For the February 2014 issue of ESSENCE, writer Audrey Edwards caught up with the busiest man in show business, Steve Harvey, and his better half, Marjorie.
The comedian turned media mogul divides his time between Atlanta and Chicago each day hosting three hit shows: the super-popular syndicated radio show, The Steve Harvey Morning Show; the legendary Family Feud; and his daytime TV talk show, The Steve Harvey Show, now in its second season. Add to that his sold-out stand up gigs and two bestselling relationship books and there’s no denying that Harvey is on a serious hot streak.
Yet, when one asks what the secret to his success is, he is clear: “Everything I have,” he says and points to his wife of seven years, “is because of this girl right here.”
It was love at first sight for Harvey, as he watched Marjorie walk into the Memphis comedy club he was playing, and he let his feelings be known right then and there. He stood onstage and announced to her, “I don’t know who you are but I’m going to marry you.” Marjorie’s moment of clarity came a few weeks later. “I knew he was The One shortly after I started dated him…but then he just left. Disappeared.”
This was in 1990. Like most relationships, their love story is not without its obstacles. Harvey wasn’t in a good place yet financially and needed to work on his career. “Before a man can be of use to a woman…he’s got to know who he is, what he does and how much he’s going to make.” The two reconnected in 2005. His second marriage just ended, as did his six-year run as star of the sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, and it was a whole new ballgame. Two years later—17 years after his powerful onstage prediction that he’d one day marry her—and the two were wed.
“Every great man has a woman… I didn’t say successful man, I said great man. Yeah, maybe you’re successful if you sign a $16 million NBA contract. But greatness is when you’re the husband and father you’re supposed to be. When everyone surrounding you looks up to you, depends on you, and you come through for them. That’s greatness.”
“Do you think Dr. Martin Luther King was anything without Coretta? You take Michelle out of Barack Obama’s equation, and he is a whole other dude out there.”
For our full cover story on Steve and Marjorie Harvey, in which the two share tips on making your love last (hint: it includes sexy text messages), pick up the February issue of ESSENCE magazine, on newsstands January 10.
