TLC's Chilli shares how she 'got over' former beau Usher despite incredible ... trends now

TLC member Chilli is looking back on the ups and downs of her on and off relationship with Usher in a new interview.

The 52-year-old singer (born Rozonda Thomas) spoke to People about how she and the 44-year-old Usher — who allegedly emerged with a bloodied nose after a confrontation with Chris Brown last month — had 'chemistry,' even though it kept her coming back to him long after it was healthy.

She described how she managed to 'get over' the Yeah! singer by cutting him out of her life completely as a defense mechanism.

However, since setting off on a new path, she has since launched a new romance with the actor Matthew Lawrence, 43.

'We definitely had some chemistry,' Chilli admitted while looking back at her relationship with Usher. 

However, she noted that 'working chemistry' doesn't necessarily translate well to one's personal life.

'If we were working, it was great. But outside of that, we're so different,' she said of herself and her fellow singer.

Complicating the situation further was how much their fans wanted to see the two be a happy couple.

However, she claimed Usher simply couldn't live up to her requirements, which she was coy about.

'[The relationship] looked great, but in real life ... he knew he had to be a certain way with me and he couldn't,' she said.

She said it was questions of differing values and a lack of trust that helped crater the relationship, which initially lasted from 2001 to 2004, though she also denied rumors that his 2004 smash hit album Confessions had been inspired by their breakup.

'I was with him at the studio that whole time,' she said, and sessions for the album began in 2003, when they were still together.

But even after they ended things in 2004, he two still reunited from time to time over the years.