Why is Dawn Robinson living in her car? En Vogue alum reflects on past fame and current struggles

En Vogue alum Dawn Robinson has been nabbing headlines as of late, but interestingly not for her role as part of the 90s pop group. On March 11, Robinson took to YouTube to announce that she had been living in her car for three years and why she deems it as a "healing" time in her life and not a reality she wants to run from.

"We don't give ourselves enough credit for the things that we do, and we doubt ourselves. It's like, 'Oh, wow. Could I ever sleep in my car? If I ever had to do that, could I?'"

After moving to Los Angeles based on her manager's suggestion, she struggled to find a good place to stay. Instead of making her manager spend money on her hotel stay, Dawn stated,

"I'm proud of what I've done. Every day I have to make this work, and I have done it quite well."

On the outside looking in, her story appears to be a fall from grace, but Robinson is choosing to redefine her circumstances as evidence of her strength in dire times. To better understand her current situation, let’s first explore how she got here, after having been an instrumental part of several top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 during her recording career.

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Dawn Robinson’s career at a glance

Dawn Robinson was a member of En Vogue from 1989 to 1997. After being offered an unfavorable recording deal after their initial breakthrough into the mainstream, she stepped away from the group.

"Once you sell a million copies, you're supposed to tear up that old contract and go in for new options.”

Despite the fact that Robinson reunited with her former En Vogue bandmates several times since her initial exit, further disagreements over business deals reportedly kept her at arm's length from rejoining the rest of the girls on a full-time basis.

Although Dawn does not harbor resentment towards her former colleagues, she did at times feel alienated and needed to heal from the experience of ultimately being replaced. She cites her road trips as part of the music group as the reason she feels comfortable with living on the road.

Initially the singer moved to Los Angeles at her former manager’s behest and relocated from his home to a hotel while searching for a permanent residence. Her search ended up being fruitless, and eventually she decided to move in with her parents in Las Vegas in 2020.

Due to irreconcilable differences with her family, Dawn then chose to take a leap of faith and "take control of my situation" and transition to living in her car in California in 2022.

"Car life, until you're in it, you don't know the freedom of what it is. From the outside, the perception is that it's a very small compact car, and it's not. Inside, it's very roomy."

While living on the road has been eye-opening for Robinson, there are some clear-cut difficulties in her newfound routine.

"It's really just every day having to go into the gym and shower there as opposed to just walking into your own bathroom at home."

Dawn continued,

"It's also not being able to cook. I have a former mother-in-law, and my friend, sister-slash-assistant... They keep me going, and I have their help."

Despite the outside chatter, Robinson seems to feel comfortable with herself and where she’s headed,

"This is a very healing time for me. I literally pray a lot. I talk to God. I cry about my mother. I get a lot of that out because I have to heal that part of me. When I build my career to where I want it to be, and when I have a resurgence of my career, that's when I'll decide that it's going to be enough of my car life, and I will be in my house or my apartment.”

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TMZ Hip Hop reports that after learning about Robinson's living situation, her ex-husband, Andre "Dre" Allen, offered her a full-time position in Hilton Brands' sales department.