When news broke that childhood sweethearts Robbin Thicke and his wife Paula Patton ended their marriage, there were many questions and speculations as to why. The couple had been married for nine years and have a 3-year old son together, but recently their relationship unfortunately took a sour turn and it all came to an end with the announcement of their separation.
After the release of his popular 2013 single “Blurred Lines” featuring American rapper T.I and singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, Robin Thicke saw quick success and popularity – the kind that had previously eluded him since his debut in 2002. The provocative “Blurred Lines”, which Thicke claimed was written about Patton, peaked at number one on the US Billboard 100 chart as well as topping the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single was Thicke’s most successful song ever, selling over 5 million copies in just 22 weeks in the US and 6 million in 29 weeks, reaching that milestone faster than any other single in digital history. Not only a great turn out in the US, “Blurred Lines” was a huge hit worldwide across countries such as the UK, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Lithuania, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland.
Initially gaining positive critical reactions, the soon-maligned music video for “Blurred Lines” featured Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell casually dancing and flirting with models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M’Bengue and Elle Evans who all posed and danced topless around the fully-clothed artists. At different intervals, the word #THICKE flashes several times on screen, with the phrase “Robin Thicke Has A Big D***” spelt out by the models at the end of the visuals. Quite the provocative and rated R video, YouTube was even forced to remove the video from their platform, later restoring it but not before flagging the video as inappropriate. Critics soon started denouncing the single and video, declaring that it was misogynist and degrading to women rather than endearing as Thicke had alluded to.
However with the single’s worldwide success, Robin Thicke was put on a pedestal and perhaps the single got to his head a little bit and soon, Robin Thicke was constantly making headlines but for all of the wrong reasons. His joint performance with Miley Cyrus at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards left audiences gasping with disappointment, including his then wife Paula who was said to have felt “utterly disrespected” by his involvement in the now infamous Miley twerking debacle, which sparking complaints from parents groups and TV regulators.
That seemed to be the beginning of the many times that Thicke would go on to disrespect his wife publicly. He was caught with his hand up socialite Lana Scolaro’s assets, when the New York-based student posted a picture on her Instagram page, of her and the singer together at the VMAs afterparty at New York’s 1OAK. What Robin did not realise was that there was a mirror behind them that caught him red-handed. This incident, which played out across many tabloid papers and magazines for months, is said to have played a big part in Robin and Paula’s marriage woes. With his name plastered all over the entertainment sphere, who knew that the star would go onto commit another foul move when he was recently caught kissing and flirting with a mystery woman in a Paris nightclub.
Thicke’s antics might have just taken it all too far and his eight and a half years of marriage with Paula Patton could not be saved as a result. In a statement, the pair said “we will always love each other and be best friends, however, we have mutually decided to separate at this time”. Even though the singer claims “Blurred Lines” is about Paula, the single definitely brought out the singer’s promiscuous side and he surely did not look like he was thinking about his wife at all when he was caught in various compromising positions with mysterious girls. The single gave him the career boost that he needed but in a way, could it have clouded his mind and cost him his marriage?
Words by Feliciana Lumona // Edited by Ayo Adepoju
