Kimora Lee has opened up about her tumultuous love life in a new Lifetime documentary, “Kimora Lee: On Her Own.”
In the new documentary, which premieres on September 20th, the Baby Phat creator recalled her early days as a model and how she met her ex-husband, Russell Lee Simmons.
She admitted her relationship with Simmons led to the breakdown of her relationship with Tyra Banks, who had warned him away from the music eexcustibe.
Why Tyra Banks Felt She Had To Intervene In Kimora Lee’s Love Life
In the mid-‘90s, Lee had already made an impact in Paris as the face of Chanel and had moved to New York City to pursue her career in fashion.
Here, Lee met music exec and mogul Russell Simmons who soon became a superfan. “When I was doing the fashion shows, he would always be front row at the end, like standing up and so loudly clapping and cheering and doing all of these commotions,” she explained in the new documentary.
“I definitely was like, ‘Who is the weird guy at the end of the runway?’ And then he would come backstage, and that’s weird. ‘You let these men come backstage — what are you doing?,” she added. “We’re changing.’ But that’s how it was. I was 16 years old when I met that man. He was 18 years older than me.”
When Lee started receiving flower arrangements from Simmons, Lee’s good friend Tyra Banks felt that she had to intervene. “I remember Tyra kept me in her apartment through the weekend trying to avoid me going home and checking my voicemail.”
At The Time, Kimora Lee Thought Tyra Banks Was “Hating”
Kimora Lee opened up to People about Tyra Banks’ treatment of her relationship with Russell Lee Simmons. Reflecting on the incident 30 years later, the 51-year-old admitted she completely misinterpreted Banks’s protective concern at the time.
At the time the model and designer admits she thought Banks was “hating for sure” and “getting in my way”. But, in hindsight she understands why the “America’s Next Top Model” star acted the way she did.
“I’m sure he had already tried to date her and had gone through the whole thing with her and probably so many other girls. I’m sure this was a ritual,” she said.
Lee added, “I thought she was a little bit hating, but just how a girlfriend would do. She was trying to protect me. I remember I went off with her that first weekend. I went to her house and spent the night like we often did and hung out. Back then you didn’t have a cell phone. You had to get home to get your messages. I just couldn’t get to my messages. But he did call.”
But Lee was too infatuated with the music mogul to care. “Even if the guy did the same thing to her like, oh well, what does she know?” she remembers thinking to herself.
What Happened Between Kimora Lee, Russell Simmons and Tyra Banks
Kimora Lee wed Russell Simmons in 1998, with Tyra Banks serving as a bridesmaid. The couple welcomed daughters Ming Lee and Aoki, the latter becoming Banks’ goddaughter.
The designer described their relationship as tumultuous, and she claims he was verbally abusive through much of their marriage. The paur split in 2006 and their divorce was finalized in 2009.
“I didn’t even realize it was abusive until I started putting the pieces together,” Lee told People. “I was living in a time when those things were very normal, financial abuse or emotional abuse or whatever.”
Earlier this year, Lee admitted she and Banks no longer speak. After Netflix’ shocking “ANTM” documentary aired in April, Lee spoke to People about why she wasn’t involved despite being a big player in the conception of the reality show.
“And Tyra is one of my kids’ godmothers, as well. Although we haven’t talked in a very long time,” Simmons explained. “We used to be very, very close. I started Top Model with her.”
Kimora Lee: On Her Own premieres on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
