Lopes began dating Atlanta Falcons player Andre Rison in 1993, wrote The Boom Box, and by 1994 they had moved in together. It wasn't a pretty relationship. Rison was arrested for allegedly hitting Lopes and firing a handgun to prevent bystanders from interfering. Charges were later dropped, and the two reconciled.
On the night of June 9, 1994, Lopes and Rison had a fight that made Rison leave the house, said The Boom Box. Angry, Lopes took several of Rison's sneakers and set fire to them inside a tub. Soon, the entire mansion was in flames. Lopes turned herself in, reported The Guardian, and was fined $10,000 and ordered to get counseling. Rison was also told to seek help for his abusive behavior.
But Lopes just couldn't catch a break. In 1995, despite having three hit singles, TLC was forced to declare bankruptcy. Citing terrible management by their label LaFace Records and their management firm Pebbitone, along with debts incurred from Lopes's legal issues and Watkins's medical bills for sickle cell anemia, the group said they owed $3.5 million. They claimed they were paid very little for their singles and continued to be charged for expenses by their management. Rison, having forgiven Lopes, loaned each member $15,000 to pay for bills. So TLC took a break. Lopes decided to start her own production company and signed the girl group Blaque.
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