Magic Johnson and Cookie Johnson have been married for 30-odd years. While having fallen in love at college, their relationship went through several twists and turns. The first twist came when they were still in school. The two decided to part ways and during this period, Magic was seen with another partner. However, the two found a way to get back together. When everything felt perfect, the fortunes of their relationship started changing.
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Magic Johnson’s show, They Call Me Magic, portrayed the struggles of his relationship with Cookie. The show also gave fans an insight into Magic’s private life shenanigans. These included his love for partying and being around other women. His lifestyle affected the relationship he had with his now wife, causing her immense stress. Leading up to their wedding day, this stress was ever present.
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The stress of Magic Johnson not showing up
Magic Johnson proposed to Cookie thrice. The first two times, as the need to prepare for the wedding, got closer, he got cold feet. In fact, during the second engagement, Cookie sent out the invitations as well as bought her wedding dress. During this time, Magic spoke to the press. He stated that he wouldn’t think of marriage until he stopped playing ball.
However, around 1990, the three-time MVP proposed to Cookie once again. While all the preparations for the wedding were done, Cookie remained stressed. On the show, she said, “My dress was almost 2 sizes too big for me because I had lost so much weight from stress”.
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Cookie bathed in stress for she didn’t trust Magic to show up at the other end of the aisle. She was scared as she had experienced him breaking the engagement twice before. Additionally, Johnson’s wild past wasn’t helping the situation. She recollected that the anticipation of Magic not showing up felt like a movie. She said, “All my girlfriends were calming me down, he’s coming don’t worry”. Magic did show up and the couple has been married for almost three decades now.
The white suit during the infamous press conference
The tough times for the couple continued when the NBA Legend was diagnosed with HIV. As he puts it in an interview, “Driving home to tell her, probably the hardest thing in my life I had to do. We had just gotten married and now this comes”. The world of the Johnsons instantly changed but Cookie stood by his side through and through.
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When Magic decided to announce his diagnosis to the press, Cookie stood tall in a white suit. For Cookie, her outfit communicated her state of mind. She opened up about this in an interview. She stated that White represented positive emotions about the future as well as “symbolized brightness”.
