LL Cool J turns 55! Rapper has dreamy love story to tell about his 'beloved' wife of 27 years Simone Smith
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rapper and ‘NCIS’ fame actor James Todd Smith, famously known as LL Cool J, celebrated his 55th birthday on Saturday, January 24. The rapper, most certainly, had been celebrating with Simone Smith, wife of 27 years, by his side. The pair have had a dreamy love story for the ages, which has stood the test of time. They’ve been at each other’s side for their highest and lowest points in life and are now the perfect couple and parents to their four children.
LL Cool J met his now wife, Smith, when he was only 19 years old and was introduced to her by his cousin. While LL Cool J initially showed reluctance on the matter, his thoughts immediately changed when the rapper met the woman that went on to become his wife. They started dating shortly after their meeting and were together for eight years before they married in 1995. Amomama reported that Smith credits spirituality and a shared sense of compromise to have powered their long-lasting marriage.
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While it may seem like sunshine and roses, the couple did not have it easy. In 2004, Smith was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma and her husband rose to the occasion to take care of her. He also went as far as to tell his wife’s visitors to not cry because in that moment all they needed, was ‘positive energy.’ In the course of treatment, when it was informed that the doctors had to replace Smith’s tibia bone with her left fibula, LL Cool J had admirably offered his own fibula instead. He also stuck by her through her long recovery road.
Smith learnt to walk again after many years of perseverance and resilience and has since been completely cancer free. For his constant support and love during this tough time, she dubbed LL Cool J as her "rock" for putting his career on hold to be there for her. "You don't abandon someone in that fox hole. You gotta be there in that fox hole with them,” he said at the time.
LL Cool J and Smith have built their own loving family, with their four children, namely, Najee, 33, Italia, 31, Samaria, 27, and Nina, 22. The rapper had earlier stated that he is willing to endure and sacrifice much and more for his children to make sure they have good lives. He said that while he is allergic to dogs, his daughter loves them and hence, he learnt to live with the sickness to make her happy and got her the pet.
About his children, the infamous rapper said, “I won't allow anyone to set the bar for them, you know. I put my hands on them and tell them look, you be who you want to be. You don't have to be something that's like LL Cool J in order to be a success and don't allow the world to force you to believe or make you believe that that's what you have to be. You be who you want to be. Just be successful."