“You Can’t Date Her”: Wife Cookie Turned Her Back on Magic Johnson Long Before Marriage and Romantic Story

Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie first met in 1977. Since then, the couple has gone through various ups and downs together. One of the downs was when Cookie refused to date the five-time NBA champion but for a good reason. The couple shared stories from the early stages of their relationship in the docuseries named ‘They Call Me Magic’.

NBA legend Magic Johnson met Cookie in his freshmen year of college. The couple began dating soon after. However, Johnson and Cookie separated for a brief period of time during which the Lakers legend welcomed his first son with Melissa Mitchell. Magic recalled the time they had first broken up in an episode of the docuseries. He shared that when Cookie saw him dating other people, she decided to do the same, thinking that he had moved on. However, Magic didn’t like it. On the other hand, Cookie shared that she gave Johnson an ultimatum. To either choose her or the other woman he was dating. When he refused to choose, she made the decision to walk out of his life.

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Cookie said, “You know you can’t date her and then me. He’s like I’m not dating her, but. I said no you gotta choose one or the other. He said I’m not choosing, so I said, Well, I will. I’m out.”

Well, things sure did turn out well for them as the couple got married not long after.

Magic Johnson feels pressured to give his wife Cookie some bad news

Magic Johnson and Cookie tied the knot in 1991 in Los Angeles, over a decade after Magic got drafted into the NBA. The same year, the Los Angeles Lakers legend retired from the league after he got to know that he was HIV positive. During a 2021 interview with CBS, Magic shared that going home to relay the news to his wife was the hardest thing to do.

“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,” said Johnson.

Furthermore, he said that Cookie was not on board with Magic wanting to do a press release. Back in the day, most were wary of getting in physical contact with people who were HIV positive. However, during the announcement, Magic made sure to wear a white suit as a symbol of brightness. Cookie too joined her husband on stage.  Evidently, things got better as the couple welcomed their first child together in 1992.

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The former Lakers superstar’s HIV is reportedly dormant and undetectable. However, he still needs to follow the medications to remain healthy.