Who is Dre Allen? Dawn Robinson's ex-husband offered her a job after news of her living in a car goes viral

Dre Allen, Dawn Robinson's ex-husband, claims that he had offered her a regular job before she started living in a car, adding that his offer still stands. Allen told TMZ Hip Hop that he didn't want to see her living in a car and believed that Dawn would be perfect for a hospitality role in his Hilton brands.

Dre Allen's statement about his ex-wife comes two days after Dawn Robinson revealed that she had been living out of her car for the past three years in a YouTube video (posted on Wednesday, March 12).

Andre "Dre" Allen is an American actor, singer-songwriter, music video director, and producer, recognized widely as the founding member of the LA-based hop and R&B group from the 90s, IV Xample.

Allen also told the media outlet that he had loaned money to his friends in the industry who were dying due to poverty in the past. He expressed that he wanted to prevent that from happening to his ex-wife.

The singer also revealed that he felt that Dawn had become "disillusioned" by the entertainment industry, which led to her current financial situation. Dre's statement stands in contrast with Dawn Robinson's own, which claims that her ex-manager and family members were the reason behind it.

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Dre Allen was born and raised in California's Bay Area

Born on April 18, 1975, Andre Allen grew up in California's Bay Area and had an affinity towards music from an early age. When Allen was 17, he founded the R&B group, IV Xample, alongside Bryant Woodert and his brothers - Robert and Raymon Chevis.

Dre Allen released his debut studio album as part of the group, titled For Example, which became a commercial success in the 90s, selling over 500,000 copies across the globe in the wake of its successful single, I'd Rather Die Alone.

Dre Allen's next album, titled L.Y.F.E., was a solo project and came after IV Xample was disbanded in 1998. Released in 2003, the album didn't see the same success as his previous one.

After releasing L.Y.F.E., Allen got married to Dawn Robinson, who was a member of the female R&B group, En Vogue, at the time. As a couple, Robinson and Allen worked together on his next album, Ghetto Rockstar.

Dre Allen and Dawn Robinson got divorced in 2010. Since then, the Grammy-winning artist has stepped away from the music industry, per TMZ.

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Dawn Robinson talked about the story behind her living in the car

Dawn Robinson, who quit En Vogue in 1997, shared her story before she started living in a car, saying in her YouTube video (uploaded Tuesday):

"If you guys were with me, what in 2020, I did like 105K interviews and in the interim I was living with my parents in [Las] Vegas and that was wonderful until it wasn't."

Then, talking about her relationship with her mother, which grew poorer towards the end, Robinson added:

"I love my mom [Barbara Alexander] but she became very angry and [she was taking] a lot of her anger out on me. I was her target all the time and I was like, "I can't deal with this." Like, I respect her too much. I didn't understand it I still don't, It hurt me.'"

After she moved out from her mother's home, Dawn's ex-manager offered her to share his LA apartment (at $1,700/month). But Robinson found out that there wasn't enough space for them both, considering they each had a dog.

"So it turned into, 'Okay, I'm going to put you in a hotel for the night.' And that one night turned into eight months [at $3K/month]. Oh my God, you guys I was like, 'No, this is unacceptable'."

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It was after her prolonged hotel stay that Dawn Robinson started researching "car life" in 2022, which made her feel "free".