Magic Johnson recalled the “hardest thing” he's had to do: tell his wife about his HIV diagnosis.
Johnson has a legacy on and off the court as he earned five NBA championships, three NBA MVP awards, and three NBA Finals MVP awards, to name a few of his on-court successes. However, a large part of Johnson's is due to his HIV diagnosis at a time when there was a lot of stigma towards the disease.
During a recent interview with Jennifer Hudson on her eponymous show, the NBA legend recalled the difficult conversation he had with his wife about his HIV status.
“Well, Jennifer, you think about, first of all, God blessed me to be here 34 years later,” Magic began. “I remember, you thought you had made the right decisions, the right moves, and then this news comes.”
“I wasn't worried about me as much; I was worried about Cookie. She was pregnant with our son EJ, and so how was it going to affect her?” Magic continued referring to their first child together. The couple also shares their daughter, Elisa, who was born in 1994. Magic is also the father of son Andre with ex-girlfriend Melissa Mitchell.
After receiving the news, Magic had to do the “hardest” thing which was to have this tough conversation with his wife about his HIV status.
“When I came home to tell Cookie the news, it was the hardest thing I ever had to do in my life, not to play against Michael [Jordan] or Larry [Bird], but to tell my wife I had HIV,” he told Hudson.
When Cookie received the news, she immediately alerted a higher power to help her and her husband process this information and protect them.
“The first thing she said was, ‘Let's drop down on our knees and start praying,'” he recalled. “And so God has really blessed both of us.”
Magic has been an advocate for HIV since his diagnosis in the 90s and has been able to educate others about the disease.
“I wanted to make sure I went out and was able to speak about it, especially in the Black and brown community because the numbers were running very high,” he added. “I went to a lot of churches, I went to a lot of schools, and I made sure I raised the awareness level of HIV and AIDS, and I'm happy I was able to do just that.”
Magic went public with his HIV status in 1991, which launched conversations about the disease and public health. His foundation, the Magic Johnson Foundation, is rooted in educating others about the disease and helping those affected.
