mo'niqueAcademy Award-winning actress Mo’Nique garnered tons of slack when she admitted to being an open marriage with her husband Sidney Hicks. Barbara Walters asked the Baltimore native if she and Hicks were intimate with partners outside of their marriage.

Mo’Nique’s answer left room for speculation.

“Do we have sex outside of the marriage? Let me say this. I have not had sex outside of my marriage with Sidney,” she said. “Could I have sex outside of my marriage with Sidney? Yes. Could Sid have sex outside of his marriage with me? Yes. That’s not a deal breaker. That’s not something that we would say, ‘Oh my God because you were attracted to another person and because you happened to have sex let’s end the marriage.”

When Walters pressed her, the comedian explained her understanding of an open marriage.

“No secrets. Open means, you know what, let me tell you my every secret, my fantasies, my thoughts so that way there are no surprises.”

The backlash against the couple’s decision was swift and blunt. Some assumed Mo’Nique agreed to an open union to prevent Hicks from cheating while others claimed she had low self-esteem because of her weight.

Mo’Nique, now 82 pounds lighter, clarifies all of the misconceptions in an interview with Hot 97. She alleges she set the perimeters of the open marriage so she could enjoy side partners while touring. The “Precious” actress told the interviewers the open marriage had nothing to do with her husband.

“Listen baby, I was an entertainer,” she said. “The road is what it is. It goes for men and women. So I felt like this is what it is and this is who I am.”

She also addresses the critics assuming she was insecure because of her husband’s looks.

“People automatically went to my husband. Like, ‘He’s so fine. Mo’Nique is going to let him do anything.

“It had nothing to do with that and it actually backfired on me,” she continued. “My ego got in the way. I thought I was saying to women, ‘You can have your cake and eat it too girl cause I can do this.’ And it backfired. It backfired in a way that they thought well, ‘Oh since he’s so good looking and Mo’Nique’s fat, she’s just going to let this man do anything and run all over on top of her.”

Now the entertainer appreciates her husband, calling him a king.

“When I did that interview, I didn’t realize what I had. I didn’t realize the king I had. I was just being old Mo’Nique and having my old ways.”

In regards to her weight loss, the comedian’s secret is simple.

“My family is the secret. I’m 45 years old and I have babies,” she said. “I want to have the opportunity to know their babies. Going at the rate I was going, I was going to lose that opportunity. I would be neglectful to my family because of my self neglect.”

Mo’Nique is currently on a comedy tour. Her next stop is May 17 at the Brea Improv in Brea, Calif.

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5 Comments

  1. I am happy for Monique. She looks healthy and vibrant. She is a smart, talented woman with a lot going for her. Her attention to diet and health is commendable. Hopefully she will be a role model for many other women.

  2. Monique, I am jealous, I gained weight over the pass to years and have not been able to find the motivation that you have. Happy for you, you look good, keep it up.

  3. angela monique gross

    Hi monique. a lot of ppl tell me i remind them somuch of u..i have been over weight for a long time. And now im lossing it thanks to god. But i cant seem to find ways to tone the extra up.can u help.i need the abs tighter and the arms frimer..

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