Mo’Nique on Why She ‘Grew Out of’ Open Marriage Arrangement with Husband: ‘He Loved Me at My Worst’

Mo’Nique is sharing why she and husband Sidney Hicks have decided to close their previously-open marriage.

via People:

The Oscar winner, in a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, spoke about her relationship with Hicks, who is also her manager, with whom she shares 17-year-old twin sons. Mo’Nique, 55, said Hicks is “the best manager that I’ve ever had, and I’ve had the big boys,” and added that they are practically inseparable as a couple.

Mo’Nique also mentioned that she “grew out of” the desire for an open marriage, which she and Hicks, whom she wed in 2006, have previously been candid about, including on a podcast called Mo’Nique & Sidney’s Open Relationship.

She said, “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.”

The comedian, whose new Netflix special My Name Is Mo’Nique debuts April 4, first revealed she was in an open marriage in an interview with Essence back in 2006. Then, in 2016, she reflected on the arrangement on their podcast, saying, according to The New York Times, that “people didn’t understand” at the time.

“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,” she said at the time. “People lost their minds, and the criticism has never let up.”

Mo’Nique also added at the time about their agreement, which 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.”

On that podcast, Sidney said the arrangement “is not going to change the dynamic of our relationship, because I’m in love with this woman,” per Essence.

“I’ve been involved with someone for 33 years of my life, since we were kids,” he said at the time. “I’ve known her longer than I haven’t known her, so when you start saying to yourself the spirit that you came into this universe with is the spirit that you’re gonna exit this world with … are you going to be yourself through having an open conversation and an open dialogue and an open relationship?”

Could you be in an open marriage?

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