Fashion mogul Kimora Lee Simmons is opening up about the early days of her controversial relationship with ex-husband Russell Simmons, calling their age gap and her young age at the time “a hot mess.”
In a new interview with USA Today, the 50-year-old designer and former model looked back on meeting the Def Jam Recordings cofounder when she was still a high school sophomore — just 17 years old — while he was nearly two decades older.
“I was in high school, you guys. I was a sophomore,” Kimora said. “That’s a hot mess. A hot mess. And now I’m sitting here at this grand old age of 262 saying, ‘That’s a hot mess.’”
The Baby Phat founder joked about her younger self thinking she was mature at the time.
“When I was younger, I would’ve thought I was grown. You couldn’t tell me anything. Sixteen is 26 — it wasn’t though. And that’s the difference. You only know that with age,” she added.
“Way Too Young”
Now a mother of five, Kimora says her perspective has completely changed.
“Now being a mother, I think that’s way too young. What do you know?” she reflected.
Kimora began her modeling career at just 13 years old, becoming the youngest Chanel bride in history under Karl Lagerfeld’s direction. She recalled traveling the world and working at a pace that made her feel far older than she was.
“I did it so early. I feel like I had midlife crises super early,” she admitted. “I was probably 16 having my first one ‘cause I started working at 10, so in a lot of ways I thought I was an adult — and I absolutely was not.”
A Complicated Marriage and Legacy
Kimora and Russell Simmons married in 1998 when she was 23, after several years of dating. The couple divorced in 2009 but share two daughters — Ming Lee, 25, and Aoki Lee, 23.
In the years since their separation, Russell has faced multiple sexual assault allegations from at least a dozen women — accusations he has denied. The former music executive now resides in Bali, Indonesia, which has no extradition treaty with the United States.
Reflecting on her past, Kimora said she has learned to see her experiences as part of her personal evolution.
“Along the way, I trusted people — my mom and I trusted people we probably shouldn’t have, and that’s OK,” she said. “Most of these people I still know and many of them I love. That’s not the point. I’m saying when you’re older, you learn things you didn’t know when you were in it.”
Though she acknowledges mistakes, she expressed gratitude for the life and family she built.
“I would not choose to get married so young… but it was a time — a grand time. I learned a lot. I built a beautiful family. I built a legacy,” she said. “There might be bumps along the way, but I’m very thankful.”
A Return to Reality TV
Nearly 20 years after her hit show Life in the Fab Lane, Kimora is back on television with E!’s new reality series Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane.
The show, which premiered December 4, follows Kimora and her blended family — including sons Kenzo, 16; Gary, 16; Wolfe, 10; and her “bonus son” Jayden, 19, a former classmate of her children who now lives with them.
“I love being a mom so much, but I’m not the stay-at-home type,” Kimora said. “I’m going to have to do something.”
New episodes of Kimora: Back in the Fab Lane air Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on E!, with episodes also streaming on the network’s YouTube channel.
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