NBA’s Stephen Jackson shares his side of the story on why he left ex, Melissa “Imani” Showalter at the altar. Buckle up folks because this is about to be a ride!
“This is not to demean nobody. This is free game. I love everybody Black, women included. Let’s get that clear. Cuz a lot of y’all ignorant. This is for women and men but I really want my young ___ to listen to this and take the right advice from this.”
Jackson first met Showalter when he flagged her down while walking in New York City. From then on, they were together and dated for a few years before their relationship got rocky.
Eventually, she relocated to San Antonio to be with him. There, he won the championship with the Spurs and decided not to renew his contract. He left, fully supporting his boo. The team had reservations with Showalter claiming she wasn’t a good influence on the other NBA wives and noting they “didn’t like the way that she dressed.”
Jackson eventually joined the Indiana Pacers in 2004, and during his tenure, he popped the question and the couple made plans to tie the knot in Houston, Texas, Jackson’s hometown.
“We planned to get married in Houston. So, newsflash for all 530 of y’all here. In order for a prenup to get drawn up, both the bride and the groom have to agree on the prenup before it can even get written up. I take care of a lot of people. I’m never letting one woman control of all the hard work I’ve done in my life. None of these muhf*ckas was in the gym with me. So I told myself whoever I’m married to, they signing a prenup off top. It’s not even a second guess.”
The two agreed on the prenup. However, when it came down to getting the document signed, Showalter delayed signing it and the couple continued wedding planning.
Okay, so it’s not uncommon for wedding planning to bring out the worst in folks, but in this case, everything seemed to fall apart. Initially, they couldn’t agree on an officiating Pastor.
“She is adamant about this certain pastor. I’m like cool it’s her wedding. But this is a pastor, I’m talking about screaming at me and everything…. ‘This pastor has to do it.’”
“I spent about $400,000 on the wedding, y’all. Pastor don’t matter to me. I just want to marry you. I don’t even give a damn. Now, we at two weeks before the wedding. Everything planned and ready to go. I’m like, ‘Look bruh why I got to keep asking you about this prenup. It ain’t like you don’t know what’s on it. What motives? This what I told her, what motives you on?! I ain’t on nothing, I just ain’t had time to sign it planning a wedding.”
The day of the wedding arrives and Jackson is still concerned by Showalter’s lack of urgency to sign the prenup but ends up brushing it off after older family friend and nanny of the former couple’s child, Miss Doris assured him not to worry and that she’d talk to her.
“So, this the day of the wedding. Y’all ready for the good part. We wake up that morning, I’m getting dressed. All my groomsmen. In the back of mind, all I’m thinking about is this damn prenup…So where we’re staying at, it’s a big ballroom. We had to get on a private elevator and we go to a back room where we can just walk out to the wedding. Once we get to that room, that’s when I really turn up… We in the backroom and the preacher come in with his assistant and my nanny come in with a spooked look on her face. She pulls me to the side and she like, ‘She still ain’t signed it.’ So, I said, ‘I ain’t getting married then.’ Steph was like, ‘She ain’t sign the prenup, what we even here for?’”
Then the preacher steps us. Yes, the preacher she selected and Jackson opposed.
“He says ‘Hold on, now I know you love this girl. Don’t make a drastic decision. I think you should just let God handle it.’ I said, ‘Huh?’ He said, ‘As the pastor, I don’t believe in prenups.’ Now I know why she was fighting for you. You don’t believe in prenups. Damn what you believe in. I put everything in God’s hands and God is telling me to put the pen in her hand and make her sign this gotdamn [sic] prenup. That’s what God tellin me. So God tellin you and me two different things.”
Now we all know that the elders in the family know best. His late grandmother confessed to his mother, before all of this went down, that “…it ain’t gon be no wedding.”
When it comes to relationships, we all know that you better pay attention to the signs before you find yourself in too deep!
Listen to the rest of Jackson’s side of the story in the video below:
🤷🏾♀️ Dios mío. Rehashing something this personal and painful allllll these years later?? I wouldn’t even condescend entertaining such mess. Don’t pour salt in your own wounds and don’t allow someone else do it.