Mo’Nique and Sidney Hicks have been together since their teenage years and tied the knot in 2006

Actress Mo’Nique Imes-Jackson (L) and Sidney Hicks attends the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: FOX/FOX Image Collection via Getty

Under Hicks’ management, Mo’Nique received accolades for her 2009 role in Precious, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award. In 2015, her role in Bessie earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination.

They have been friends since their teenage yearsMo’Nique and Sidney Hicks during the”Shadowboxer” Los Angeles Premiere.

Mo’Nique and Hicks have a relationship that spans decades, beginning long before fame entered the picture. The two grew up in Baltimore and first met in 10th grade at Randallstown High School, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Mo’Nique had two marriages before Hicks and had a son, while Hicks was in a long-term relationship and had a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 himself. The pair remained friends during their other relationships, according to The New York Times.

“Our energies and spirits just connected,” she told THR, adding Hicks first leaned in for a kiss while they were sharing a bathroom mirror. “We’ve not been apart since,” she said.

Speaking to The New York Times, Hicks said: “Before she was my wife, she was my sister,” adding, “And there have been moments when she was like my little girl. When you go through all these dynamics with someone, you understand them.”

Hicks is Mo’Nique’s longtime managerMo’Nique and Sidney Hicks arrive for the New York screening of “Bessie” on April 29, 2015 in New York City.

In addition to being Mo’Nique’s husband, Hicks is also her manager — a role he took on early in her career. Hicks saw Mo’Nique’s transition from stand-up comedy to dramatic roles, such as her Oscar-winning performance in Precious in 2009.

“He’s the best manager that I’ve ever had,” she said in an interview with THR. “And I’ve had the big boys.”

Hicks is also credited, per IMDB, as an executive producer on movies and shows including Blackbird, Mo’Nique & Friends: Live From Atlanta and The Reading.

They share twin sonsMo’Nique and sons during the premiere of ‘Two Can Play That Game’.

They once had an open marriageMo’Nique and Sidney Hicks attend the Pan African Film & Arts Festival closing night premiere of “Blackbird” on February 16, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

One of the most publicized aspects of Mo’Nique and Hicks’ relationship has been their comments on having an open marriage. The couple has been open about their arrangement, which they first revealed to the public in a 2006 Essence article.

A decade later, Mo’Nique explained to The New York Times, that the decision to have an open marriage was rooted in their deep friendship and trust. “People didn’t understand … They thought it was about swinging and orgies,” she told the outlet.

The open marriage was her idea. “I wanted to continue to see the gentlemen that I was seeing, and I felt comfortable telling my best friend,” she told the Times of Hicks in 2016. “For us, it’s defined by openness and not fear. If one of us feels jealous, we talk our way through it. What we have is real and honest. It’s changed my life and saved my life.”

However, in 2023, Mo’Nique revealed she “grew out of” her desire for an open marriage. “Life began to happen. I began to see a strength I had never seen before. He loved me at my worst. I didn’t want to sacrifice that just for a lay,” she told THR at the time.

They co-hosted a podcast togetherMo’Nique and Sidney Hicks attend the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on March 7, 2010 in Hollywood, California.

Mo’Nique and Hicks opened up about their relationship — and much more — on their joint podcast, Mo’Nique & Sidney’s Open Relationship. Between 2017 and 2018, they released 105 episodes.

“We’re so closed off and we’re so used to doing things the way people think we should do things, and we wanted to put it out there so that people understood it,” Mo’nique said in one episode, per Essence. “When I tell you some of the Instagrams and some of the comments I was getting, I was having low self esteem I was having no self worth; I was trash.”

They enjoy family time togetherMo’Nique and Sidney Hicks attend the 25th Independent Spirit Awards on March 5, 2010 in Los Angeles, California.