Sometimes love can be about showing affection, spending quality time together, and showing appreciation for your partner. Other times, it’s about accountability. Comedian and actress Mo’Nique recently revealed that when she started her fitness journey, she had a come-to-Jesus moment concerning her health because her husband, Sidney Hicks, held her accountable on multiple occasions.
During a visit to Tamron Hall to promote her new fitness movement, aptly entitled “Monique’s Movement,” the actress spoke about what inspired her to begin living healthier. Hicks played a pivotal “tough love” role in helping kickstart the journey.
“I was out of breath by the time I got to the top of the steps,” the Academy Award winner began telling Hall.
She recalled having an assistant at the time who would run to the top of the steps to help tie her shoes. The 57-year-old said one day, when her assistant walked away, Hicks asked whether she “thought that was cute.”
Specifically, “He said, ‘Is she tying your shoes because you can’t bend down? Or does she think that’s something that she needs to do?’ And it’s because I couldn’t bend down comfortably to tie my shoes,” she admitted.
Loyal fans may know that Mo’Nique began documenting her weight-loss transformation as far back as 2013 and has come a long way. Her husband and three kids have always been her primary source of motivation.
“And I’ll say this to women too, when you have a husband or a partner, y’all are a team. So what they’re telling you, if you get in your feelings, let it be temporary because you know they’re only telling you because that is your teammate,” she said, before pivoting into another story about how Hicks made her answer for certain choices.
“I packed my plate one night, I packed it with everything that was on the stove, and he said, ‘Are you going to eat all of that?’” It led to her throwing the food in the trash and retreating to the bedroom.
“And that beautiful man came back there and said, ‘Listen, I can deal with you being mad. But I don’t wanna deal with you being dead.’”
“So at that point, I said ok. I’ve got to do something different because I want him for a lifetime,” she added. “I want that type of love that I am receiving and learning to give back. I want that for as long as I can have that.”
She concluded, “When I’m in my 100s, I still want to be able to be active with my husband.”
The couple has been married since 2006, so they have almost two decades under their belts already. Mo’Nique has lost a considerable amount of weight and continues to focus on healthy living. During the show, Hall showed a clip of the actress saying she had been over 200 pounds since she was a child and recently dropped below that weight for the first time.
You can watch “Mo’Nique’s Movement” on YouTube, which showcases the funny lady and fitness fanatic doing relatively short, moderate workouts with her wellness partner, Dwight Holt Jr. The goal is to build consistency and become accustomed to daily movement, like Mo’Nique. She has made movement a lifestyle, and it’s paying off inside and out.