Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson have been married for 41 years, thanks to the pact they made to stay together forever when they said “I do.”
“In the beginning, we always said the most revolutionary thing that Black people could do was stay together, raise their children with the nucleus of having a father and a mother, since everybody likes to pretend that that’s not the dynamic of the African American family. That it’s just children out here being raised by women, which we know is false,” LaTanya told People in a joint interview published on Wednesday.
“In order to change that narrative, we made a decision to say, ‘We are going to stay together no matter what. We’ll figure it out.’”
Her husband echoed that sentiment, telling the outlet, “It’s two people who respect each other, love each other and look out for each other.”
In 1970, while both attending college in Atlanta, the lovebirds met. A decade later, they tied the marriage, promising to honor their vows.
LaTanya’s promise to be there for her husband “in good times and bad” was put to the test in the late 1980s, when the actor’s drug addiction spiraled out of control.
Samuel credits his wife with bringing him into rehab in the early 1990s and caring for their family while he worked on his recovery. For more than 30 years, the Hollywood star has been in remission.
He exclaimed, “She gave me the chance to be the man I was meant to be.”
In 1970, while both attending college in Atlanta, the lovebirds met. A decade later, they tied the marriage, promising to honor their vows.
LaTanya’s promise to be there for her husband “in good times and bad” was put to the test in the late 1980s, when the actor’s drug addiction spiraled out of control.
Samuel credits his wife with bringing him into rehab in the early 1990s and caring for their family while he worked on his recovery. For more than 30 years, the Hollywood star has been in remission.
He exclaimed, “She gave me the chance to be the man I was meant to be.”
Despite “how busy” they still are in their “seventh decade,” the couple always makes time for family.
The two revealed that every July, they stop working to spend quality time together with their 39-year-old daughter, Zoe.