Samuel L. Jackson has been married to his wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson since 1980, more than 40 years, but the actor does not remember the facts because he was struggling with drug addiction.
During his May 22 appearance on “The Jennifer Hudson Show,” the actor revealed that he and his wife have two different memories of their marriage.
In Jackson’s version of events, he told Hudson, “My story was I came home one day and she already had these invitations printed up and she gave me a stack and said, ‘Be here.’”His story was met with laughter from the studio audience, and Jackson admits that his recognition pales in comparison to his wife’s story.
”No that’s not what happened,’ ” he said, repeating what LaTanya told him.
In her story, LaTanya, as told by Jackson, told her husband that he already asked her grandfather’s approval beforehand.
“I actually had to go and talk to her grandfather ‘cause he told her he wanted to walk her down the aisle before he died and her living in sin with this man. So I went and asked her for her hand,” Jackson said.
“That’s probably what happened, ‘cause I was on drugs, and I don’t know what the h–l was going on in my life then. She’s probably right,” he said.
Jackson had a drug problem in the early 1980s. He was addicted to cocaine and crack. His addiction began when he was in his early 20s and lasted for several years.
Jackson’s drug use had a negative impact on his life. He lost jobs, relationships and money. He also began to experience health problems.
When he and his wife lived together, they lived in separate rooms.
“I had basically moved into the basement of our brownstone,” he said. “I was like the troll in the basement, and every now and then I’d come upstairs and hover around to do something. I was addicted and being crazy,” Jackson told NBC Today.
In 1991, LaTanya gave him an ultimatum: either he went to rehab or she would leave him. Jackson chose rehab and has been sober ever since.
Jackson has been open about his drug addiction and has spoken about the importance of sobriety. He has said that his sobriety has allowed him to have a successful career and a happy family life.
