Regina King recently spoke candidly about her grief journey.
During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, King spoke about her new wine label MianU, which is named after her late son Ian Alexander Jr. He passed away by suicide in 2022.
“One of the most beautiful things about Ian is he loved to discover and then introduce you to what he discovered. Ian’s an artist — and I always speak about him in the present, because he’s still here,” King said. “And so it is celebrating all of that brilliance, the creativity, the power of connection, the energy that he brings into the room every time he’s there. For me, it is very important that Ian’s name is always continued to be said.”
Valerie Bertinelli also shared her grief journey. She lost Eddie Van Halen, her ex-husband, after a lengthy battle with cancer in 2020.
“I know that I get to celebrate my son and watch him onstage. But there’s a big hole there as I want to be next to his dad,” Bertinelli said. “And I want to be celebrating it with him, but I can’t. So you feel that grief, but you still feel the celebration.”
“I think I’ve come to realize and accept that so many things that we say have to be black or white, we’re usually always in the gray. Happiness and sadness are happening for me all the time. At the same time, every single moment,” Bertinelli continued.
King shared how difficult it was for her to speak publicly about the loss of her son.
“I’m so glad that you just said — we don’t have a choice — you know, when I first started to speak publicly after,” King said.
Bertinelli responded, “How was that?”
“Really, really hard,” King confessed. “And at that time, the truth for me was that Ian had a choice. It was his choice.”