Toni Braxton has opened up about the guilt and regret she felt after having an abortion in 2001.
The "Unbreak My Heart" singer told Entertainment Tonight that she was "ashamed" about terminating her pregnancy to then boyfriend Keri Lewis before they married in April that year. The two have since split.
The interview with Entertainment Tonight tied in with her new autobiography, Unbreak My Heart, which details her belief that the diagnosis of her second son with autism was punishment for the abortion.
"I am more ashamed of myself for doing that," she told Entertainment Tonight.
An excerpt from the autobiography quoted in The New York Daily News read: "Is God punishing me for that abortion?"
She added that "God's payback was to give my son autism".
The sense of punishment extends to her being diagnosed with lupus and her parents divorcing.
In the book, Braxton talks about the strict religious household she grew up in and memorising Bible verses at the expense of her homework.
"Shut your mouth and suppress whatever you feel" was the mantra of her household, she recalls.
Braxton also spoke about the pain of separating from her husband after 12 years of marriage.
"I was angry with everybody. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. I felt that I was a person dealing with a lot of struggles and here comes another one," she said.
It's been a hard few years for Braxton. Her lupus diagnosis coincided with filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2010. It was her second time filing for bankruptcy, after doing so back in 1998 to resolve debts totalling $3.9 million.
But the star may finally be turning a new page after recently enjoying a hit album collaboration with Kenny Babyface Edmonds - Love, Marriage & Divorce - and concluding a successful season in Broadway show After Midnight in March.
Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir is out today.
