Rapper T.I. and his wife Tiny are no strangers to public scandal, so this week when they sat down with celebrity couple Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker, a clip of Kodjoe tactfully calling out the rapper on his past transgressions quickly went viral.
Last week during a special Valentine’s Day installment of T.I.’s podcast ExpediTIously, the Harrises had a candid discussion with Kodjoe and Parker about what it takes to make a marriage work, especially when you live in the public eye.
READ MORE: Why T.I. and fathers like him must stop policing their daughters’ and wives’ sexuality
At one point, T.I. whose had his share of bad press in the last few years, inquired as to how they keep their marriage woes away from outside scrutiny. He stated, “One thing I can say, speaking from a married couple that has not been as good at keeping your problems in house, how do you make it look so easy and how do you guys seem so perfect? It’s the cat eyes ain’t it? It’s the damn cat eyes.”
“How long have you guys been married?,” countered Parker, to which Tiny answered, “It’ll be 10 in 2020.”
“We’ll be 15 in 2020,” offered Kodjoe.
After his wife jokingly explained that 15 years is actually, “like 70 years in Hollywood,” the actor then went on to address the rapper’s initial question about how he keeps his wife and children shielded from public scorn.
READ MORE: ‘Red Table Talk’ T.I. sequel puts his fragile masculinity on full display
“I always say, life’s not easy but it’s simple. And what I mean—I tell my kids that all the time. If you make some right choices, life can be very simple,” Kodjoe explained. “There might be challenges that might come up, that you’re not in control of—which is the not easy part. But if you have a solid constitution of values and principles you can get over those challenges. And in a relationship, I think it’s the same thing. When you are willing to give the other person the space to mess up cuz we all human. You have to be willing to give your partner a chance to f*ck up royally and not run for the hills. But to stick it out, grow through the process, with your partner as well as individually and you come out of the other end a better human.”
“I think that’s how she got to be such a good human. Because of me f*cking up so much,” joked the rapper in response.
When Tiny pressed and asked, “How do you keep it where it stays inside, stays in house. I haven’t heard any dirt on them,” the actor answered matter of factly, “I don’t think there’s a lot of major dirt but we also respect each other enough that I would never want to embarrass myself or her or the kids or anybody.”
“That’s so sweet,” conceded T.I. “You making all of us look bad.”