'Everybody's Got Flaws': Samuel L. Jackson Reveals How He's Worked Through Marriage Issues With Wife LaTanya
Some relationships are meant to stand the test of time, and for Samuel L. Jackson, 75, and his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, 74, this certainly holds true.
In Samuel's recent interview as the cover star of AARP The Magazine's October/November 2024 issue, the iconic actor opened up about how he and his wife have navigated the ups and downs of their marriage.
"A lot of tolerance, because everybody’s got flaws, and not giving up when it would be easy to give up," he said, explaining how they worked through challenges.
"I’ve done s--- in my marriage that’s crazy, you know? She has too, in her head or whatever in reality, but you got to go, 'Is that a breakup offense?' Or is it just that we need to spend a little time together and get some understanding about it?" he continued.
During their marriage, Samuel had been hooked on substances, and according to his wife, the actor was “always isolated, snappy, and irritable.”
“I was a f------- drug addict and I was out of my mind a lot of the time, but I had a good reputation. Showed up on time, knew my lines, hit my marks,” he said in an interview years back.
“She gave me the chance to be the man I was supposed to be,” Samuel reflected, recalling how LaTanya stood by him shortly after he got out of rehab and just before his career gained traction in 1991.
Over time, Samuel admitted they've grown together — not apart.
"There are certain things that you learn to ignore about people — that she’s learned to ignore about me. And one of the things she had to accept is that I’m going to go to work. I’m going to go to work all the time until, you know, it’s time," the Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist star added.
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For her part, LaTanya, who has been a steadfast other half throughout Samuel's career, shared her thoughts on the importance of their union back in 2022.
"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," she told People.
"That it's just children out here being raised by women, which we know is false," she continued.
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The duo's commitment to each other goes beyond the typical marital struggles. "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,'" the Tony Award-winner explained.