Family comes first for Boris Kodjoe, who has two kids with wife Nicole Ari Parker. Boris says that though he is busy with his television show Station 19 and several other projects, his family is his priority.
“You know how you always have 20 balls in the air, juggling? I’m willing to let 10 of them drop on the floor for a while if I have to. My priority is my family and raising my kids the right way,” he said. “Everything else is secondary.”
Boris and his wife have been married for thirteen years and have learned to nurture their relationship.
“A lot of people think that when you get married now you’re one, which is totally untrue. You’re still gonna be individuals and you have to respect each other’s individuality and each other’s space, which is very important, while at the same time create synergies here and there throughout your life,” he explained.
“You also have to like each other, which a lot of people don’t understand,” he continued. “You have to make sure you connect with that person in terms of their values and principles. The basic foundation that you’re made out of has to be aligned.”
Kodjoe also adds that the important key to his marriage is that he and Ari-Parker give each other space when needed.
“We give each other space to f-ck up,” he says. “We live in this very instant gratification environment where everything has to be right now, and if it doesn’t work out [you leave].”h
“We have to learn how to take a beat, and say OK, you made a mistake, I’m not gonna run, I’m going to hear you out, I’m going to work with you the same way I would want you to help me get through this,” he said.
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