Faith Evans revealed during a new interview that she broke things off with her now-husband Stevie J in the early stages of their relationship because of the unresolved baggage he had with his ex Joseline Hernandez. Evans and Stevie J made an appearance on OWN’s “Behind Every Man” series, and in the April 1 preview clip the singer shared intimate details about their life. 

The R&B crooner mentioned the sole reason behind her stepping away from Stevie J was because he wasn’t entirely honest about his relationship status. Evans and the producer started dating in 2016, around the same year he and Hernandez broke up. 

The “Love Like This” singer said, “I wasn’t quite sure whether or not he was still involved with his ex, so when you told me you guys weren’t together, and then shortly thereafter, finding out that you still kind of were, I think that’s probably when I stepped away. Because I’m not a man stealer, a homewrecker.”

She continued by telling Stevie J — who has an infamous playboy dating history — at the time that if he wasn’t “serious” about their relationship that they should just remain friends. “It was way too much for me. This was the main thing, if you’re not really serious, please don’t do this to our friendship.”

Following the preview, fans criticized the singer for even beginning a relationship with Stevie J, given his past reputation of being a cheater and all the drama that unfolded around him during his time on “Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta.” 

“Why start something with a person who has a quite active reputation as a cheater, manipulator, etc.? Expecting the person to be different with you is insanity.”

“She knows damn well he’s with other women. smart people don’t marry men like him. ijs.”

“She didn’t have time for his messiness, and yet she married him anyway. Faith Evans knew what she was getting into before she jumped that broom with Stevie J. She can’t say that she didn’t see it coming, because the whole world knew what Stevie J was capable of.”

One Instagram user went as far as to say Hernandez “won in the end” because she moved on and fell in love with her fiancé Robin “DJ Balistic Beats” Ingouma since her breakup with Stevie J in 2016. “I don’t care what nobody says Joseline won in the end, she has a good, respectful man (from what we can see) who loves and adores both her and her daughter. Stevie J is and will always be trash in my opinion for how he treated women, I don’t see how any real woman could take him seriously.”

Evans and Stevie J, who have been friends for more than 20 years, got married in Las Vegas in 2018. Two years following their nuptials, Evans was arrested on charges of attacking her husband after the couple got into an unspecified dispute allegedly that turned violent. The domestic violence case was eventually dropped a month after the alleged fight in June 2020. Since then, the couple has patched things up.

Evans and Stevie J’s episode of “Behind Every Man” is scheduled to air on April 2 at 10 p.m. on OWN.