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Mo’Nique Clarifies Open Marriage to Sidney Hicks: “It Was My Idea”

Mo'Nique and husband Sidney Hicks

Not so fast. After a new interview about her marriage came out on Monday, Nov. 16, Mo’Nique took to Periscope on Thursday to set the record straight. The Oscar-winning actress, 47, said her words about her nine-year marriage to husband Sidney Hicks had been misconstrued, and gave fans her side of the story.

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“When I say I’m in an open marriage, it was not my husband’s idea,” Mo’Nique said in the live-streamed clip, which was shot in her car. “Originally it was my idea because at the time when Sid and I got together 10 years ago — now keep in mind this was my best friend since I was 14 — but when we first got together I was still stuck in being famous and a celebrity and being a star, and I felt like I could have whatever I want. So I was still in an insecure place of, ‘I can have that, I can have that, I can have that.’ And because I was dealing with my best friend, my best friend said, ‘If that’s what you think you need, as your best friend, I don’t want to stand in the way of it.’”

Mo'Nique on Periscope
Mo’Nique on Periscope

Mo’Nique took offense to critics claiming her husband was forcing her to make these rules so he could cheat.

“It makes me laugh when people put it all off on my husband as if it was something he was doing,” she said. “It was my idea. That’s how I felt back then… but what I didn’t want to do with my best friend was to be sneaking or cheating, so we had open and honest dialogue, which unfortunately some of us are so afraid to have.”

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She went on to further clarify her comments about a “pass” to cheat, saying, “We don’t give each other passes to cheat, because when you cheat, you lie, when you lie, you steal.”

After receiving widespread criticism from several fellow celebs including Sheryl Underwood on The Talk, Mo’Nique said, “I’d like to ask those people who are so up in arms about it, what kind of relationship do you have? And when you’re focused on yours, you don’t have enough time to be focused on anyone else’s.”

Mo'Nique and husband Sidney Hicks attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Shadowboxer in 2006.
Mo’Nique and husband Sidney Hicks attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Shadowboxer in 2006.

The stand-up comic also revealed that she and her husband have a radio show called Mo’Nique and Sidney’s Open Relationship premiering on New Year’s Day where they can talk about the secrets to the success of their marriage.

“Open means we’re open-minded to the world,” she clarified. “That’s what we’re open to. We are open to being honest to each other all the way through.”

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