Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Earlitha “Cookie” Kelly’s love story began when they were both students at Michigan State University. While Cookie was committed to him at the start, it took Magic over a decade to realize she was the right woman for him. This is a story of lies, infidelity, two canceled weddings, and a health diagnosis that would flip their lives upside down…
Here’s the truth about Magic Johnson and Cookie’s love story.
Meeting Magic
As a teenager, Cookie Kelly didn’t know much about basketball. But after heading off to Michigan State University, she found out who Magic was because he was the talk of the campus. Her roommate Adrianne decided she wanted to shoot her shot. Cookie didn’t care because she had her sights set on another guy on campus anyway.
One night, Cookie and her friend Becky, who was on the gymnastics team, hit up a nightclub. Becky was friends with Magic, so she introduced him to Cookie. They exchanged hellos, and then Cookie made a beeline for the dance floor. By the time they turned on the lights, Cookie was exhausted. She made her way to her jacket, which she had left on a table near Magic. She quickly told him it was nice to meet him, and that’s when Magic stopped her and said, “Why don’t you give me your number?”
Cookie was confused because they had only spoken briefly the whole night. But Magic told People magazine he was watching Cookie on the dance floor the whole night, and he knew he had to get to know her better.
Magic tracked Cookie down
Cookie gave him the number to her dorm telephone, and they went their separate ways. It was time for Christmas break, so they went back to their hometowns for three weeks. When Cookie returned to campus, she stepped inside her dorm and the phone was ringing. She answered it, and it was Magic.
Even though her roommate Adrianne was the one who had a crush on Magic at first, Adrianne wasn’t upset that Cookie was the one to catch his attention. Cookie immediately began to fall for him.
She met his family on their first date
Cookie told Mocha Man Style website Magic asked her out on a date and they went to a steakhouse. They chatted away like they were old friends. She said that was when she fell in love with him.
After their meal, he asked her if she wanted to go to his uncle’s house to listen to music. When they arrived, his entire family was having a party, and Magic introduced Cookie to everyone. Then they sat down on a couch in the living room, listened to music, and sipped on soda since neither of them drinks alcohol.
After their first date, they were stuck together like glue. But they still weren’t official.
An early red flag & some ultimatums
One day, Magic came down with an illness. Cookie stopped by his dorm room unannounced to check up on him and she found another girl inside wearing a bathrobe. After an awkward silence, the girl left. Magic insisted she was just a friend. Cookie wasn’t really buying it, but she told him it was time to define their relationship, and Magic responded: “You’re my girl.”
In an Instagram post, Magic wrote that after three months of dating, he told Cookie and his parents that he would marry her. But their road to saying “I do” wasn’t easy. Cookie discovered Magic went to a sorority ball with another girl.
He said she was just a friend. Cookie didn’t believe him, so she put her foot down and told him he needed to choose who he wanted to be with. Magic picked the sorority girl, leaving Cookie completely devastated.
He continued dating the sorority girl, and she followed him to Los Angeles when he got drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers. Cookie finished up her degree at Michigan State, moved back in with her mom and brother, and landed a job in Ohio. She began dating, but every time she would try to move on, Magic would call.
Magic Johnson’s secret love child
He dumped the sorority girl and told Cookie she should move out to Los Angeles since she wasn’t happy being in Ohio anyway. She turned him down, but she wasn’t done with him.
They began a long-distance relationship and soon after becoming a couple again, he revealed to Cookie that he was the father of a three-year-old boy named Andre Johnson. The child was conceived during a period when Magic and Cookie had broken up, and the child’s mom was Magic’s sister’s best friend. Cookie learned to accept and love the child because her love for Magic was just that strong.
Magic Johnson and Cookie’s first engagement
A year later, Magic and Cookie were spending the summer in Michigan when he proposed for the first time. Cookie said yes, and an hour after accepting his proposal, she drove back to Ohio, and Magic went back to Los Angeles. She started planning their wedding, and after discussing which church they would have their ceremony in they hung up the phone. Then Magic called her right back and said: “I can’t do it.” And just like that, he called everything off.
New year, new reconciliation
After a few years had passed, she started dating a new man. She invited him over to her house and then her phone rang. it was Magic. She told him she was busy with company, and Magic didn’t take it well at all. But he was also dating someone else at the time.
Cookie continued seeing her new man up until New Year’s Eve when she realized she was still in love with Magic. Magic called to wish her a Happy New Year the very next day. He revealed he was single, too, and told Cookie: “I want my girl back.”
After four years of being apart, they decided to be together once again.
Magic Johnson and Cookie’s second engagement
They were still long distance at the time, and Magic suggested she should move to LA so he could determine if she could fit into his lifestyle. Cookie agreed, but she got an apartment of her own and a job to maintain some kind of independence. In 1990, after one year of rekindling their romance, they headed to Miami for NBA All-Star weekend and Magic proposed to Cookie again.
She said yes, and he began planning a low-key wedding for them. She ordered her dress from New York City, and Magic told her all she needed to do was show up to the ceremony. He would handle the rest. And then one day, while sitting in his car in front of Cookie’s apartment, Magic told her: “I can’t do this.”
