For over three decades, LL Cool J and his wife, Simone Smith, have built a strong foundation in their marriage, raising four children and welcoming four grandchildren along the way.
However, Simone recently admitted that maintaining their union required personal growth and a shift in her mindset.
In a now-viral video interview, Simone opened up about the early challenges of being married to a global sex symbol. She candidly shared how her perspective changed after reading The Power of a Praying Wife, a book gifted to her by LL Cool J’s cousin, Marion, when they tied the knot in 1995.
“We have a tendency of praying and being like, ‘Lord, change them. Lord, make them this way. Lord, make them that way,'” Simone recalled. “But the first thing that I read in that book was that you have to change yourself. You can’t change nobody. You can have standards and boundaries, but you can’t change anybody. You can change yourself. And that’s what I did. I changed myself.”
Simone admitted that in the past, she would often be “flipped with the mouth” and easily upset by the attention LL Cool J received from admirers. However, as she matured, she learned to embrace confidence and trust in their marriage.
“As you get older, you mature. I got to a point where women would come up to me and be like, ‘Oh my God, your husband is so fine.’ And I’d be like, ‘Girl, I know.'” She added, “You think I could get a picture with him? Sure, go on and ask him for a picture. Just don’t be disrespectful. The disrespect I can’t deal with.”
At 54, Simone said she no longer feels the need to travel with her husband constantly or monitor his every move. Instead, she focused on building a loving home and deepening her faith, which gave her a sense of peace and security in their relationship.
“At the end of the day, if somebody going to fool around, they’re going to fool around, right?” she noted. “What I did as a woman was that I made my house a home, because home is where the heart is at. The closer you get to God, the more you understand who God is in your life, the more you’re going to understand who you are and what your purpose is.”
Simone and LL Cool J’s enduring love story stands as a testament to personal growth, trust, and unwavering faith—key ingredients that have helped them sustain a marriage that continues to inspire.
