Mo'Nique: Open Marriage Not a 'Deal Breaker'

March 7 marked Barbara Walter's final Oscar Special, where Oscar nominees are typically interviewed about their particular roles. But last night's special took an unusual turn when actress Mo'Nique endorsed and spoke about her open marriage, leaving many wishing for Less'Nique.

Nominated for best supporting actress for her role in “Precious,” Mo'Nique is currently married to Sidney Hicks, her third husband. The couple have twin boys and live in Atlanta, along with Mo'Nique's child from a previous marriage. But although their marriage may appear normal, it is far from it.

Walters questioned a previous statement by Mo'Nique and asked if, “cheating is when you lie and are deceitful, not when you have sex outside of the marriage?” Monique responded with a “yes.”

Walters then asked, “Do you and Sid have sex outside of the marriage?”

Mo'Nique responded, “Do we have sex outside of the marriage? Let me say this. I have not had sex outside of my marriage with Sidney. Could I have sex outside of my marriage with Sidney? Yes. Could Sid have sex outside of his marriage with me? Yes. That's not a deal breaker. That's not something that we would say, 'Oh my God because you were attracted to another person and because you happened to have sex let's end the marriage.'”

And if it happened multiple times, Walters questioned, “You wouldn't care?”

Mo'Nique continued to cheerlead for open marriage and stated, “That's not something that would make us say, 'pack your things and let's end the marriage' because we've been best friends for- is it over 25 years? And we truly know who we are. Truly. Often times people get into marriages and they don't know who they're laying next to. I'm very comfortable and secure with my husband.”

While Mo'Nique may be secure, she never discussed how her children would handle their parents having an open marriage or how it would impact them.

Perhaps just to clarify, Walters questioned, “You are in an open marriage?” When Mo'Nique responded that she was Walters asked for a definition of “open marriage.”

 “No secrets. Open means, you know what, let me tell you my every secret, my fantasies, my thoughts so that way there are no surprises.”

Maybe the reason Mo'Nique has endorsed open marriage is because she's been paying attention to the mainstream media. In December Newsweek [1] alleged that open marriages were a way to stop all the 'cheating scandals.” A Nightline [2] episode in September featured Jenny Block, an author (and participant) who has pushed for open marriages.

Even as early as 2007 Oprah [3] featured a couple that participated in an open marriage, while having experts who advocated for having friends with benefits.

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