What You Don’t Know About Aretha Franklin’s Wildly Controversial Secret Romances

Beneath the surface of Aretha Franklin‘s iconic public persona lay a complex web of lovers and entanglements, some more passionate than others, and some fraught with tension, with most of them kept fiercely private. Franklin, who died in August 2018 at age 76, often sung about love and heartbreak. As the Queen of Soul’s big dance hit “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” turns 40 this month, and August marks the anniversary of her death, we’re pulling back the layers, uncovering the little known stories and profound controversies that shaped the icon’s personal journey through romance and music.

Pregnant at 12 Years Old

Franklin became pregnant at the age of 12 and gave birth to her first son, Clarence, in 1955, just a couple of months before her 13th birthday. Details surrounding the conception of her first child had been a subject of speculation and are often described as a sensitive and private matter for Franklin– something she rarely, if at all– spoke about publicly.

Franklin, a Motel Room… and Sam Cooke

The Memphis native reportedly told David Ritz, who wrote her biography “Respect” in 2014, that when she was 12 years old she went back to then 23-year-old Sam Cooke’s motel room with him. Their brief encounter reportedly occurred around the time of her first pregnancy, and was shrouded in secrecy ever since.

Second Pregnancy Two Years Later

In 1957, Franklin had her second son, Edward Derone Franklin, when she was 14 years old. Despite Franklin being private about the father of her first two children, after her death in 2018, handwritten wills were discovered which revealed Edward Jordan Sr. was the father of both Clarence and Edward. The revelation proved significant because Clarence’s father had previously been speculated to be Donald Burke, Franklin’s schoolmate. 

Her First Husband, Ted White

Franklin married White, described as a Detroit “wheeler-dealer” and “street-corner promoter,” in 1961 when she was still a young artist working to establish herself. Their marriage birthed a son, Ted “Teddy” White Jr., and allegations of abuse and arguments. A 1968 Time magazine story famously alluded to trouble in paradise, claiming that White had “roughed her up” in public at a hotel in Atlanta and it “was not the first such incident.” Their divorce was finalized in 1969.

The Famous Singer Who Inspired Her Hit Song “Day Dreaming”

In a 1999 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Franklin herself confirmed that she wrote the 1972 song with Dennis Edwards, the lead singer of The Temptations, in mind, stating, “I liked him a lot.” The pair’s romance was reportedly a secret and although they never married, their relationship was noted as volatile. Edwards, dubbed her part-time lover, had once said Franklin “saw her boyfriends like her servants.”

Baby No. 4

@aisletellyouwhat

Aretha Franklin was jaded by marriage but she found love in Ken Cunningham #aisletellyouwhat #loveblackhistory #arethafranklin #kencunningham #storyteller

♬ original sound – Aisle Tell You What – Aisle Tell You What

Reports suggest that while she was with Edwards, she was also in relationship with Ken Cunningham, her road manager. Their relationship was often described as more stable and positive, with sources calling Cunningham her “calm and steady support system.” Cunningham is even credited with encouraging her to stop drinking and reportedly didn’t feel threatened by Edwards. The pair had one child together, Kecalf Cunningham, before they parted ways by the late 1970s.

Her Second Husband, Glynn Turman

Franklin’s marriage with Turman is often described as a more companionable and valued time in her life after they wed in 1978 at her father’s church in Detroit. The pair not only spoke fondly of their time together, they also collaborated professionally and even remained friends after they separated in 1982. Turman, who called Franklin the “love of my life,” reportedly stood by her side during her final days in 2018.

Not Giving Up on Love…

After another failed relationship, Franklin got engaged to longtime companion William “Willie” Wilkerson. According to reports, they met in the 1980s when he asked her to sign a cast on his leg while she was signing autographs in Detroit. A friendship developed from there and Wilkerson remained a constant presence in Franklin’s life for decades. Franklin, who appeared on the cover of Jet magazine in 1987 with him, often called him her “forever friend.” Despite their called-off engagement, Wilkerson and Franklin remained close until her death in 2018.