R. Kelly's wife drops order of protection.. The Drama Continues

The wife of R&B superstar R. Kelly agreed to let a court drop the order of protection she had secured against her husband earlier this month.

Andrea Kelly, 31, has retained Chicago's top-rated divorce lawyer, Donald C. Schiller. She moved out of Kelly's Olympia Fields mansion and took the couple's three children to stay with relatives in a west suburb.

She appeared in court Sept. 2 and alleged she was "fearful of him, and I want to get away safe & be happy."

"Last summer I was slapped," she wrote in the petition she filed to secure the order of protection. "We made up but I asked for a divorce and he pinned me down and continued to hit me yelling 'don't you leave me. Why are you leaving me?' He says, 'I'm sorry I['m] not a wife beatter my hand was open. It not like I did it for no reason ... you made me do it.'"

On Aug. 24, Kelly "snapped over a man in the background of a photo I took with my children at the Parrot Jungle Island" in Miami, Andrea Kelly wrote. That happened within two days of his snapping over a remark she made about a man in a magazine ad, she wrote.

Andrea Kelly admitted she never called police.

She wrote, "I thought it would get better."

The order called for "no contact at all by any means" and gave Andrea Kelly possession of her 2003 Mercedes and her own belongings and those of the children.

Married dancer in '96

R. Kelly, who spent two weeks on the top of the national music sales charts this summer with his album "TP.3 Reloaded," featuring a song about marital infidelity, is fighting child pornography charges in Cook County Criminal Court stemming from a 29-minute videotape he allegedly made of himself engaging in sex acts with an underage girl. He allegedly made the tape with a girl he called his "goddaughter" at a home he owned in Lake View while he was married to Andrea Kelly.

Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell reported two years ago that Andrea Kelly's family was not able to reach her. They were not being allowed to visit her at Kelly's Olympia Fields home or to get telephone calls to her. Her mother, grandfather and aunt told Mitchell they were upset and concerned.

In 1996, Kelly married the former Andrea Lee, a 22-year-old dancer from his touring troupe. People in the singer's camp reportedly call Lee "Puppydog," and Kelly associates say she is required to knock before entering a room in their house if he is at home hanging out with friends.

A hearing on the order of protection had been scheduled for Friday morning. But Andrea Kelly's attorney appeared Thursday to tell the judge he could vacate the order.

"Our client has retained civil counsel for the purpose of trying to work out their marital problems rather than proceeding in domestic violence court," Schiller said.

After Andrea Kelly hired the Schiller, DuCanto and Fleck firm last week, R. Kelly retained another high-profile divorce firm, Beermann, Swerdlove, Woloshin, Barezky, Becker, Genin & London.

THE PETITION AGAINST R. KELLY

Here is the text of Andrea Kelly's petition for an order of protection against her husband, R. Kelly.

Spelling and punctuation are from the document.

August 24, 2005 Snapped over a man in the background of a photo I took with my children at the Parrot Jungle Island. 2 days snapped over me reading a magazine and saying another mans. Last summer I was slapped for lieing to him and we made up but I asked for a divorce and he pinned me down and continued to hit me yelling "don't you leave me. Why are you leaving me.'' He says I'm sorry I not a wife beatter my hand was open. It not like I did it for no reason ... you made me do it. I'm now fearful of him and I want to get away safe & be happy. No I never called the police. I thought it would get better.