Mo’Nique is Okay with Open Marriage

Does everyone remember Mo’Nique? She’s the woman who played the abusive mother in Precious and she also won a Golden Globe for that performance. I had never heard of her before Precious, (I don’t think many people had), but she won me over with her acceptance speech. In it, she looked at her husband, Sidney Hicks, and said some of the most touching words I have ever heard in an awards speech. What was most touching about her speech were the words she reserved for her husband. Here’s what she said,

“And when I look into the eyes of the man I stood next to at 14 years old, and I said to him, “One day we’re gonna be stars.” And he said, “You first.” And we walked this red carpet together tonight. Sidney, I love you more than you will ever know, baby.”

It was one of the most heartfelt and genuine speeches I truly have ever heard. And I really thought that I was listening to someone talking about a love that’s so true, so rare, and so pure. But wait. The love that Mo’Nique and Sidney Hicks share may not be so pure or rare after all. In the Barbara Walters Oscars Special, which will air Sunday night after the Oscars, Barbara interviews Mo’Nique. In the interview, Mo’Nique talks about her marriage to Sidney and she reveals some pretty interesting things about it. Including how they have an open marriage because she doesn’t feel the need to be insecure about their relationship. From Celebrity Dirty Laundry,

“The ‘Precious’ actress – who has been married to Sidney Hicks for the past 25 years – claims they have an open relationship which wouldn’t be destroyed if he were to have an affair. Speaking on the Oscar night edition of ‘The Barbara Walters Special’, she said: “Could Sid have sex outside of his marriage with me? Yes. That’s not a deal-breaker. That’s not something that would make us say, ‘pack your things and let’s end the marriage.’ ”

The 42-year-old star – who is favourite to win Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars on Sunday night (07.03.10) – said it was because she had been with Sidney so long that she would still feel “comfortable and secure” in their relationship no matter how unfaithful he was. She added: “What if it’s 20 times? So what? We’ve been best friends for over 25 years, and we truly know who we are. Oftentimes, people get into marriages and they don’t know who they’re laying next to. I’m very comfortable and secure with my husband.”

It’s unclear whether or not Mo’Nique and Sidney actually have an open marriage, or whether she just wouldn’t kick him to the curb for having an affair – or 20 of them. If it’s the latter, I think she’s deluding herself into thinking she’d be more understanding than she really would be. Especially because she thinks she’d be okay with it if it happened 20 times. I’m sorry, what kind of woman is okay with being married to someone who can’t keep his hands off other people? I realize that you could forgive once, maybe twice. But anymore than that, and you’re entering Elin Nordegren territory – and at least she’s getting a big payout for staying.

And if it is true that Mo’Nique and Sidney actually do have an open marriage, I have to say I’ll be disappointed. I really was moved by that speech, and happy to know that not all Hollywood marriages seem to be doomed or tainted. I’d hate to have to lump these two in with the rest of em.

Another ‘Celebrity’ Trying to make News

The View has become a little soap opera all unto itself and Star Jones is still trying desperately to be a part of it. It seems that she can’t make it on her own ‘good’ name and so, whenever people from the media talk to her, she has to fall back on the ugly departure she made from the show, after sitting on that set for 9 years and allowing them to make her famous. Now, all she has to talk about is her old co-hosts and how ‘awful’ they are. Well that and how she lost all that weight. It’s all old news and nobody cares but Star. Even while talking about falling in love and how she wants to be happy again, she still can’t stay away from the Hot Topics of the past. From People,

“In a new interview in the November issue of Essence magazine, Jones also opens up about “falling into a depression” after losing her self-titled Court TV show last year; her ongoing dispute with Barbara Walters (“Barbara set me up”); and her divorce from Al Reynolds, which was finalized in September.

Responding directly to Reynolds’s infamous YouTube videos, in which he stated he “still loves” Star, Jones responds bluntly: “I’m not in love with him.”

Posing poolside in a white dress and fireside in a slinky black number for the interview, the surprisingly svelte Jones – who dropped 160 lbs. after a 2003 gastric bypass surgery – also talks about getting back to dating.

While she doesn’t directly address her new relationship with executive chef Herb Wilson, whom she was photographed smooching in the stands at last month’s U.S. Open, she tells the magazine, “I want to fall in love again. I’m ready to love 24/7. I want happiness.”

The interview was also to talk about the new something-or-other TV show she’s going to have which will inevitably fail and will give her a reason to come back into the news and talk about how much she hates The View and Barbara Walters. You know, when she was on the show, she was my favorite co-host. She always seemed so real and like she had a good head on her shoulders but it’s like as soon as she dropped all that weight, she also lost her mind and became a completely different person. She’s turned out to be a petty and catty woman who only appears desperate and pathetic. And I actually think she even looked better before she lost the weight. At least then she was a person I could respect, regardless of how much she weighed. I definitely would like the old Star back compared to this new and unimproved version.

Christie’s not the Only One with Balls

Don’t get me wrong - I am not at all advocating the actions that Peter Cook took that led to the dissolution of his marriage. Those actions being that he was having a pretty lengthy affair with a woman who wasn’t really a woman at all but a girl who was only 18 years old. But when Christie came out slamming her husband and letting the entire world know just exactly what he did, she was praised by women all over the country for having the nads not to hang her head in embarrassment. While I stil applaud her for this move, Cook has proved that he’s not just going to lie down and take it, like we all thought he would. Not only is he adamantly coming out and denying rumors that there is a restraining order against him but this Friday there is also a very heated discussion with him and Barbara Walters. From US,

“There was no temporary restraining order issued against [me],” Cook told Usmagazine.com. “Ms. Brinkley sought to suspend my parenting time with our children for this weekend, and her motion was denied.”

Brinkley feared her son, Jack, 13, and daughter Sailor, 10, could be negatively impacted after his highly-publicized 20/20 interview interview airs Friday.

(In the interview, he tells Barbara Walters, “I’m not the scumbag pervert that I’ve been painted to be.”)

James Winkler, Cook’s attorney, argues that his client, “had no intention of exposing the children to this interview and would be happy to take them away for the weekend if that would make Ms. Brinkley more comfortable - so that’s what he’s doing.”

So as much as I do think that he’s a scumbag, I can actually see his point here. I don’t know what difference keeping the kids at home would do in regards to this interview. The fact of the matter is that they are children of celebrities and their lives are going to be splashed everywhere for a very long time. They are bound to see it at some point and I myself highly doubt that it would be this weekend. Barbara’s not one to shy away from sensitive topics so you can bet that the affair is going to come up. Does Brinkley really think that he wants to sit down and relive that all while his children are sitting there watching?