Kimora Lee says she once thought Tyra Banks was jealous of her relationship with Russell Simmons
TheGrio...
Kimora Lee recalls how Tyra Banks tried to stop her from dating Russell Simmons and why she now believes her longtime friend was protecting her.
Kimora Lee is looking back at a pivotal chapter in her early modeling career and revealing that Tyra Banks once tried to keep her away from Russell Simmons.
Lee discusses the episode in the upcoming Lifetime documentary Kimora Lee: On Her Own, which explores her rise in fashion, personal relationships and life as a mother. PEOPLE reported that Lee recalled how Banks, then a close friend, attempted to disrupt the budding relationship after Simmons began pursuing her.
Lee was 16 when she met Simmons, who was 18 years older than her. At the time, she was establishing herself in New York after gaining attention in Paris as a Chanel model. Simmons, who had already built a profile through music and fashion, regularly attended her runway shows and began sending flowers.
According to Lee, Banks became concerned about the situation and took an unusual step to keep her friend from responding to Simmons. Lee recalled Banks keeping her at her apartment for a weekend, preventing her from getting home to check her voicemail.
At the time, Lee interpreted the intervention differently.
“I felt a little bit like she was hating,” Lee told PEOPLE, explaining that she initially thought Banks was simply getting in the way of a relationship she wanted to pursue.
Her perspective changed with hindsight. Lee now believes Banks was attempting to protect her, particularly given Simmons’ previous history with women in the modeling world.
Lee ultimately pursued the relationship. She and Simmons married in 1998, with Banks serving as a bridesmaid. The couple had two daughters, Ming and Aoki, before separating in 2006 and finalizing their divorce in 2009.
Lee has since described the relationship as tumultuous and said she experienced verbal and emotional abuse, adding that she did not recognize some of those dynamics as abusive while she was living through them. A representative for Simmons did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on those claims.
Lee and Banks have since grown apart. Lee previously revealed that the two women have not spoken in years, despite their friendship during the period when Banks tried to intervene in her relationship with Simmons.
Looking back, Lee now sees Banks’ intervention differently. What she once interpreted as interference, she now understands as an attempt by a close friend to protect her during a complicated period in her life. Their relationship has since changed, but the memory offers a revealing glimpse into the choices and relationships that shaped Lee’s early years in the spotlight.