Crystal Renay’s Wiki Bio, age, ethnicity. Who is Ne-Yo’s wife?

Known for movies

The Choir Director 2018
as Gale

This Time 2010
as Waitress

• Born on 18 September 1986 in Fort Myers, Florida, Crystal Renay Smith pursued a modeling career after moving to Los Angeles in 2011.
• She gained recognition in modeling with Facet Studio and developed a passion for cooking, leading to her YouTube channel.
• Crystal is known for her marriage to R&B singer Ne-Yo, which started after featuring in his music video “Money Can’t Buy.”
• She shares three children with Ne-Yo, including two sons and a daughter, and has openly shared her post-pregnancy experiences.
• She appeared on reality TV shows like “Platinum Life” and maintains an active presence on Instagram and YouTube.

Who is Crystal Renay?

Born on 18 September 1986, in Fort Myers, Florida, under the somewhat unpredictable sign of Virgo, Crystal Renay (now Smith) is a 36-year-old American model, actress, multi-media host (according to Renay herself), chef and entrepreneur. However, she is perhaps best known for being the wife of superstar R&B singer Ne-Yo. Fans also know her for her appearances on “Platinum Life”, a reality TV show on E!. She also has a cooking channel on YouTube, which she apparently plans to develop into her own show, specializing in gourmet recipes.

 

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Early Life and Education: Growing Up in Florida

Crystal was born into an American family, in a city that has a bad reputation because of its above-average crime rate and frequent gang activity. Nevertheless, her parents made sure that she stayed focused on her education, and then left her hometown as soon as possible. Her ethnic background is mixed, as she has Italian and Spanish roots, in addition to her African-American heritage. There is no conclusive information about her family, nor about her early life, a clear sign that Crystal is devoted to her career and that she doesn’t want her personal life interfering with her plans. In an interview, she revealed that her childhood wasn’t easy – she never had money, so she was forced to move out at an early age. Her main source of income was working in the medical field – modeling, at this time, wasn’t even on her mind. However, everything changed in 2011, when she saved up some money and moved to Los Angeles.

Career Beginnings: Trying To Make a Name for Herself in the Modeling Industry

As a 25-year-old with a modest amount of money, Crystal found it hard to get used to the hectic lifestyle in LA. However, she never let the change of scenery spoil her plans. In one interview, she said that cooking was always her greatest passion, but that she didn’t think she was either skilled or famous enough for her vision to be properly executed. Thus, she used her God-given attributes and sent her photos and resume to several talent agencies. She mostly got ignored, but the executives at Facet Studio were interested and invited her for a trial photoshoot. Needless to say, Crystal “killed” the shoot and impressed everyone who was present. They offered her a contract, and slowly but surely she started building her modeling career from the ground up.

Making a Name for Herself: Music Videos, Casting and More

In the years following her move to Los Angeles, Crystal mostly worked with smaller agencies and did only a couple of photoshoots on a monthly basis. She was gaining recognition but didn’t want to work more than she had to. The reason for this reluctance to snatch every opportunity was that she was busy working on her cooking recipes and refining her craft. It was also at this time that she started making cameo appearances in music videos, mostly for Californian rappers. This made her moderately famous, resulting in more contract offers. Crystal was finally happy that she had enough money to kickstart her cooking venture. However, in 2014, her life was about to change forever.

Meeting Her Future Husband

Because she was getting more recognition, Crystal began attracting more high-profile work offers – she received a call from her agent telling her that Ne-Yo wanted her to appear in the music video for his new song – “Money Can’t Buy”, featuring Young Jeezy. This wasn’t something coming from his representatives – the famous R&B singer wanted her in particular, after hearing of Crystal’s accomplishments. They soon started exchanging text messages and arranged for a business meeting to take place. Funnily, she was two hours late, but Ne-Yo sat and waited for his eventual bride-to-be. ‘We met at a restaurant, but she showed up two hours late.’, recollected Ne-Yo. ‘She explained later why that was: She was just trying to get some info on me: who I was, if it was really going to be a business meeting or if I was some creep.’ It was her first time working with a future star, so she had serious suspicions about his intentions. He respected her reasons and acted like a gentleman, continuing their meeting as though nothing had happened. They quickly got to know each other better, and soon entered a relationship that was more than just business.

