Comedy and voice acting has paved the way to stardom for many celebrities. Some A-listers actually met their spouses through improvisational theater. However, this is not Mo'Nique's case.
Comedians often use social media as a means to promote and create content, and most of them have hilarious Instagram accounts. Nevertheless, Mo'Nique uses social media to share her love life.
Mo'Nique went through two failed marriages before she decided it was time to become truthful with herself. So her third walk down the aisle was with a man who accepts her completely. Here's the truth about Mo'Nique's messy relationship history and her unconventional marriage.
The comedian wasn't equipped to be in a traditional relationship, and when she finally learned to be open and honest about her needs, her love life did a complete 180. Since she was a teenager, the man who had been her friend turned out to be the man of her dreams.
Meeting Sidney
As a sophomore at a Baltimore, Maryland high school, Mo'Nique met a fellow student named Sidney Hicks. According to The New York Times, they remained friends throughout high school, but Mo'Nique's personal life would eventually take her in a different direction.
First Marriage (Shalon Watkins)
Mo'Nique met and married a man named Shalon Watkins. In 1990, she gave birth to their son Shalon Watkins Jr. The family of three moved to Atlanta so Mo'Nique could pursue her career as a comedian. Still, the Baltimore Sun stated that after two years in Atlanta, her marriage began to disintegrate.
Mo'Nique packed up her belonging, and she and her son moved back to Baltimore.
Second Marriage (Mark Jackson)
Things with her first husband eventually came to an end. It would have been the perfect opportunity for her to pursue something with her good friend Sidney Hicks, but the timing wasn't quite right. She met a man named Mark Jackson, and after a few years of dating, they got married in 1997, and Mo'Nique's career started to heat up at this point. In 1999 she landed the role of Nikki Parker on the UPN television series The Parkers.
She was also named the first female host of Showtime at the Apollo. After being together for close to a decade and married for four years, Mo'Nique told Jet Magazine she wanted out of her marriage.
The actress said, "I was slowly dying inside, and I got tired of the lie."
This Is The Real Reason Mo'Nique Divorced Mark Jackson
Mo'Nique and Mark adopted a child together and named him Mark Jr. Although the couple hasn't been open about the specific reason they got divorced, the actress revealed that she put fame before motherhood early in her career.
Mo'Nique was so focused on her career that it was difficult for her to take care of her personal life. She even revealed that when she had Shalon, she wasn't even interested in being a mother. As a result, the actress and Mark decided to take different ways.
In an interview with TV One, the comedian said that her first two marriages failed because she was too busy chasing fame and didn't understand what it meant to be a wife. Even her relationship with her eldest son Shalon has been strained because of the former lifestyle she was out chasing. "I was too busy to be a solid figure in his life when he was younger." She still hopes her sons forgive her and give her another chance.
A Young Love
The time was still off for her to kick-start a relationship with her buddy Sidney Hicks. She fell deeply in love with an accountant named Marvin Dawson. A year after her divorce from Mark was finalized, Mo'Nique's, who was 35 at the time, announced she and 23-year-old Marvin were engaged. Even though she had two unsuccessful marriages, she wasn't hesitant about tying the knot for the third time. However, right before their scheduled 2003 wedding date, she found out about his shady past.
Marvin allegedly had a long rap sheet which included time behind bars on theft and weapons charges. The actress had no other choice but to call off the wedding.
Friendship Turns Into Love
Throughout all of her failed relationships, Sidney was always someone she could count on to support her. Naturally, their friendship grew and evolved throughout the years.
In 2005, Mo'Nique got pregnant with twins: Jonathan and David Hicks. Under her doctor's orders, she scaled back on her gigs and canceled some events, including an appearance at the Essence Musical Festival in New Orleans of that year.
After falling deeply in love with Sidney, the actress was officially ready to walk down the aisle again, and this time there was no turning back.
In 2006, she and Sidney became husband and wife but clarified to the media that they were in an open relationship.
Through the years, Mo'Nique has been forced to clarify the parameters of her marriage on several occasions. It got to the point where she and her husband decided to launch a podcast entitled Mo'Nique & Sidney's Open Relationship to discuss the ins and outs of their marriage. It seems like Mo'Nique has finally found someone that accepts her as she is.