Editing Mo'Nique (section)

==Personal life==
Mo'Nique was married to sportswriter Calvin Watkins who she met in broadcasting school and had son Shalon Watkins, Jr. in 1990. She would later describe this marriage as abusive.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wCZBBEDYMkUC&q=Husband |publisher = Atria Books|date = April 6, 2004|title = Skinny Women Are Evil Notes of a Big Girl in a Small-Minded World| isbn=978-0-7432-4456-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FsMDAAAAMBAJ&dq=shalon+watkins&pg=PA62|publisher = JET Magazine|date = November 11, 2002|title = Actress and comedienne Mo'Nique of the Parkers talks about her: career new book 'Skinny Women are Evil' new fiance|last = Yarbrough | first = Marti}}</ref> From 1997 to 2001, she was married to barber Mark Jackson. In October 2005, Mo'Nique gave birth to twin sons Jonathan and David Hicks two months before their due date.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1115775,00.html|title=Mo'Nique a New Mom Again – of Twins|work=People|access-date=October 18, 2014|archive-date=August 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823011049/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1115775,00.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2006, she married their father, Sidney Hicks. In a ''New York Times'' profile, she mentions that she and Hicks have an open marriage:

{{blockquote|We have an agreement that we'll always be honest, and if sex happens with another person, that's not a {{sic|deal break|er|hide=y}} for us, that's not something where we'll have to say, 'Oh God, we've got to go to divorce court because you cheated on me.' Because we don't cheat.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E3D6103EF936A3575BC0A9619C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2|title=Luckily, There's Plenty of Her for Everybody|last=Lee|first=Felicia R.|date=August 5, 2007|newspaper=The New York Times|pages=2}}</ref>}}

She repeated this view later on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' when she said that, in her prior marriages, she was constantly searching for "that extra oomph".<ref name= Oprah>Sheri Salata (Producer). (January 28, 2008). ''The Oprah Winfrey Show''. Chicago: Harpo Productions, Inc.</ref> Mo'Nique explained,

<blockquote>When I said I had an open marriage, people automatically jumped to sex. They automatically went there. But I've been best friends with my husband since we were 14 years old. When we say open, we're very honest. There are no secrets. Oftentimes you have people that are married, but they're strangers, and we refuse to be those people.<ref name= Oprahweb>{{cite web|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080131132627/http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200801/20080128/slide_20080128_350_206.jhtml | archive-date = 2008-01-31| url= http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200801/20080128/slide_20080128_350_206.jhtml|publisher= Oprah.com|title = Mo'Nique on her open marriage.|access-date= January 28, 2008}}</ref></blockquote>

She concluded, "I've had to sneak and I've had to lie, and I don't want to do that anymore. But my husband is so awesome and so fine and so—oh, girl...No other man can compare".<ref name=Oprahweb/>

In her Netflix special ''My Name is Mo'Nique'', released in April 2023, Mo'Nique disclosed that she experienced sexual attraction to women, stating that she was "not all the way" a lesbian, but that "when you're born with that, there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Nothing. And please understand that I tried."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Griffin |first=Marc |date=April 6, 2023 |title=Mo'Nique Recalls Telling Husband About Sexual Fantasies With Women: "The Mask Had To Come Off" |url=https://www.vibe.com/news/entertainment/monique-tells-husband-sexual-fantasies-women-netflix-special-1234747111/ |access-date=April 8, 2023 |website=VIBE.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Duncan |first=Charlie |date=April 7, 2023 |title=Mo'Nique comes out as queer and slams religion for 'ripping apart families' |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/04/07/monique-sexuality-coming-out-netflix-special/ |access-date=April 8, 2023 |website=PinkNews |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bell |first=BreAnna |date=April 6, 2023 |title=In Netflix Special, Mo'Nique Recounts Confessing 'Fantasy' of Being With Another Woman to Her Husband: 'The Mask Had to Come Off' |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/monique-recounts-fantasy-with-another-woman-husband-1235574120/ |access-date=April 8, 2023 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Phillips |first=Carmen |date=April 5, 2023 |title=Mo'Nique Grapples With Her Queer Desires, Fear, and Coming Out In New Netflix Special |url=https://www.autostraddle.com/monique-netflix-coming-out/ |access-date=April 8, 2023 |website=Autostraddle |language=en-US}}</ref>