Subscribe
Hellobeautiful Featured Video
CLOSE
'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2' New York Premiere - Outside Arrivals

Source: Jim Spellman / Getty

Actor Jesse Williams has remained relatively mum regarding his impending divorce from his estranged wife Aryn Drake-Lee.

But on Monday the actor opened up in a visual compilation for Jay-Z‘s latest album ‘4:44.’

It’s one of the most revealing song’s on the album and directly addresses the rapper’s past exploits with women and how those indiscretions almost tore his family apart.

Williams, along with several other famous male entertainers sat down to reflect on the meaning of the song and how it relates to them personally.

“I was in a relationship 13 years, 13 real years, not 5 years, not 7 years – 13 years,” Williams said. “All of a sudden motherf—ers are writing think-pieces that I somehow threw a 13-year relationship.”

News of the couple’s split emerged in April, with several tabloids alleging that Williams ventured into a relationship with a fellow co-star.

“Like, the most painful experience I’ve had in my life like with a person I’ve loved with all of my heart – that I threw a person and my family in the trash because a girl I work with is cute.”

The pair met in New York in 2007 while Williams was a teacher and Drake-Lee worked as a real-estate broker. They married in 2012 after five years of dating.

The couple is currently in litigation regarding custody of their two-children: Sadie, 3 and Maceo, 2.

A close source to the couple told PEOPLE the relationship changed once Williams’ work forced them to relocate from New York to Los Angeles. Williams’ hectic work schedule also seemed to put a strain on the relationship, the source revealed.

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.