Actress Gillian White
The summer of 2015 was magical for veteran Hollywood actress Gillian White. Most women dream about the day they will marry their soulmate and live happily ever after. Gillian not only married her soulmate, but she did so on the tropical island of Thailand, in a ceremony that included elephants, and while simultaneously co-starring in her first feature film, Never Back Down 3. Guess who stood by her side during the filming as director and co-star? The very handsome Michael Jai White, her husband.
MommyNoire recently caught up with Gillian to speak about what it is like to marry again after divorce. Gillian and Michael are positive examples of how great Black love can look and feel when we prioritize our health and our hearts.
Mommynoire: Congratulations on your recent nuptials to actor Michael Jai White and your feature film, Never Back Down 3, to be released this June 2016. What can audiences expect from this film?
Gillian White: I think the audience is going to love this film. It is action-packed, and it has a great story line. Michael directed it, and he is an awesome. I would say that either way, my husband or not. Sony, who is behind the film, is really really pleased. My character is Myca Cruz, she is the head publicist of a UFC type of organization. The film is based around MMA (mixed martial arts) fighting in Thailand. My character works with Michael’s character, and not to give too much away, but they eventually fall in love. So this was an easy role. It is easy to fall in love with him on film.
After 20 year as a working actress, what excites you about this stage in your career?
What I love the most, honestly, is starting off this year with Never Back Down 3. This is my first starring role in a major film production, and [I love] the fact that I am doing the film with my husband. This is the ultimate reward after 20 years of being an actress. We also shot another film last November called Cops and Robbers. This is slated to release later this year. It’s just a lot of positive things. I never thought that my life would be at this point, so it is really exciting.
So you two were friends for 19 years before you got married?
Yes, we actually dated back in 1997, and we remained friends all these years.
Gillian and Michael Jai White Wedding on RollingOut.com
May you speak to our audiences about, “the wait,” what was it like finding your soulmate and love later on in life? What words of encouragement can you give to women who are inspired by your story?
I always knew that he was such a great guy. When we dated before, the timing just was not right. We both had growing up to do, and we were focused on our careers. The timing now couldn’t be more amazing. It’s a better place for both of us. We both were previously married. Those relationships did not work out. At this point, we both know what we really want, and we have a greater appreciation for each other after going through marriages that were not so great. We realize that this is what is right.
The advice I can give to a lot of women is that you cannot settle. After my first marriage, I did not know what was going to happen. Oh Lord, I have two kids and I am single. You begin to doubt yourself. I went through a little depression. I just did not know what direction my life was going to go in after my divorce.
We, as women, hold onto baggage, pain and heartache from past relationships. I believe this puts up a mental block, like a wall, so anything positive trying to come in bounces off. You will never get anything good in. Even though I was going through a lot of negative things in my life, I was blessed to know I had to keep my heart open. I did not want to become that bitter angry Black woman. I let go of the negativity and hurt and I believe that this is what brought Michael so strongly back into my life.
When you and Michael reconnected, where were you in your process of healing from your divorce?
The day Michael called me, I had just got out of that little dark place in my life. I realized I needed to get myself back together. I was actually working out the day he called. I woke up, and I was in a good mood. I was mentally and physically getting back to a good place. I was with a girlfriend and we were walking and jogging through the neighborhood. I was in that place where I was trying to get back on my feet again after divorce and he called.
How would you describe the mental space that you were in during your reunion with Michael?
Clarity. It was like a fog over my face lifted. I realized, what am I doing? I have two daughters that I have to be strong for, and I have to get back on my feet. I want to be in love again, and I want to be happy again. In general, people know me as a very bright light, but going through my divorce dimmed my light. I wanted to be back and happy again. I said, “I am not going to let this relationship ruin my life. I have to find a happy place again.” It was just clarity. I just woke up knowing that I had to get myself together, because I wanted to be happy again. Then a couple weeks later, Michael called.
So how do you two manage being in business together and being a family? How do you balance it all, especially with five kids?
Well two of the kids are much older, Michael’s sons from previous relationships. They are in other states living their own lives. They are in their 20s. This makes it easier. So there are really three younger children.
We have our roles, Michael and I, and we do our roles pretty well. Mike is getting ready to leave next week to begin shooting his next season of “For Better or Worse.” This shoots in Atlanta, so while he is gone, I become like a single mom a bit. It’s all about balance. We take turns and we work things out. When we shot the movie in Thailand, that was difficult being away for almost two months. When the girls were out of school, my mom brought them to Thailand for three weeks. We just work it out. Mike does not know how to cook, so I cook. Mike is the provider–he makes sure the family is safe and that the bills are paid.
In this age of “new feminism,” how do you feel about your role?
We have such a respect for one another. Mike knows how to sew, so if I have a wardrobe malfunction I go to him. I hate ironing, so he irons everything. He does not know how to cook, so I cook. I don’t know how to change oil a car, so he handles that. I don’t like to say roles. It is what we are better at. If one of us is better at something, we totally respect that, and we do not get in each other’s way. We have a great balance in our “roles.” We just know what our strengths are.
Actress Gillian White
This sounds like a great partnership, what does it look like on a daily and weekly basis? How do you communicate and strategize to keep all the balls in the air?
It really is a partnership. We talk about stuff the night before, we plan what is going to happen the next day. When we are laying in bed and the day is done, we say: “okay babe, what’s on the plate for tomorrow.”
And we work out together. No matter what, we are so big on our health and fitness. We train together for two hours every day, of course when we are not working. We work out together every day. As soon as I drop the kids off, we do a cardio session. If we have time, we do cardio and weight training together. We focus everything else around this–meetings, auditions, etc. We have a chunk of time when the kids are at school. We are each other’s best friends. We do everything together, and then once school is out it’s kid time. Then at the end of the night, we are back together to plan the next day.
You two are both very good looking and in shape. How did you all begin to prioritize your health and wellness as a couple and the White household?
Health and fitness is such a huge priority in this household. Our teenage daughter, she is a regular teenager that likes to eat junk food and stuff, and she hates our refrigerator. She’s like “there is never any junk in here.” We eat really clean, and I cook really healthy, balanced meals every night. This is very important to me. Our regiment is really strict. We stick with cardio sessions and weight lifting. We try to fit them in together once a day, or we do one in the evening or one at night. This is consistent.
This is seven times a week?
Yes, we may take one day off. One day off, no work and eat whatever we want. Our bodies are the only bodies we have. This is it. On top of having to look good for work, we want to be here for our kids. That is the most important thing. We want to stay fit and stay healthy and stay away from any types of diseases that can come from not working out and not eating right.
We, also, have a plan to do a fitness video together, and this will be under our Jaigantic Production company.
So, what is in the White’s refrigerator?
We do a lot of protein and veggies. We do not eat red meat or pork. We don’t do soda. We really eliminate things with sugar. In our refrigerator, it’s a lot of fresh vegetables, fish, salmon, halibut, sole, snapper, chicken, turkey. Things like that, because we do our protein then we do our veggies. In terms of carbohydrates, we do a lot of brown rice. It is pretty simple. But the good thing is, and I am not trying to pump myself up, but I am a very good cook. I know how make things that could seem boring after a while, I know how to make them good, so that everyone likes them. I know how to season really well. We do not have a lot of junk in our house.
Click here for more info about Never Back Down 3, in theaters June 7, 2016.
Follow Gillian on her website, Instagram and Twitter.
