“She’s the reason I live today.” Magic Johnson was celebrating his 66th birthday on August 14, only because of his wife of three decades, Cookie Johnson. After just a couple of months of marriage, Magic announced his abrupt retirement from the sport after revealing his AIDS diagnosis. He even gave Cookie an option to leave, but she chose to stick by him. And that saved his life. Literally. “I think that if Cookie had left, I’d probably be dead now — no question about it,” Magic admitted in an interview with PEOPLE magazine. So, it wasn’t a surprise when Cookie posted a heartfelt birthday message on Magic’s birthday. But what caught everyone’s eye, though, was the love it received from Magic’s ‘little sister’.

As Magic turns 66 on August 14, Cookie dropped a few unseen snaps of him from their most recent vacation on Instagram. It included a pic of Magic posing aboard a yacht and another of a stunning romantic dinner on the deck of their yacht, Whisper, with a beautiful sunset in the backdrop. But it was the caption that melted everyone’s heart.

“Happy Birthday to my love of 33 years and my best friend of 40! ❤️” she started, and we’re already swooning. It was followed by a reminder that these two have actually been together for a fifth of their lives (they began dating in the ’70s while attending Michigan State). “I truly believe that God has brought us together, from our college days to raising three amazing kids, you’ve been the anchor of our family. I’m so grateful for every laugh, every challenge we’ve faced side-by-side, and every dream we’ve chased together. Here’s to more memories, more adventures, and more of the beautiful, ordinary moments that make life with you so rich. I love you beyond words. Happy Birthday, my forever,” Cookie wrote.

Jeanie Buss, the Lakers supremo, and Magic ‘little sister’ also showed her love for her ‘brother’.

Jeanie Buss & More Celebrate Magic Johnson’s birthday

Among the people touched by Cookie’s gesture for Magic was Jeanie Buss. But she’s been very lowkey on social media since the Lakers’ $10 billion sale. So she dropped a sweet like on this post. Unlike past birthdays of the Showtime Lakers, Jeanie didn’t make a big overt gesture this time.

Johnson was one of the few who, instead of being critical, openly backed Jeanie Buss’ decision to sell the Lakers to Mark Walters, the co-owner of the Dodgers with Magic. “I know that my sister Jeanie would have only considered selling the Lakers organization to someone she knows and trusts would carry on the Buss legacy,” he said in June. Only a few months earlier, he was hailing her leadership as one of the few women running a sports empire.

Buss’s little gesture still means a lot to Magic and Cookie Johnson. As do the little wishes from their friends. Another Lakers star, Pau Gasol, wished him on his Stories with a throwback from the Showtime era. Even Cedric the Entertainer, who frequently joins the Johnsons on their yacht vacays, wrote under Cookie’s post, “Happy Birthday my Brother!! stiil scoring baskets and making assist 🐐” 

And that’s only the surface. Fans not only flooded social media with love for Magic, but they were awed by his love story with Cookie. Magic’s got a task on his hand to top that gesture on Cookie’s birthday.