NEED TO KNOW
Regina King gave rare comments about her late son Ian Alexander Jr., who died by suicide in 2022, in an interview with Parade
“I savor the moments because I don’t want to ever finish reading his journals,” the Academy Award winner said
King also discussed how she felt Ian’s presence (and approval) amid the launch of her new label of orange wine, titled MianU in his honor
Regina King is opening up about her memories of her only child Ian Alexander Jr., three years after his death.
The Oscar-winning actress gave rare quotes about her late son in an interview with Parade pegged to her new orange wine brand MianU, revealing how she still stays connected to him.
“I have all of Ian’s journals. And when I’m kind of in a meditative space of connecting with him, I’ll sometimes read,” said King, 54, adding through tears, “I savor the moments because I don’t want to ever finish reading his journals.”
“One day I’m reading, and he just had an ‘M’ drawn in there so beautifully. It kind of looks like a music note on one end,” she told the outlet of her late son, who was a musician and DJ.
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The drawing made it onto the “M” part of the MianU bottle label — as did Ian’s name, right in the middle of the M for “me” and “U” for “you,” per Parade.
“It is something that I know he’d brag about,” King said, of how Ian would react to having the label artist — who also worked on the famous Thriller and Fleetwood Mac album covers — take his “M” and turn it into the art seen now on the MianU bottles.
Ian died by suicide in January 2022, shortly after his 26th birthday. He was the only child of King and her ex-husband Ian Alexander Sr., a record producer.
“From going to all the therapists and psychiatrists, he never presented that [side of him, but] we would see it,” the If Beale Street Could Talk star told Parade of the time before her son’s death. “We would talk about it. His father, me, some of his friends.”
“So those very, very, very close [to him] were aware of Ian’s depression and how long he struggled with it,” King continued.
She also explained that she is now “starting to understand” the layers of Ian’s depression, and how people struggling often “don’t want you to feel like them.”
“It’s hard watching your son go through those bouts of just low,” King said. “And you’re doing all of the things [you can to help], but you have to accept that they don’t want to be here anymore.”
Before his death, King said, her son “always wants to create a special moment, even in the simplest moments,” despite anything he was struggling with internally.
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“When he’s talking to you, looking at you, it may seem like, ‘Oh, he’s getting over this depression.’ That’s not the case,” she told Parade.
Per the outlet, King had an experience ahead of launching MianU where she felt like her son was sending his approval of her new venture — when her friend asked a group of nuns to try the wine, after she “chickened out” in doing so herself. And the nuns were immediate fans.
“I had literally found the blend,” King told Parade. “This was it.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
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