Jodie Turner-Smith has said she would love to work with husband Joshua Jackson and spoke about how much she values him as a partner.
The Queen and Slim star and the Dawson’s Creek actor, who welcomed their first child together in April during lockdown after a four-day labour, recently celebrated their two-year anniversary.
She told Porter magazine: “I’m really in love with my husband. That might be weird for people, but I’m doing a pretty good job of not shouting that from the rooftops as much as I would like to.
“He’s a really amazing dude. Today’s actually our two-year anniversary. It’s only gotten better and I feel so grateful for that.
“That’s why I share it sometimes, because I love him, I think he’s hot, I think he’s smart and he’s incredibly talented. I feel so lucky to be in a relationship with somebody who feels the same about me, who is not shy about telling me that or uplifting me.”
Asked if they might ever work together, she said: “I would love to work with him on stage. I’m excited for what else he’s going to do in his career.
“This is kind of a new wave for him. He’s now a man in his forties who’s been acting since he was a child. He’s become a new man, a husband and father.”
Turner-Smith gave birth to her first child at home supported by her husband, a doula, her obstetrician, a midwife and mother and said: “Right after I gave birth, my husband washed her, and the midwife and doula cleaned everything up.
“Then me, my husband and my daughter, we just slept for a good 12 hours. I needed that. We needed that.”
She said she now feels she has a lot to be thankful for and look forward to, despite the events of this year, saying: “It’s a hopeful thing to decide to have a child. It’s a hopeful thing to decide to love in this moment.
“As much as I am exhausted, as much as I am heartbroken about things that are happening and continue to happen, at my essence I am hopeful, otherwise I wouldn’t be here celebrating my two-year anniversary with my husband, who I love dearly, and our daughter, who we brought into the world just a little while ago.”
She now feels optimistic about the change that lies ahead for opportunities for black creatives and said: “Whatever it is that makes people want to open the door – whether it’s white guilt or a sincere desire for allyship – it’s happening.
“It’s creating more opportunities for us to tell more stories, and when those stories are told, it’s going to create an opportunity for the storytellers coming up behind.
“The same thing happened with the #MeToo movement – suddenly all these female directors were getting opportunities, but no matter if it’s tokenism, we’re getting in the door.”
She added: “The fact that the door is even opening a crack… The water rushes in and then the door gets pushed back a little, but the weight of that water is going to keep pushing the door open further.
“What remains a fact is the resilience of black people; is the joy of black people; is the beauty of black people. It’s great when we can get the mainstream to listen and to care about accolades for those stories, but whether or not it’s happening, we’re here, we’re not going anywhere and we’re going to tell our stories.”