LL Cool J and Simone I. Smith have achieved a significant milestone as they celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.
In an Instagram post, Simone shared a vintage photo, and she reflected on her more than three-decade journey with LL
“30 years of marriage today. All glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ‼️,” her caption read.
“Marriage isn’t for the weak, it’s for the faithful. It takes work, love, listening, picking your battles, being a friend, a prayer warrior, a cheerleader, and a safe place,” Simone continued.
She went on to explain that “every marriage has its own DNA” and that there is no “blueprint” for how to create a successful marriage. But “grace, commitment and two people willing to grow through every season together.”
“We’ve laughed, cried, prayed, forgiven, and grown—together,” she said. “We did the work, and God did the rest. 💜”
“30 years. Countless memories. One God who kept us. 🗣️LORD I THANK YOU‼️🙏🏽💜✨,” she added.
For meeting through a mutual friend n 1987 in New York City, the couple were an item for eight years before getting married.
The union has produced four children: son Najee and daughters Italia, Samaria, and Nina. The Smiths are grandparents, as Italia has two children of her own.
One of the Smiths’ biggest challenges was Simone’s health issues. In 2004, she was diagnosed with stage III chondrosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that was discovered in her right leg.
“I was training downstairs in my house and doing leg presses, and as I was doing the leg press, I had the weirdest feeling in my leg,” Simone told First For Women..” I stopped and said to my trainer, ‘Naomi, I feel like my leg wants to break right here.’ And she said, What? Okay, we’re done.”
“That’s what sent me to the doctor and how I found out,” she continued. “Eventually, my leg would have broken if I ignored my body and kept training or running.”