Carl Anthony Payne II and his wife Melika Payne are one of Hollywood’s quietest and longest-running married couples. But their marriage has not been without bumps and controversy, including a separation in 2012 that almost ended in divorce.

The two have been married for 32 years and are going strong. However, they lived much different lives before meeting.

A snapshot shared of Carl Anthony Payne II and wife Melika Payne on Instagram in 2019 (Photo: @TheCarlPayne/Instagram)

Who Is Melika Michem Williams?

Melika Michem Williams was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 on April 10, 1969, in Los Angeles. Like her husband, who was a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 star on the hit series “The Cosby Show,” Melika had a profound passion for the performing arts and even attempted to earn a degree in theater arts, specializing in acting when she went on to college.

0 seconds of 29 secondsVolume 0%

College was challenging when a young Melika became a teen mother, having her first 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 with singer Bobby Brown when they both were 17.

The two began dating in 1984 and welcomed a son, Landon Brown, on June 22, 1986. Landon would be both Bobby and Melika’s first and only 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 together. They broke up in 1987.

Carl and Landon’s father have been friends for years and have a healthy co-parenting relationship. “He used to come over all the time, and I’d be like it’s your turn to take him to school, I’m sleeping in today,” Carl joked about Brown on the “Tamron” show.

Melika Michem Williams Has a Son with Bobby Brown

While Landon lived with his mother and Carl, his father, the king of R&B, frequently visited to spend time with him, even including him in his rock star life.

“He came to pick me up all the time, take me around the world,” he said about Brown in a 2016 interview with DJ Vlad.

Landon cherishes memories like celebrating his 7th 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day in Japan with the chart-topping ”Mr. Telephone Man” singer.

The same year of his mom’s marriage to Carl, Landon witnessed Brown tie the knot with Whitney Houston.

Raised between two blended families, Landon has said that he shares a close bond with his siblings, both from the Brown and Payne sides, with Carl accepting the now-37-year-old as his own. In fact, at the age of 6, Landon started to refer to Carl as his “other dad,” according to Dicy Trends.

Who Is Melika Michem Williams Married to?

Carl, also 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in 1969, is originally from Clinton, South Carolina. During his first-ever daytime interview this week, he revealed that he starred in Bobby Brown’s 1986 music video for “Girl Next Door” — one year before Brown’s breakup with Melika.

Carl Anthony Payne II’s cameo in Bobby Brown’s “Girl Next Door” video. (Photos: @bobbybrown/YouTube)

After his successful stint with “The Cosby Show,” he was cast in “Martin,” a new show on Fox in August 1992, as Martin Lawrence’s best friend “Cole Brown.”

It was while filming “Martin” that Melika and Carl met and their whirlwind romance landed them before an officiant four months later. They were married in December 1992, when young Landon was 6 years old.

Eventually, Melika and Carl would have their own 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. While the public knows of Landon Brown, Carl Anthony Payne III, and Malek Payne, in 2019 Carl mentioned that the couple had four 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren.

In a post shouting out his wife, Payne wrote, “To my beautiful wife, THE mother of our 4 amazing sons ..you have held me down for over 25 years. Thanks for EVERYTHING. Love u to the moon and back.”

While the post oozes with warm feelings, five short years earlier, Melika wanted to end their marriage for good. She filed for divorce from Carl in Los Angeles County Superior Court in 2012, citing “irreconcilable differences” in the petition, according to TMZ.  She also requested sole physical custody of their two minor 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren.

Melika would later withdraw her petition and the two reaffirmed their vows.

During a 2022 interview with FOX 5, Carl talked about what lesson he learned on how to make his marriage of almost 30 years work. He said you have to learn the right way to “fight.”

“You got to learn how to fight,” he said. “It’s about communication and you got to learn how to grow together and learn how to argue.”

The “Young Dylan” star continued by noting that a lot of times it’s about picking your battles and knowing when something is just too small to argue about. He said he learned how to play his part in arguments, joking, “I became Gayle King when she did that interview with R Kelly. ‘Yeah, Robert. Robert. Everything is Robert.”

As for Bobby Brown, he went onto have six more 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren, three of which, he shares with his current wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown of 12 years.