Jimmy Kimmel Holds Back Tears During Regina King Interview Since Son’s Death

The Hollywood actress and director lost her only son in January 2022 to suicide.

Youtube/JimmyKimmelLive screenshot

It’s been two years since Regina King‘s son, Ian Alexander Jr., sadly took his own life. Now, the resilient and brave actress has made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for her first interview with the host since the tragic incident.

“It’s very good to see you. How are you doing right now?” Kimmel asked King as he visibly became emotional. “Right now, I’m good,” she responded. Holding back his tears, Kimmel added, “I know you’ve been through a lot the last year,” to which King held his hand and smiled, “Yeah, it’s good to see you, Jimmy.”

The Shirley star lost her only son in January 2022 to suicide. She shared the 26-year-old with her ex-husband, Ian Alexander Sr.

The actress and director opened up about Ian’s death for the first time with Good Morning America earlier this month.

“I’m a different person now than I was on Jan. 19,” King referenced life before losing her son. “Grief is a journey. I understand that grief is love that has no place to go. I know that it’s important to me to honor Ian in the totality of who he is, speak about him in the present, because he is always with me and the joy and happiness that he gave all of us.

Finding solace in the heartbreaking experience, King added, “My favorite thing about myself is being Ian’s mom. And I can’t say that with a smile, with tears, with all of the emotion that comes with that — I can’t do that if I did not respect the journey.”

The 53-year-old also explained how depression doesn’t always look one way, and that it can show up differently in people. However, she added that she respects and understands her son’s choice.

“When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way — they expect it to look heavy,” King said to Robin Roberts. “To have to experience this and not be able to have the time to just sit with Ian’s choice — which I respect and understand — he didn’t want to be here anymore.”

“And that’s a hard thing for other people to receive because they did not live our experience, did not live Ian’s journey,” she added.

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