Jeezy is reflecting on the end of his marriage to Jeannie Mai, including when he knew their relationship had reached an irreparable conclusion.
“This has not been an easy journey. I can tell you that I’m saddened,” Jeezy, 46, told Nia Long in a lengthy interview shared via his YouTube channel on Wednesday, November 8. “I can tell you that I’m disappointed. I can tell you that I’m uneasy.”
The rapper continued: “But God has put me on a different path, and that path is going to entail for me to take care of myself and to love myself and to be in the best situation that I can thrive as someone who’s been through all of the things that I’ve been through.”
Us Weekly confirmed in September that Jeezy (real name Jay Wayne Jenkins) filed for divorce from Mai, 44, in the Superior Court of Fulton County in Georgia. Jeezy claimed in his court filing that the pair’s two-year marriage was “irretrievably broken” with “no hope for reconciliation.”
Jeezy — who revealed in the court documents that he and Mai were “living in a bona fide state of separation” — is seeking to uphold their prenuptial agreement and share joint custody of their 20-month-old daughter, Monaco. (Monaco is Jeezy’s first with Mai; he also shares three older kids from previous relationships.)
In his Wednesday conversation with Long, 53, Jeezy noted that he did not suddenly decide to end his marriage. He even asserted that he went to couples therapy with Mai, though it did not end up saving their relationship.
“I can only do what I can do. I can’t expect someone else to do what I’m doing,” he said.
“Well, shoot, you tried,” Long quipped, comparing it to her own breakup with Ime Udoka. (Long and the basketball coach, 46, split in late 2022 after he allegedly had an affair with a Boston Celtics colleague.)
Jeezy also hinted that he “knew” that Mai wasn’t on the same page about their relationship goals before he filed for divorce. He added that he is now focused on taking “care of myself and to love myself and to be in the best situation.”
Mai, for her part, is relying on Monaco as they navigate their breakup.
“Monaco … is my North Star,” she said during an appearance on Sherri last month. “And I can definitely tell you that, I don’t know if I would handle this the same way without her. I’m able to look at her and I can say, ‘What would I advise you? If you were in my shoes?’ And it changes everything. So I’m so thankful to be a mom and I’m thankful to have her.”
