Michelle Williams Says She Never Wanted Destiny’s Child to End

If you've watched enough VH1 Behind the Music, then you're familiar with the oft-repeated trajectory that most successful bands/musical acts follow: They gain success as a group, then the solo acts venture off, one or some of the members gain more attention than others, which then opens up the rumor mill to speculation about animosity between members, etc. etc.

But was this the case with Michelle Williams and Destiny's Child? Fans of the trio are wondering: Why did she leave the group?

According to a piece by Today, Michelle Williams never planned to stop recording with Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland. In fact, the 2023 article states that if she was the one calling the shots, then they would still be dropping albums together while in between pursuing their own solo careers.

Michelle said in a 2023 Terrell Show interview that she never thought the group's 2004 album "Destiny Fulfilled" would be their final joint effort together and that it was "always the plan" for them to continue the group's three-piece singing ensemble.

She said in the interview: "I didn’t want it to be [the last] ... I don’t know if we wanted it to be the last album, but that’s the way it is. If it was up to me, we’d still be flip-flopping. We’d still be group, solo, group, solo, group, solo."

Like Rowland and Beyonce, Williams also released solo work during her time with the group: She completed two studio albums called "Heart to Yours" and "Do You Know" in 2002 and 2004 while the three were still a group; Rowland released "Simply Deep" in 2002 while Bey's "Dangerously in Love" dropped a year later in '03.

In her Terrell Show talk, Michelle didn't provide a definitive answer as to why "Destiny Fulfilled" was the group's final album as a group, but she did say she believes that if they wanted to release more songs as a trio in the future that there really isn't anything stopping them from doing so.

"I don't know. I promise you I don't. I'm quite positive should we ... want to do one, I know the door is open for us to do that," Michelle said.

From the way Michelle spoke about Beyoncé and Rowland, it sounds like the three of them are all still very much a positive influence in each other's lives, and she had nothing but glowing things to say about her former bandmates. In 2018, Beyoncé brought Michelle and Rowland on-stage during a performance to sing Destiny's Child tracks together — Williams spoke highly of the experience.

"There were the moments with them that (were) heavenly. But, was I irritable afterwards or in between rehearsals? Yeah, absolutely. But something about being with my sisters, it was OK. I'm safe. I felt safe with them. To this day I feel safe with them. It's like depression says bye for them few hours that I'm hanging out with them, that I was hanging out with them during the rehearsal, I should say," Michelle said in her Terrell Show interview.

She went on to call Beyoncé and Rowland "some of the two safest women in my life," and said that the nature of their relationships hasn't changed at all. She even mentioned two things that she learned from her friends which she applies to her personal life to this day.

"Beyoncé has taught me do not slack in excellence. That one detail that somebody might not even catch, you'll catch because you know you're being lazy. Even if you just notice it, do it. Dot that I."

From the way she spoke about Rowland, it seems that Michelle learned to enjoy the opportunity to experience life during "down time" a bit more.

"Kelly has taught me to live in the moment and be present. There were many moments that I missed because I wanted to be in the bed. Going to Paris and not going to the Eiffel Tower ... because every time I would go and have a day off, I'd want to be in the bed."

"Kelly on the other hand, she's going to use her days off to go to the Eiffel Tower. She's going to travel. She's going to do bed and breakfast. And she still has that youthful, even as a wife and mother, she still carries that youthful innocence about her as it relates to discovery."

It's not hard to imagine that there are throngs of Destiny's Child fans who would love to see the group get back together, including the band's manager, Matthew Knowles, who told Entertainment Tonight in 2023: "I would certainly, certainly support that decision as I still manage Destiny’s Child. I would love to see that as well. I think the fans will be just overjoyed, overwhelmed."