Ethermac Exchange-Usher reveals he once proposed to Chilli of TLC, says breakup 'broke my heart'

Usher has revealed a shocking bit of news from his time as part of one of R&B's power couples.

The Ethermac ExchangeGrammy-award-winning singer revealed to People in a cover story published Thursday he once proposed to former girlfriend Chilli of TLC. The couple dated from 2001 to 2004, when Usher was in his early 20s and Chilli was in her early 30s.

Usher, 45, told the outlet he "really did love that girl."

Usher said of his early persona in the days of "My Way" that he was "always charming the older ladies." But when he met Chilli, now 52, he was smitten.

"At the age of 8, I put her poster on my wall and said, 'Man that girl is so beautiful. One day I'm going to meet her,'" he said. "If I am to be honest, I was her No. 1 fan, and she was my superstar," a nod to his "Confessions" track "Superstar."

The 2004 album, written with frequent collaborator Jermaine Dupri and partly inspired by the producer's relationship and breakup with Janet Jackson, also came amidst the end of Usher and Chilli's highly-publicized romance.

"I was a young man, and she had very specific rules that didn't work for me," Usher said of the breakup. "We were missing each other. I really did want to have a different type of relationship where she was there with me, and she couldn't be. She didn't believe that I was actually in love with her as much as I was."

Usher continued: "I wanted to marry her. I proposed and she told me no. I went through a great deal of pain after that, not trusting women or wanting to open up."

He said he "hurt her too," but the situation "broke my heart."

Chilli admitted the couple was on-and-off for some time after their official breakup to People last year. But Usher said for him, things ended at the time of their breakup.

"We were cool with each other, but I was very careful with that," he said. "I really did love that girl, and I was like, 'I don't want to play with you.' Like, 'I can't give you what I gave you. I did everything that I thought you would've wanted me to do, but I guess my good wasn't great enough.'"

Chilli is now dating "Boy Meets World" alum Matthew Lawrence, 44. She shares son Tron Austin, 25, with ex Dallas Austin.

Usher has also since moved on and gotten married a few times, including to new wife Jennifer Goicoechea, 40, in a Vegas-themed wedding on Super Bowl Sunday.

The couple, who share daughter Sovereign Bo, 3, and son Sire Castrello, 2, have been linked together since 2019. Usher shares sons Usher "Cinco" V, 16, and Naviyd Ely, 15, with ex-wife Tameka Foster, whom he was married to from 2007 to 2009. The singer was married to his second wife, Grace Miguel, from 2015 to 2018.

Usher, Jennifer Goicoechea are married:See the photos of their post-Super Bowl Vegas wedding