John Legend 'traumatised' by the death of his grandmother

msn.com:

John Legend was "traumatised" by the death of his grandmother. The 43-year-old singer lost his maternal grandmother at the age of 10 back in 1988 and was forced to become the "main cook" of the household when his mother Phyllis abandoned the family in the aftermath.

He said: "It was tough, very emotional and traumatic, for all of us. Dad would go to work all day, so we had to be independent.

Our parents had always encouraged us to be able to do things on our own. And when my mom left it felt like she had prepared us for her absence because we were able to fill in the gaps when we needed to.

She showed me how to cook early on, so I ended up being the main cook. We had to figure out a way of taking care of ourselves. " The 'All of Me ' singer went on to explain that occasionally his mother would return to the family home but had become "addicted to drugs" and he coped by finding distractions.