*Niecy Nash appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres talk show recently where she gushed about her marriage to singer Jessica Betts. The duo were friends for more than four years before they became lovers, and Nash refers to her as “my ‘hersband.”
“You called her my wife,” Nash told DeGeneres. “I lovingly call her my ‘hersband.'”
Nash said she “broke the internet” with her wedding announcement, saying, “A lot of people say that, like, ‘Oh, you came out!’ and I say, ‘Well, from out of where?'”
“I wasn’t anywhere to come out of. I wasn’t living a sexually repressed life when I was married to men,” Nash said. “I just loved them when I loved them. And now I love her.”
“We were probably friends for four and a half years,” she told the host. “I was already divorced and we were still friends. And we went to go eat crabs. It’s a gateway, people! If you don’t want this life don’t go eat crabs! [laughs]”
READ MORE: Niecy Nash to Host 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards – Thursday, April 8, Streaming on Hulu
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“A lot of people say that. ‘Oh, you came out.’ And I say, well from out of where? I wasn’t anywhere to come out of,” Nash said. “I wasn’t living a sexually repressed life when I was married to men. I just loved them when I loved them. And now I love her. Some people are like, ‘I don’t get it.’”
The actress went on to note that her youngest daughter made her watch a program to better understand how to identify her sexually.
“My daughter, the youngest one, she made me sit down and watch a program. She said, ‘Mom you got to know how you identify.’ I said, ‘Oh I do?’ And so we watched this whole thing and it was a thousand different things you could have called yourself. But when I got through watching it she was like, ‘Well what are you?’ I was like, ‘Confused? I’m more confused than ever.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, I’m Black and I’m your mama now go sit down,’” Nash joked.
Check out her conversation with Ellen via the YouTube clip above.
In related news, GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced earlier this month that Nash will host the virtual ceremony for the 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards, EURweb previously reported.
The awards ceremony will stream on GLAAD’s YouTube on Thursday, April 8 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. And for the first time ever, the virtual ceremony will also stream on Hulu on Thursday, April 8 at 10pm ET. The show will be available to stream until the end of June.
“I am so thrilled to be hosting this year’s GLAAD Media Awards, honoring the LGBTQ stories and images that change the world by growing acceptance and understanding,” said Nash in a statement. “My wife Jessica and I are still thriving in newlywed bliss, and I’m looking forward to bringing that love and joy to GLAAD’s biggest night. Be ready for a surprise or two!”
