Source: Jerritt Clark / Getty
Whenever people with older children get remarried, I wonder how those children adjust to the new partner in their parents’ lives. I certainly wondered about that with Israel Houghton’s children when he married Adrienne Bailon.
After being married to his wife Meleasa Houghton from 1994 to 2015, Israel and Meleasa had three children together. (In addition to the two children Israel fathered during his marriage with mistress DeVawn Moreno.) These kids were teens and in their twenties when their father married Adrienne. Accepting a new stepmother at that mature age can be difficult.
But apparently, Adrienne has a lovely relationship with Israel’s 23-year-old daughter Mariah. In fact, the two are great friends. And they seemed to enjoy an ease with one another from the very first time they met—when Adrienne was introduced as Israel’s girlfriend.
The two spoke about the many facets of their relationship in a recent video on Adrienne’s YouTube channel, All Things Adrienne.
Check out a few highlights from the conversation below.
Mariah: [When people meet us] they think we’re sisters because we usually have the same hairstyle, parted down the middle, bun pulled back.
Adrienne: People think we’re sisters and we don’t tell them that they’re wrong.
…
We are 13 years apart and me and Israel are 12 years apart.
When I was dating Israel, I actually knew Mariah. We’d actually met but I never knew you. She was 14-years-old when I originally met her. And then when Israel and I started dating, you were 18 going on 19.
Mariah: I was so nervous.
Adrienne: You were nervous? I threw a whole party. I threw a party for comfortability purposes. But it was a good vibe. We called it a summer soiree.
Mariah: I wanted you to like me.
Adrienne: I wanted you to like me. You want to be respectful. You want to make sure everyone’s comfortable. It’s an awkward transition and just know that if you intend on being married to this man forever, there’s time to get it right.
Mariah: It didn’t take a lot of time. It took like ten minutes and I remember what it was. I came in and she looked at me and she was like, ‘Your eyebrows are amazing.’ And from there, that was it.
Adrienne: When I was dating Israel, he literally would tell, ‘This is so strange but my daughter and you have so much in common. She likes the same things. I would pick out something and he would be like, ‘Oh my God my daughter just told me that was in style.’ But that also meant so much to me because I recognized how important his relationship with Mariah was. And I think when you are looking to be with somebody, you look for those qualities in them that makes you go, ‘Wow, that’s so dope.’ And one of the things I found most attractive was what an awesome father he is.
Mariah: I love him so much and I love you so much. We threw you in the mix and now it’s like—we’re perfect… I think when you came into his life, it just was like, ‘I hope that she makes him so happy.’ And I was see him around you and I’d be like, ‘He’s literally glowing.’ You’re both glowing. And that was enough for me to be like, ‘I love her. I love it all.’
Adrienne: And then we became a squad and we’ve been inseparable ever since.
Mariah: Now we’re a package deal.
The two even have some Lucille Ball and Ethel Mertz types of stories. Beyond the friendship, they’re business partners. Mariah is the creative director and social media manager for Adrienne’s brands XXI, her jewelry line, and La Voute, her new line of handbags. Adrienne said that some of the designs for the accessories.
Watch these two in action in the video below.
