Magic Johnson was the wide-grinning face of the NBA in the 1980s.
Advertisement
Earvin Johnson became “Magic” to the world for a reason. The swashbuckling guard shook the NBA with his flashy plays and penchant for creating opportunities out of nothing.
Magic’s infectious laugh and persona accentuated by the bright lights of Hollywood soon became a spectacle. “Showtime” was Magic and no one can say otherwise. The star of the NBA was a young man from Lansing who had a spring in his step.
Also read: $600M Lakers executive chose Magic Johnson because of his smile and style, according to Jeanie Buss
Naturally, personal life and publicity crossed paths in Magic’s life. The young phenom’s relationship with high-school sweetheart Cookie was a matter of public knowledge.
Owing to the high-profile nature of the relationship, controversy never stayed far away from Magic. Post-retirement, with Magic building an empire of his own, intrigue peaked at one point around the couple.
The duo had apparently split up for a couple of weeks. The reason for the same was unknown to the public and the story fizzled out once the couple reunited shortly.
Until Cookie Johnson spilled the beans.
What did Cookie Johnson reveal about her two-week split with Magic Johnson?
According to Cookie, an incident that took place the night Magic received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was the trigger.
Here is what she had to say on the matter, as per HuffPost.
“As a marriage transitions and the journey goes on, what happens is, sometimes, the wife and the kids kind of move this way and, you know, your husband is out there working…I wasn’t working at the time, so I was all into mothering,” Cookie says. “On his side, he was building his business as he was getting bigger and bigger and bigger ― and his ego was getting bigger and bigger. So, it just all became about work for him.”
Mrs. Johnson further added.
“There was a big party… He was dancing with some girls…It was like, ‘I don’t want you dancing with me. I want to dance with these people over here. That kind of got to me, because it had been boiling, boiling, boiling, boiling anyway. And I lost it.”
Cookie later also said that this also led to their first ever public spat with each other, something that was followed by a separation. But fortunately, the couple did in fact get back together just two weeks after the fact and have been working hard on their marriage ever since.
Saved by the skin of your teeth, Magic Johnson.
One more step wrong at a bad time, and you would have not only lost the love of your life but also about half of your $620 million net worth as well.