He asked for the five-carat ring back, but Cookie was more annoyed than devastated. She refused to give him the ring and told him: “We can cancel the wedding. But we’re staying engaged. You cannot humiliate me again.”
According to People magazine, Magic announced the end of their engagement to the press by saying he wouldn’t get married until he divorced himself from the game of basketball.
Cookie wouldn’t take no for an answer
However, Cookie had a plan of her own. She still showed up to his games, called him to confirm dinner plans, and carried on as if nothing had happened. She said Magic tried to ignore her at first. But eventually, he fell back into their normal routine.
Every now and then, he would lean over, and jokingly whisper in her ear: “Give me that ring,” and she would respond, “Nope!” Lawd…
Now, this whole situation has people on our YouTube channel classifying Cookie as a “pick me.” But, hey, if she likes it, we love it!
His infamous all-male parties
Cookie was aware of Magic’s yearly, solo trip to the Bahamas, where he would recover from the grueling playoffs at the end of every season. But the weekend before his trip, he would also throw a pool party. This time, the party was going to be at the home he and Cookie built together. Magic was already living there, while Cookie planned to move in after they tied the knot.
Wives weren’t allowed at the party. Magic had a strict all-male invite list, aside from some exotic dancers and groupies for entertainment. The other players’ wives called Cookie and begged her to convince Magic to cancel the notorious party. She tried, but Magic wouldn’t budge.
In her memoir, Cookie said he hung up in her face numerous times. Deep down inside, she wondered if he would end their relationship again. Three days later, he called her from the Bahamas. He didn’t confirm whether the party took place or not. However, he did tell her that after thinking things through, he was ready to get married.
Cookie told him to leave the Bahamas, fly back to LA, and they could jet off to Vegas to seal the deal. But Magic told her she deserved way more than that.
A wedding (finally)
On September 15, 1991, they got married in a Michigan church. People magazine reported Detroit Pistons player Isaiah Thomas, whom Magic used to greet on the court with a kiss, was one of his groomsmen. In front of 275 guests, they said their “I do’s,” and then they headed to Malibu for a quick honeymoon.
Right after that, Cookie joined her new husband in Paris to watch him play in the preseason exhibition games. While there, she took a pregnancy test and found out they were expecting. They returned to Los Angeles, and Magic and his teammates headed off to another preseason game against the Utah Jazz.
Magic gives Cookie some unfortunate news
Cookie received an unexpected call from Magic, telling her he was on his way home and had to tell her something. So wondered: Why wasn’t he in Utah like he was supposed to be? Was he going to break up with her again?
He revealed he tested positive for HIV while undergoing an insurance policy exam. Through his tears, he told Cookie he understood if she wanted to leave him. But there was no way Cookie was going to give up on him.
She didn’t even care how he acquired it, even though there were a lot of rumors floating around. Some people were convinced he contracted the virus from a man, while others blamed his reckless lifestyle. Pamela McGee, a former USC and Olympic basketball player, as well as one of Magic’s good friends, told the LA Times: “Knowing his flamboyant lifestyle, it was bound to happen sooner or later.” She added that Magic was a womanizer and a “major player.”
Magic admitted to Sports Illustrated he didn’t know when, where, or which woman gave him the virus. However, he said he truly lived the “bachelor’s life” before he got married.
Lack of medical advancements hindered their family planning goals
After Cookie and their unborn child tested negative for the virus, she committed herself to helping Magic beat the virus. He told People magazine that if Cookie had left him during that time, he probably would not have survived.
In June 1992, she gave birth to their son EJ. They wanted to have more children, but there weren’t enough advancements in medicine to allow her to conceive naturally without infecting herself or their unborn baby. So when EJ turned two, they adopted a baby girl and named her Elise.
They had a private separation, but now they’re stronger than ever
When they hit the ten-year mark of their marriage, Oprah Winfrey (via Huffington Post) she was busy raising their kids, both of whom were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, while Magic was busy building his business. She said his ego was getting bigger and bigger, and they were drifting apart. In 2001, they quietly separated for two weeks. Ultimately, they decided to devote themselves to their marriage.
In 2019, they celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary by posting sweet messages for each other on social media. In her message, Cookie wrote that they have an undying love that’s uniquely theirs. And as for Magic, he told Cookie that marrying her was one of the best decisions he has ever made.
Magic Johnson and Cookie are in good company. Many celebrities have been involved in equally messy relationships.
Messy relationship hall of fame
Angela Simmons has been bouncing in and out of Bow Wow’s life for years. Read more here.
Ashanti still can’t figure out if she wants to be a mom of 10 kids or if she wants to be single. Read more here.
R&B singer The-Dream has finally settled down, but his past dating history is all sorts of messy. Read more here.
Jennifer Hudson and David Otunga’s relationship will go down as one of the weirdest romances ever. Read more here.
Evelyn Lozada…well, just read here and find out for yourself.
Malika Haqq and OT Genasis broke up but are expecting a baby. They seem to be getting along well for now. Read more here.
Jamie Foxx is a playboy for life. Read more here.
Let us know your thoughts on Magic and Cookie’s love story our drop us a comment on our YouTube channel!