Heading toy bday world tour❣️ pic.twitter.com/4Yg952ykVK

— VVS! (@VVSTHEARTIST) September 2, 2016

Controversy Surrounding Their Relationship

Ne-Yo and Crystal were moving far faster than anyone expected. They became inseparable and even got matching tattoos, solidifying their love. However, tabloids soon realized that Ne-Yo might have actually cheated on his ex-fiance, Monyetta Shaw, so the couple made headlines because of the situation, with the media throwing around all sorts of allegations about the state of their relationship. Most of this was because of the fact that both Ne-Yo and Shaw agreed to undergo sterilization procedures in 2011. They already had two kids together – a girl named Madilyn Grace and a boy named Mason Evan. While Monyetta got her fallopian tubes tied, Ne-Yo never had a vasectomy. She even spoke about the situation in an interview with the New York Post: ‘She seems like a nice girl, but I would be worried if I were she. How does she know that he’s not going to do the same thing to her that he did to me?’

Making Peace With Ne-Yo’s Past

After Shaw went on air to discredit Ne-Yo’s character and the stability of his new relationship, the media tried hard to make it seem like there was animosity between the two women. According to Renay, the two have nothing against each other: ‘At my request, he told her when we got together and even when we were thinking of making our engagement public. I wanted her to hear it from us, not the media’, said Crystal. They also spoke in private and cleared everything out. Monyetta even congratulated them when they had her first child, which makes it evident that Ne-Yo and Monyetta have an amicable relationship now, even after all the drama and heartbreak.

A Magnificent Wedding with Ne-Yo

Crystal and Ne-Yo finally exchanged their vows on 20 February 2016, in a ceremony at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. First, they had a reception at Catalina Kitchen, for more than 100 of their closest friends and family members. The story behind their marriage is quite funny. One morning, they were lying in bed and Ne-Yo jokingly asked her what she would do if he suddenly proposed to her. She said she would gladly accept, but he said he couldn’t do it because he didn’t have a ring. ‘Who needs a ring?’, she said and he popped the question. A true gentleman, Ne-Yo wanted to do it right so he proposed to her for the second time, on 19 September 2015, during a dinner in honor of her 29th birthday. When the wedding occurred, Crystal was already eight months pregnant, so they were about to expand their family.

Despite this, she reportedly filed for divorce from Ne-Yo in 2022.

Crystal’s C-Section

On 15 March 2016, Crystal gave birth to her first and Ne-Yo’s third child, a boy named Shaffer Chimere Smith Jr. However, the little man didn’t arrive in this world without complications. Crystal had problems pushing the baby out herself, so had to undergo a C-Section. Shortly afterwards she posted a photo of her post-pregnancy body: ‘If being bed-ridden during my pregnancy wasn’t enough, this C-section was an even bigger setback. No worries, I will get back to working out ASAP!!’, she wrote in the description. She soon got back into shape and continued with her modeling career with the support of her husband. She and Ne-Yo welcomed another boy into the world on 14 June 2018, whom they named Roman Alexander-Raj. She also has a daughter Isabella Rose Smith born in June 2021.

Current Endeavors

By marrying Ne-Yo, Crystal became even more famous, which gave her a valuable platform for building her career. Currently, she is starring in “Platinum Life”, a hit reality TV show on E!, which follows the lives of celebrity spouses. Fans of the show love Renay because of her unwillingness to back down, as well as her tendency to get into arguments pretty easily. This is not her first experience with reality TV, as she had already appeared on “About the Business”. Recently, she was also on “The Real”, a popular talk show on which celebrities make guest appearances, and talk about their personal lives and careers.

Body Measurements: How Tall is Crystal Renay?

Crystal Renay is 5ft 5in (165cm) tall, weighs around 136lbs (62kgs), and her vital statistics are 34-25-35. She has curly brown hair and brown eyes, with a hint of green under certain lighting. As for body modifications, she has been getting more and more tattoos over the last few years.

What is Crystal Renay’s Net Worth?

According to several credible sources, Crystal Renay has a net worth of approximately $500,000, accumulated through her modeling endeavors, but also from her appearances in music videos and on “Platinum Life”. If she continues to expand her ventures and invest her money wisely, we might see her reach seven figures in the near future.

 

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Online Presence

Like many models and actresses, Crystal understands the importance of social media as a valuable tool to engage with her audience and increase her influence. On Facebook, 13,000 people like her page and interact with her on a daily basis. She was also active on Twitter, on which she has a modest 3,000 followers. This account has since been deleted. Instagram is by far her favorite social media platform, with 688,000 fans following her profile. She also has a YouTube channel called “Crystal’s Creations”, with almost 2,000 followers.