Marques Houston Says Women His Own Age Often Have 'Baggage,' Calls Single Mothers a 'Red Flag'

In a new interview with Page Six, the 41-year-old R&B singer -- whose wife Miya is 19 years his junior -- explained that he believes women his own age often have "baggage" and children, the latter of which he called a "red flag" in a potential partner.

"A red flag to me [was] always with a woman that had a kid. Nothing against single women, but single mothers with children are a red flag for me," the actor said. "I tip my hat and respect women that are raising children on their own. But when I grew up, I never really wanted to have kids."

"I would talk to my dad a lot, and he would always tell me to have your own kids because you never know what the baby daddy's are about," he continued. "So if you're gonna have kids, make sure it is with a woman that never had kids. So that was always my red flag… and a woman with an attitude. I don’t like women with funky attitudes."

Houston -- who welcomed his first child with Miya in 2021 -- added, "I'm 41, she is 22. I could've married a 44-year-old woman, and it could've been disastrous."

The "Sister, Sister" alum went on to share that women who are his age "kind of have a different outlook on life" and are "very independent," which he said he isn't a fan of.

"They are very like, 'I don't need a man to do this for me 'cause I can do it for myself.' I come from a generation that I love to provide for my wife," Houston told Page Six. "There's a lot of women my age I've dated, they may have baggage. They may have kids, they may not."

While he said there are "so many different women" he's been with Miya "caught my heart." Houston added, "Everything that I prayed for -- and everything that I wanted in a woman -- she came with. Although she was young, I'm young in spirit."

Houston first met Miya in 2018 after the latter became friends with the former's manager Chris Stokes' daughter Chrissy when they all attended a Jehovah's Witness convention. The couple became engaged in March 2019. Houston was 38 and Miya was 19. The pair tied the knot in August 2020.

After the two received criticism on social media over their wage gap in June 2020, Houston spoke out in defense of his relationship in an Instagram post at the time.

During his new interview with Page Six, the "You Got Served" star recalled facing backlash from fans over the years.

"In the Immature days, we [would] have light-skinned girls in our music videos," Houston said. "Then people would question… 'Why can't you get a black girl?' And then it's like, 'Oh yeah, I only like light-skinned girls.' Then the plus-size girls will come and get me. I was like, 'Man, I can't catch a break.'"