A member of a seven-time Grammy-nominated R&B vocal group defended her choice to live in her car for the past three years
“I want to make it clear: I am not homeless,” singer Dawn Robinson said in a statement shared with People. “I am temporarily choosing car life as part of my journey of healing and self-discovery.”
The 58-year-old vocalist, known for being an original member of En Vogue, reminded people that she enjoyed “car life” and doesn’t want fans donating to unauthorized “fundraising campaigns” made for her on Cash App or GoFundMe.
“I took a risk and jumped headfirst into this lifestyle, and WOW, what a crazy, fun, sometimes scary ride it’s been,” Robinson added.. “For me, failure is NOT an option. Being vulnerable sucks, but here I GROW. This is about embracing freedom, trusting the process, and finding strength in the unexpected.”
On March 11, the “Free Your Mind” singer shocked fans when she confessed that she’d been living in her car.
Her pivot into the unique “journey” started in 2020 when she moved out of her parents Las Vegas house when her mom allegedly became “very angry” and made the Robinson her “target.”
She moved back to Los Angeles after an un-named co-manager allegedly said he had a room at his apartment for her to stay.
When Robinson arrived, her co-manager didn’t have any space for her, so he booked her a room at a hotel.
“That one night turned into eight months,” Robinson shared. “Oh my God, you guys, I was like, ‘No, this is unacceptable.’”
The singer claimed her stay at the hotel cost thousands each month, and her co-manager was paying for the accommodation.
Robinson added that her co-manager allegedly wanted to give final approval on any apartment she moved into but he would blow off showings.
“I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m the one who has to live here,’” Robinson said. “And it’s way cheaper than the hotel.”
“Sometimes I think you guys, people want to trap you and keep you in a situation where you’re vulnerable and depending on them, and I wasn’t the one, so yeah, I got out of there.”
Robin’s search for a home eventually shifted into a search for a home on four wheels. She discovered an entire “van life” community of people who live in their cars.
The performer doesn’t want fans to feel bad for her either because she insists this lifestyle was her decision.
“If you would have said to me while I was in En Vouge, ‘You gonna be living in your car one day,’ I would be like, ‘Huh? No, I’m always going to have an apartment. I can’t live in my car. How can I do that? I won’t be able to live in my car.”
But in the statement, she admitted the lifestyle isn’t exactly what she expected.
“Sometimes in life, we end up in situations that we weren’t expecting,” Robinson wrote. “There’s something we need to learn or teach, but we’re too afraid to push ourselves out of our comfort zones to do it —so the universe does it for us! During this growth period, we either learn to trust ourselves or give in to fear and fail.”
Robinson’s ex-husband, Andre “Dre” Allen offered Robinson a full-time job in the sales department at Hilton Brands when he heard about her living situation, according to an interview on TMZ Hip Hop.
Allen was a member of the 90s Pop and R&B group IV Xample but he left the business and currently works full-time in hospitality.
Robinson left En Vogue in 1997 after alleged contractual issues but did return from 2008 to 2011.
