Earvin “Magic” Johnsonsays telling his wife Cookie about his HIV diagnosis was the “toughest” thing he’s ever had to do.
The couple opened up about the impact the diagnosis had on their relationship in an interview withCBS Mornings’Gayle Kingthat aired Thursday.
“It was hard because I loved her so much and I hated to hurt her,” Magic, 62, told King, 66. “I’ve played against some of the best basketball players in the world, right? I’ve been in championships. I’ve been in nine [NBA] Finals, so I know pressure. But there was no greater pressure than driving home to tell her.”
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Magic and Cookie had been married just over a month when Los Angeles Lakers team doctor Micahel Mellman delivered the devastating news in 1991. His wife has also recently learned she was pregnant.
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When Magic informed Cookie that he had likely contracted the disease via sexual contact, she was more concerned about his well-being. “It was, ‘You’re possibly going to die.’ And that trumped everything.”
Initially, Cookie admittedly was not in favor of Magic holding the press conference announcing his HIV diagnosis due to the stigma surrounding the disease.
“At that time, people weren’t educated, so they thought you couldn’t touch people. You couldn’t hug people. And I didn’t want people to treat us like we were lepers,” she told King.
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Cookie joined her husband on stage for his announcement along with a specially selected outfit. “I wore that white suit for a reason. I didn’t want to wear anything dark or black because to me, it’s what it symbolized. And the white suit, to me, symbolized brightness, like a future basically [and] positivity.”
Magic’s HIV is currently undetectable, though the former basketball star must still take a “cocktail once a day” of medications to help keep it under control. “Everything is great,” he said.
source: people.com
