Brandy’s Memoir ‘Phases’ Pulls Back the Curtain on Fame, Heartbreak, and Healing

After a big moment on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Brandy is not slowing down. Instead, she is stepping forward with something even more personal: her memoir Phases. Think of it like opening a locked diary, except the diary belongs to one of R&B’s biggest stars from the ’90s and 2000s.

She writes, “I allowed myself the space to be fearless and vulnerable,” showing she is ready to tell her side of the story.

One of the biggest topics in the book is her past with Monica and their famous duet “The Boy Is Mine.”

“Without warning, Clive [Davis] announced he was renaming Monica’s album The Boy Is Mine,” she writes of the music mogul’s “calculated” move to have Monica claim ownership of their smash-hit duet. “I was taken aback.”

In a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Monica was asked, “Did you pick The Boy Is Mine as the album title?” and she gave a clear answer about where the idea came from.

Monica responded Absolutely not. That was the legend himself, Clive Davis. I had several album titles that I brought to him and he said, “Monica, why would this album be titled anything other than The Boy is Mine?” And he had a lot of reasons as to why he felt that way, and I trusted him in every way and he was right. But that definitely was not my idea. It never crossed my mind.

She is referring to music executive Clive Davis. Even with past tension, the two singers later worked together again on their tour.

Brandy also opens up about dating Wanya Morris from Boyz II Men when she was 16.

“I genuinely believed it was true love,” she writes, later adding he was her “first.” She also says she later discovered he cheated.

She reflects, “The silence ends here. I was not a fast girl with a crush,” and explains she was still a child while he was an adult.

The two collaborated on the hit song "Brokenhearted" in 1994.

Even while becoming famous, life was not easy. Brandy shares that pressure and emotional stress led to bulimia as a teen.

“I believed I was purging more than food. I was expelling the weight of disappointment,” she writes.

She describes it as chasing a feeling of worth that never lasted.

On the hit show Moesha, she played a teen role model. But over time, her feelings changed.

“By the time we reached season five of Moesha, I hated the character,” she writes. “The way she always had the right answer ... I didn’t recognize myself in her anymore.”

Before welcoming her daughter Sy’Rai with producer Robert Smith, she says she felt pressure to look perfect in public.

“Let’s just tell people we’re married,” she recalls suggesting. Later, she says, “I couldn’t have known that this single deception would eventually alter the trajectory of my life.”

On an episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Brandy opened up about a past decision she now regrets, admitting she was never legally married and apologizing for not being honest with Oprah.

“At that time being pregnant out of wedlock was not a trend,” she said. “It was not something that people praised, you know. It was a sin. And I felt like I could not be honest about that. I felt the pressure of having to be perfect.”

She added with humor and honesty, “I’m really sorry for that. Cause I mean, you just don’t lie to Oprah.”

Brandy also reflects on her emotional struggle after a deadly 2007 car crash involving multiple vehicles. She writes about deep guilt and grief that followed.

She shares memories of her brother, Ray J, and how she worried about him growing up.

“There’s a particular kind of heartache that comes from watching someone you love be overlooked,” she writes.

One of the most emotional parts of the book is her last conversation with Whitney Houston.

“I broke down to Whitney, the tears coming in waves,” she writes.

Houston told her, “‘I’m gonna be better,’ she promised as our call wound down... ‘You’ll see. This is just a season, not the whole story.’” Brandy later reflects she could not have known it was their final goodbye.

Phases is available now.