Lizzette Martinez

Lizzette Martinez met R. Kelly at a Miami mall when she was a 17-year-old high school senior in 1995.  As an aspiring singer, Lizzette decided to call Kelly after his bodyguard slipped his number to her, hoping he would mentor her as an artist. But she quickly realized the relationship R. Kelly had in mind was a sexual one when he took her virginity at 17.  Kelly became extremely controlling and abusive as their relationship continued. In 1998, Lizzette had to be hospitalized after experiencing serious complications from an illness she caught from Kelly.  Kelly never visited her in the hospital, but instead sent a $1000 check to Lizzette’s mother which lead to the eventual end of their relationship when Lizzette recovered and realized their relationship was extremely unhealthy.  Lizzette decided to finally speak out after hearing the recent stories about Kelly’s sex cult in hopes of helping the girls still with him. As a survivor herself, Lizzette hopes that using her voice to tell her story will encourage others towards a path of recovery and support. Lizzette is an honorary board member of Love Equals, a non-profit for domestic violence victims out of Tampa, Florida and started her own non-profit Delia’s House Safe Houses for teenagers and women who are escaping abuse.