Mo’Nique got candid about her marriage to husband Sidney Hicks in a new interview.
The Precious star, 55, shared that though she and Hicks, who is also her manager, used to have an open marriage, she has since rethought their arrangement, in a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Life began to happen. I began to see a strength I had never seen before. He loved me at my worst. I didn’t want to sacrifice that just for a lay. So I grew out of that,’ she admitted.
The actress also shared that Hicks – whom she met in 10th grade – is ‘the best manager that I’ve ever had, and I’ve had the big boys.’
The couple have been married since 2006, and share 17-year-old twin sons Jonathan and David Hicks.
Candid: Mo’Nique got candid about her open marriage arrangement to husband Sidney Hicks and why she ‘grew out of’ the idea; The couple pictured 2015
The Oscar winner has previously been candid about the couple’s open marriage in various interviews.
‘We have an agreement that we’ll always be honest, and if sex happens with another person, that’s not a deal breaker for us, that’s not something where we’ll have to say, “Oh God, we’ve got to go to divorce court because you cheated on me.” Because we don’t cheat,’ she previously told The New York Times.
In 2016 she shared that people ‘didn’t understand’ the arrangement on a podcast with Essence.
‘They thought it was about swinging and orgies, and then there were individuals who are vehement about God, and they were bringing God into their opinions. People lost their minds, and the criticism has never let up.’
At the time she also added that the agreement was her idea.
‘Sidney had this one thing he had to teach me, and that was reciprocity. He said, “If you can have that, it’s only fair that I can have that, too.”‘
‘I wanted to continue to see the gentlemen that I was seeing, and I felt comfortable telling my best friend [Hicks]. I’m grateful he taught me I had to play fair.’
Prior to Hicks, she was married to Mark Jackson from 1997 to 2001. They have two sons: Mark Eric Jackson Jr. and Shalon Calvin Jackson.
How it evolved: The Precious star, 55, shared of their evolving marriage: ‘I began to see a strength I had never seen before. He loved me at my worst. I didn’t want to sacrifice that just for a lay. So I grew out of that,’ she admitted; Pictured 2004
Partner in life and work: The actress also shared that Hicks – whom she met in 10th grade – is ‘the best manager that I’ve ever had, and I’ve had the big boys’; Pictured 2015
Going strong: The couple have been married since 2006, and share 17-year-old twin sons Jonathan and David Hicks. She also shares two sons with ex-husband Mark Jackson
Elsewhere in the interview Mo’Nique also addressed her 13-year feud with Precious director Lee Daniels, 63, and how it began when she refused to board a flight to go promote the film unless she got paid.
‘Mama, I agree with what you’re saying. I just don’t think it’s going to play out good for you…and that was a problem. The problem of “How could this fat Black woman say no to the powers that be in Hollywood?”‘ she stated.
‘As I explained to Oprah Winfrey, I said, “Oprah, I’m doing a talk show. I’m doing a comedy tour. I have a husband and I have babies. I have a little bit of downtime and I’m going to take advantage of it. So I’m not going anywhere because I’m not obligated to go anywhere. I’ve done my part.” So we mutually agreed to disagree. That was it. Next thing I know, I am considered “difficult” and “hard to work with.”‘
‘It was my third marriage. My second round of children. So I understood by then that when you sacrifice everything for a place called Hollywood, you wind up being by yourself. I know the history before me. I know those stories. And not only did those women die broke, they died brokenhearted. They died lonely because they gave everything to a business — and in the end it gave them nothing.’
She later revealed how they two reconnected and how Lee apologized to her, after offering her a part in his film The Deliverance.
‘He was like, “OK, so I want to talk to you about this part.” I said, “Lee, we can’t talk about a part until we talk.” And he was like, “I know.” And then we had a real conversation. That was the moment that he said, “I’m going to apologize to you and your family for anything I’ve done to hurt y’all.”‘
‘And what I said to him was, “I appreciate that and we are grateful for the apology. But because it happened publicly, you have got to apologize publicly.” And you know what he says? “Tell me when and where.”
She later praised Lee’s public apology: ‘I don’t know if it’s ever been done in history — that a big Hollywood director came out and apologized to an actress for a wrongdoing.’
Feud: Mo’Nique also addressed her 13-year feud with Precious director Lee Daniels, 63, and how it began when she refused to board a flight to go promote the film; Pictured 2009
History: ‘It was my third marriage. My second round of children. So I understood by then that when you sacrifice everything for a place called Hollywood, you wind up being by yourself,’ she said; Pictured in a 2009 still from Precious
Apology accepted: She later praised Lee’s public apology to her, 13 years after their feud began: ‘I don’t know if it’s ever been done in history — that a big Hollywood director came out and apologized to an actress for a wrongdoing’; Pictured 2010
