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Despite His Relationship With Wife Cookie Spanning Over 40 Years, Magic Johnson Welcomed His Son with an Ex-Girlfriend: Here’s Why

Published 12/07/2022, 11:27 AM EST

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Magic and Cookie Johnson are one of those rare couples in American public life who have shared a relationship for over forty years and are still going strong. However, such a long journey didn’t go as smoothly as one might expect. The Lakers legend and his businesswoman wife, like any other couple, passed through several trials and tribulations in their relationship. The story of Cookie accepting Magic’s newborn son with his ex-girlfriend is also one such part of their long relationship journey.

Magic Johnson was a one of a kind talent and therefore he he had offers to join the top colleges in the country. However, he ditched all those offers and proceeded to join Michigan State University. Apart from getting his career started there, Magic also met his wife Earlitha Cookie Johnson for the first time in Michigan in 1977.

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A year after their meeting, they had their first date in 1978. Cookie shared her experience of the date in an interview in 2017. She revealed how they had a great time together upon meeting. Moreover, she added how she fell in love for the first time with him at that moment.

The ebbs and flows of the relationship between Cookie and Magic Johnson

Thereafter, in 1981, Magic welcomed his first son, ‘Andre Johnson’ with his ex-girlfriend, Melissa Mitchell. Andre came at a time when Magic had a brief separation with Cookie. However, regardless of the incident, Cookie accepted Andre and went on to marry Magic in 1991. Their marriage and several joint public appearances were probably some of the biggest proof of her acceptance.

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Regarding the issue, a few years back, Cookie said in an interview, “There was a lot of breaking up and getting back together, a lot of ups and downs. We’ve been through everything together.” Her statements were pretty self-explanatory. She implied that the hardships she faced during her journey with Magic made their bond stronger.

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Cookie Johnson accepted Magic’s son AJ because of her love for the legendary point guard. For the same reason, she overlooked his many trangressions during their marriage.

Incidentally, in 2001, the couple separated for a two weeks before again getting back together. However, the couple are still standing together through thick and thin. They were pretty successful in withstanding everything that came their way.

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Watch this story-  Magic Johnson drop the hammer on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as LeBron James nearing iconic scoring record

What are your thoughts on Magic and Cookie Johnson’s relationship? Please let us know in the comments below.

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Written by:

Ayush Roy

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Ayush Roy is an NBA writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Calcutta. Capitalizing his background in finance, Ayush likes to dive deep into the economics of the NBA.
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Edited by:

Satagni Sikder