Mo’Nique, the former stand-up comedian who went on to win an Oscar, is dead serious when she tells a True Exclusives interviewer that it’s OK for her husband to have affairs — as long as he’s honest about it.
“I’m not sure where you originate from, but I originate from this place called Africa. And what I know of African kings is: Tell me about one of them that just had one wife?”
Mo’Nique, 47 and married to her second husband Sidney Hicks, said couples should be prepared to “live by” their marriage vows but said the key to the arrangement is honesty.
“The person that you stood up and you said ‘for better, for worse, sickness and in health, richer or poorer’ you took those vows in front of the universe. If you don’t live by them, then maybe you shouldn’t have taken them,” said the Academy Award winner for best supporting actress (for “Precious” in 2010).
“But when you have open and honest dialogue and you say we’re just human beings and all these people on the face of the earth, do you think my eyes won’t ever say ‘he’s fine’ or ‘she’s attractive.’ Now if you wanna go further with it, let’s be honest enough to have those conversations. What is it about that person that you find that you wanna sleep with? Because they may give you something that I’m simply not willing to do.
“And if that’s the case, how can I be mad? Because I’m not gon’ do it. Should I deprive you of not having it? That’s when the relationship is real real.”