Regina King Says ‘Sadness Will Never Go Away’ After Son’s Suicide

Two years after her son Ian Alexander Jr. took his life, Regina King gave her first TV interview.

On Thursday, King made an appearance on “Good Morning America,” telling Robin Roberts that she’s a “different person now” after his death.

Opening up on the grief that she’s experienced, King said, “Grief is a journey, you know. 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.”

In January 2022, Ian died by suicide the week of his 26th birthday.

Of his mental health struggles, King said, “When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way — they expect it to look heavy. 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.”

When Ian died, Regina admitted that she “was so angry with God” at first.

She elaborated, “Why would that weight be given to Ian? Of all of the things that we had gone through — therapy, psychiatrists, programs — and Ian was like, ‘I’m tired of talking, Mom.’”

While she respects his choice, Regina pointed out that she struggles with accepting it. She commented, “Sometimes, it’s a lot of guilt comes over me. When a parent loses a child, you still wonder, ‘What could I have done so that wouldn’t have happened?’ I know that I share this grief with everyone, but no one else is Ian’s mom, you know? Only me. So it’s mine. And the sadness will never go away. It will always be with me.”

Though Ian is gone, Regina is still feeling his presence. She said, “Sometimes it’ll trigger just laughter. Most times, as of recent, it triggers a smile. But sometimes the absence, his absence, is really loud."

Regina is dedicating her new film “Shirley” to Ian.

In the film, King portrays Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman to serve in Congress, who ran for president in 1972.

“Extra’s” Melvin Robert recently spoke with Regina, who stressed, “So many people do not know this woman’s story and that’s unfortunate… We’re here to take care of that.”