship.

I actually heard he divorced her because she was getting too friendly and obsessed with her minitry 2 the point that she was takin people in off the street into their home without talking to him at all.

PleasurePrinciple said:

Yeah,I heard that too.

Hmm. So her devotion to her ministry ruined her marriage? That is crazy...

I was just wondering if something really bad had happened between them, like cheating or abuse because in her interview from last November that I posted on this site, she said something like, "I wouldn't dream of letting a man touch me again. I view myself as a treasure. I've been celibate for almost 10 years".

I just find it strange that after divorcing Anthony Smith she's permanently turned off of men...

I can't believe she has turned off men either. I read somewhere that she doesn't watch tv or listen to the radio. I wonder if she is hiding behind this ministry. I hope not.

nastygurl76 said:

Sometimes people have been hurt so bad mentally, physically or both that they decide to become celibate. But, she may change her mind when she meets the right person for her. I just hope she is not hurting too bad, where her heart nevers opens up again.

She said in her recent jet mag interview that she's been praying for a long time for Prince. So maybe she's saving her soul and spirit for him as well.

mimi2 said:

I dont think that was the root of the problem.I think she may have not viewed marriage as a team effort.She cant just invite people into their home all the time especially in the beginning of a marriage.Its easy for it to fall apart if all her devotion is going 2 others and not her husband.Just as it would fall apart of someone is devoting most of their time 2 any other job in the beginning of a marriage.

mimi2 said:

I had the pleasure of meeting the both of them while they were married and from what I'd seen at the time he adored her. I don't think it's fare to specultate such an harsh accusation of him. From what I knew - it was indeed her deepening faith that contributed to the demise of the marriage. Not the sole reason. I for one hope they both are in a really good place in life.

Not saying this is Vanity's case... but sometimes people who have .... mental issues, will turn to religion for solace... sometimes they embrace religion... and I mean dogmatic religion so tightly that it borderlines obsession, they trade drugs for religion as their new addiction.

Maybe her fervor for her ministry was so intense that she made the marriage uncomfortable. Ya know what I mean? anything in the extreme may seem a little off balance... be it, sex, drugs, religion, eating, shopping, gambling...

Most people are comfortable with things sort of in the middle... go to far one way or the other and it throws things out of kilter.

Inviting people you dont know into your home is very admirable and christian... but also a little crazy and alarming.

Let me duck for what I know will be some bricks thrown at me.

Also,
I hope I don't offend anyone.. but some people who become addicted to cocaine will develop mental illness... I know my uncle went schizophrenic after messing with crack, had a distant cousin who cracked up in the 70s after messing with coke in Vietnam,

I work in a hospital... many many of my patients who have substance abuse problems will also have mental illness, bipolar, schizophreni... many times these mental illnesses will manifest itself as compulsive, obsessive religion.

Look at David Koresh, Jim Jones, the guy who thought Hailey's comet was a spaceship to take the believers back home in Heaven.

All alledged crazy men, who were over the top with religion.


also some people go so far into the abyss with drugs, that when they come out... they are not "crazy" but eccentric in that they reject what most people consider average life (family, home, kids) and go totally different because they believe that if they attempt to be average/normal that they will fall back into that life style of drugs and self abuse.

I have read about people who join monasteries, convents, missionary work as almost a pennance and self preservation to keep them away from that life style.
[Edited 4/27/08 19:17pm]

prodigalfan said:

Yep, i agree 100%

violetblues said:

Agreed-as a nurse I've seen many cases like this

Whatever problems Denise is having I hope she can get through it all and find peace

prodigalfan said:

Yep this is what I believe has happened to Denise... I pray her faith/trust is strenthened so that she becomes strong enough to re-enter the world leaving behind the bitter feeling she holds of her past.

Embracing the past and forgiving herself for thinking that her previous choices were wrong might really help her come to terms with it.

She is who she is today because of not despite her youthful adventures and who she is today is a blessing.

nurseV said:

NURSES!! Real life HEROES!

Last I read, Denise (vanity) said she never stopped loving Prince. Uh-Oh.

quote: Last I read, Denise (vanity) said she never stopped loving Prince. Uh-Oh.


Where did you read this? Personally, I have always thought she and Prince were meant to be.

nastygurl76 said:

She said it int JET magazine a few months ago.

prodigalfan said:

In regards to the drug use, I had a cousin, uncle, and brother-in-law that
went a bit ballistic after heavy drug use...my cousin joined a monastery
after cleaning up, and he doesn't even like family members visiting him.
My uncle killed himself after what we think was an alchol-induced
hallucination, and my brother-in-law is doing fairly well, but struggles
with bipolar issues. The difference with my brother-in-law is that he's
rejected any kind of spirituality in his life at all.

But it's the David Koreshes and the Jim Joneses of the world that are disturbing.
They weren't even hiding behind religion, but they truly believed
that what they were doing was "right", was "real".

Anyway, I certainly hope that Denise isn't "hiding behind religion"...I'd
truly like to believe differently, because that isn't a healthy way of
living either.

I hadn't read anything about her divorce until I saw this thread, but I
guess I'd like to see what she actually said about it. I really hope she
comes out with her book soon, and maybe that will help clear-up a lot of
questions we all have about her.....however, her book is on hold because
she says she's been too busy with her ministry. So what does that say to
us? I don't really know.