Who is Brenda Harvey Ritchie? Lionel Ritchie addresses his first wife’s arrest

Lionel Richie is candidly opening up about his ex-wife's arrest, which he called "the scandal of my century" in his new memoir Truly. Harvey and Richie tied the knot in 1975 and adopted their daughter Nicole Richie when she was nine years old.

In his memoir, Richie revealed that in June 1988, he got a place at a beach where he hid "trying to be alone, trying to decompress somehow, because it was killing everyone." At the time, he added that no one knew that he and Brenda had separated.

That morning, he decided to head back to L.A. and stopped by to see Diane, whom he would later marry. However, he wrote that they heard a knock at the door shortly after he arrived, and it was Brenda.

Brenda's arrival triggered what he described as the "most awful screaming match of my life."

"This is not a security-buzz-you-in place, not a gated residence, just an apartment that opens to the street. When the door opens, Brenda is standing there. There is a massive confrontation. Diane is in total shock and I’m trying to leave, to draw Brenda away. It’s the most awful screaming match of my life, and it’s all in this small entryway," he wrote.

Richie revealed that he was finding a way to stop the chaos and even tried to leave in the hope Brenda would follow; however, she instead "went back and resumed the argument."

"The question is — How to stop it? How do you physically move a tragedy that is exploding in front of you?" he wrote.

The argument prompted the neighbours to call the police, and Brenda was arrested and booked on charges of corporal injury to a spouse, resisting arrest, and battery, according to the Los Angeles Times. The outlet added reports from authorities, which stated that police were called to the apartment around 2:35 a.m..

Brenda, who was witnessed by the police "striking and kicking" Alexander, was released on $5,000 bail.

"The story became the scandal of my century. It took on a life of its own. Thankfully, there was no social media," Richie added.

Richie went on to marry Diane in 1995 and welcomed son Miles and daughter Sofia. They eventually divorced in 2004.

According to her X bio, Brenda, a songwriter, owns a music publishing company called BRP Publishing! She has also provided production assistance in certain aspects of Lionel's work, per her IMDB page.

"Brenda was heartbroken": Lionel Richie reflects on Brenda Harvey Richie's reaction to his relationship

Happy Birthday To Our Baby Girl We Are So Proud of You. Love you so very Much. ♥️🥰🎂🎁🎊🎉 pic.twitter.com/jsL67RA8yp

— Brenda Harvey Richie (@BrendaRichie) September 21, 2019

Furthermore, in his book, Lionel Richie recalled that Brenda Harvey was "heartbroken" after her confrontation with Diane.

"There’s always a way to spin everything. Not this time. The most painful part, the tragedy of our lives, was that Brenda was heartbroken. And I get it. Ladies and gentlemen, I get it. You never know what you are going to do or feel until you’re in the moment and it’s in your face. None of us had been in this situation," he wrote.

He continued:

"This wasn’t Alabama; this was a brand-spanking new miniseries right here. And nobody was prepared. We all deserved a pass because we didn’t know what the story was going to be. It was just raw and ugly and disastrous."

Truly by Lionel Richie is available now.