For most of her life, Monica Brown has been in the spotlight, giving us hits like “Don’t Take It Personal” and “Angel of Mine.” She’s also very happy and positive on social media, but throughout her life, she has gone through so many devastating situations.
Here’s the truth about Monica’s life story.
Early years
Monica Denise Arnold was born October 24, 1980, to mechanic M.C. Arnold Jr. and airline employee Marilyn Best. Her parents divorced in 1987, and the singer and her brother were raised in Riverdale, Georgia by her mom and stepdad, Reverend Edward Best. She also has three half-brothers.
Monica spent most of her life in the church and sang in the choir. At the age of 10, she began touring with a local gospel group, and when she turned 11 she entered a talent show that had a thousand dollar grand prize. After blowing away the judges with her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All,” she was crowned the winner.
Dallas Austin (pictured above) was in the audience and was blown away by her performance. Within weeks, he signed her to Rowdy Records, and her life would never be the same.
A high school star
While still in high school, she scored back-to-back number one hits off of her debut album, Miss Thang. But everything in her personal life was falling apart.
An anonymous source told an uncredited blog that Monica allegedly began dating rapper Corey “C-Murder” Miller when she was 16. She and the No Limit Artist, who was ten years older than her, got engaged.
They reportedly broke up a few years before he was accused of taking the life of 16-year-old Steve Thomas at a Louisiana nightclub. In 2009, he was sentenced to life behind bars.
Devastating losses
Later, she met and fell in love with Jarvis Weems. In 1998, Jarvis’s brother Troy lost his life in a car accident. Shortly thereafter, Monica’s cousin Selena Glenn passed away at the age of 25 from a brain aneurysm.
The “So Gone” singer told People magazine she was trying to deal with both of those devastating incidents when the unexpected happened.
24-year-old Jarvis was having a hard time dealing with the loss of his brother, and in 2000, he headed off to the cemetery and called Monica on the phone. When she arrived, he reportedly asked her to look over his two daughters, and while sitting in his locked car, he reportedly ended his own life right before her eyes.
Monica told Sister2Sister magazine (via Jezebel) she honored Jarvis’s wish by taking care of his two daughters for a period of time. Soon enough, the stress of dealing with his passing left her distraught.
She later told People magazine, “For a while, it was one day at a time. I didn’t eat, didn’t sleep or drink.”
She was blamed for it all
Three years after Jarvis’s untimely passing, his mom Tyra Weems reportedly told the World Entertainment News Network (via HBCU Sports) that she questioned whether Monica was responsible for what happened.
Tyra allegedly said, “I feel Monica knows a lot more than she’s admitting. The cops just took her word for what happened. Now I wish my son had never met her.”
Her relationship with Rocko
There was another man who had been in and out of her life for years, rapper Rodney “Rocko” Hill, Jr. They met in the parking lot of a skating rink when Monica was 19.
She told reporter Necole Kane that after numerous breaks in their relationship, she gave birth to their son Rocko Hill in 2005.
On Christmas Eve 2007, Rocko proposed, and in 2008, she gave birth to their second son, Romelo Hill. Unfortunately, she and Rocko would never have the wedding she always dreamed of.
In March 2010, she announced in a since-deleted tweet (via VIBE) that they had broken up, and Rocko clapped back with a statement of his own via Straight From the A, saying they had actually broken up a year ago in 2009. And on that note, he asked the media to respect his privacy.
Another breakup
Monica put her focus on raising her children and releasing new songs. While filming the music video for “Love All Over Me,” which starred basketball player Shannon Brown, they fell in love and got married in November 2010.
In 2013, she gave birth to their daughter, Laiyah Brown. Sadly, their marriage wouldn’t last, and Monica filed for divorce in March 2019.
Click here to watch our video showing all the signs Monica and Shannon’s marriage was doomed.
Icon status
As a veteran in the music industry, Monica is considered to be one of the best R&B singers. The Grammy award-winning artist has sold millions of records worldwide and her career has allowed her to financially take care of her entire family.
Despite all of the challenges she has faced, she’s still standing and is stronger than ever.
Are you surprised by Monica’s life story? Leave your answer down below!
No I am not surprised that she has been through some things its called life just because she is a star doesn’t mean that things don’t happen but no one seems to realize that she has survived it all still being a great mother to her kids and keeping a strong religious background considering everything she has been through i commend her as a black woman in the Music industry .
I agree with you, she kept her faith and composure through the storm, she’s committed, loyalty is unmatched , taking care of other people’s kids at being 18. She an amazing woman. 21 salutes to monica
Hmmmm….. you know what, in the 90s it was not uncommon for a 16 yr old to date someone 25. I used to see it all the time without me noticing because it was so common place. Well shortly put, if a certain 15 year old didn’t date a 23 yr old I wouldn’t be here, safe to say I’m cool wit it, as long as the girls parents are OK and gives the green light and at 16 your old enough to make your own decision with parental guidance or input. A year ago I would have said something about this, in my state INDIANA YOU can date a 16 yr old as long as you go to court! Now after I thought extensively about it and remembered how common this was 25 yrs ago. Have at it. My sis even told me , DANG THOUGHS TWO LOOK REALLY GOOD TOGETHER, MONICA / C MURDER.