Alicia Keys shares emotional ‘divorce paper’ letter she sent to her absent father aged 14

He left the family home when she was just aged two and she was subsequently raised by her mother, Teresa. 

And on Thursday, Alicia Keys, 39, took to Instagram to share an emotional ‘divorce paper’ letter she sent to her absent father Craig Cook, aged 14, and admitted that his ’empty promises affected her deeply.’ 

The Fallin’ hitmaker included the handwritten note within a montage video of herself and her father, as she recalled penning the letter in a voiceover and a lengthy caption alongside, revealing that she ‘never wanted to hear from him again.’

In the video’s voiceover, Alicia explained: ‘The letter I sent to my father began not with “dear dad” or even “dear Craig” but simply with the date in the upper left hand corner.’ 

The letter was dated 10th July 1994, and Alicia opened it by writing: ‘It saddens me that most of my heart is bitter towards you. It’s only that little part that feels sad that’s not bitter. It’s been too long for me to avoid this any longer.’

The superstar singer admits: ‘For all the years I’ve lived, I’ve watched to take care of everybody, except me. I was your first born (as far as I know) and you treat me as if I was never born.’

Later she adds: ‘There is nothing you could ever do to heal these wounds.’ 

The letter ends: ‘All I want is for you to mind your own business. I don’t want the phone calls. I don’t want the letters.

‘I don’t want the fake acts you pull to try and make me think you care. I don’t want anything. That’s the only way you can make me happy.’ 

She wrote alongside the video that the letter is from her new autobiography, More Myself explaining: ‘A Letter To My Father. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to share this excerpt with you from #MoreMyself… ⁣ ⁣

‘In the early part of my teens I wrote this letter to my father, Craig. I wanted nothing to do with him. My words came from a place of vulnerability and longing.

‘At the time it hurt so much to experience what felt like empty promises. I swore I didn’t care, but I did and it affected me deeply. I finally had enough and wrote those words.’

Alicia admitted that she had no idea her father had kept the letter, but is thankful he did, and pondered that sometimes relationships ‘are meant to heal.’

She wrote: ‘It’s CRAZY that he kept this letter after all these years. I was so shocked when he first showed me. It was tucked away in a shoe box full of memories.

‘I’m glad he and I can look back at it now as a sign of how far we’ve come.’

‘If you feel moved to share, send me a deep relationship that you have had to remove from your life, or one that has been mended, or that you want to see evolve, or are working on changing. ⁣ 

‘I think it’s so powerful that relationships have their own path. And sometimes they are meant to heal…. 

‘Regardless though, most of the time the healing comes from letting go. ⁣What are your thoughts?⁣ Sending u my love, light and strength. More Myself is available now.’

Alicia is now married to hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz after they tied the knot in 2010.

The couple have known each other since they were teenagers and now share two sons: Egypt, 9, and Genesis, 5.