Samuel L. Jackson, wife share secret to 41 years of marriage

By Joan Salmon

Samuel L. Jackson and wife LaTanya Richardson certainly know the secret to an enduring relationship.

In an interview with People Magazine, the couple explained how 41-years-ago, the two made a pact to stay together no matter what.

Jackson and Richardson met in college and have been together ever since, together they share their daughter Zoe, 39.

“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 explained. “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.”

Throughout the years the Tony-nominated actress kept her word, when Jackson was struggling with battling his drug addiction, she stood by his side and encouraged him to check into a rehab facility in the ’90s. Since then, Jackson has been sober for more than 30 years and credits his wife for “saving his life.”

“She gave me the chance to be the man I was supposed to be,” he admitted, later adding that the secret to a long happy marriage is quite simple. “It’s two people who respect each other, love each other and look out for each other.”

Despite their mutual success, Samuel and LaTayna told the publication that they take the month of July to stop working and spend time together as a family.The couple shared that they often spend time on a boat with Zoe and other friends where there is only one rule, “Don’t wake anybody up. You sleep when you sleep. Then we come together and eat.”

Most recently the pair have teamed up to co-produce an Apple TV+ limited series called “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey”, where Jackson plays a man with dementia. This particular project is special to the 73-year-old actor as both his grandfather and mother suffered from the memory loss disease.

“I’m amazed at how busy we are in our seventh decade,” concluded LaTanya, 72. “I’m grateful because I think of all the things that could be.”

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