Veteran singer Usher has had an incredible run over the last year. Besides hosting a successful and memorable Las Vegas Residency, the 45-year-old also took the stage during the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show before later tying the knot with Jenniffer Goicoechea.
And though everyone knew the couple were engaged, the Confessions singer recently revealed that their eventual marriage in the Sin City even surprised his family. Usher on Saturday touched on his family’s reaction to their marriage during an interview with ET at the 55th annual NAACP Image Awards.
“It was an incredible moment that we felt was great for us,” he said. “It was a button at the end of an incredible Las Vegas run. My mother was there, her mother was there, the kids were there, our immediate family was there. Matter of fact, everybody was surprised. I’m like, ‘No, no, no, we’re having a wedding right now. We’re gonna go have Elvis officiate us.'”
The singer, who received the President’s Award for his philanthropy, also showered praises on his mother and family when he took the stage to accept the accolade during the event.
“I’m thankful for the support that my mother gave me for my dreams,” he said. “I’m so overwhelmed with appreciation for my entire family, without them I wouldn’t be able to do this.”
“They say standing behind or beside or with every strong man is a stronger woman and for that I thank my mother and I thank my beautiful wife, Jennifer, for holding it down. My kids, I love you guys so so much. I hope that I’m an example. I’m a dad who’s just trying to get it right every day,” he added.
Besides the President’s Award, Usher was also named the Entertainer of the Year. “It has been a hell of a year but it’s been a hell of a career,” he told the news outlet. “At 45, you hope that you’re just getting warmed up or either you are receiving these types of accolades as a result of your tenure, your 10,000 hours. You begin to reap the benefits of it, so I’m really happy to be recognized here and for what I love to do, which is to help the youth.”
In 2019, it was reported that Usher was dating music executive Goicoechea. The two currently have two children together — daughter Sovereign Bo, born in 2020, and son Sire Castrello, born in 2021. Usher already has two children—15-year-old Usher Raymond V and 14-year-old Naviyd Eli—with his first wife Tameka Foster. The two divorced in 2009 before Usher married Grace Miguel, whom he divorced in 2018 after being married for three years.
In 2023, Usher told PEOPLE how Goicoechea has been very supportive off-stage.
“I have an amazing partner, a support system,” he said. “We have an amazing dynamic between our relationship where I’m able to be passionate still about what I do and have an incredible partner to work through some of the harder times as a young man dealing with children and dealing with the dynamic of how you communicate with them.”
