Regina King is mourning a previous love.
The Oscar winner, 54, shared a tribute to her ex Malcolm-Jamal Warner the day after it was confirmed that the “Cosby Show” alum by accident drowned on trip in Costa Rica.
“Some people leave a lasting imprint, not just for who they were but for the energy they carried,” King wrote on her Instagram Tales Monday alongside an image of Warner driving a motorbike.
“I’m sending prayers filled with love and understanding to your family and loved ones,” the actress continued. “Rest easy Malcolm-Jamal Warner.”
King shared a second image of Warner standing up on the motorbike together with his hand within the air. “Ride in power,” she wrote.
The “Watchmen” actress dated Warner from 2011 to 2013. They met within the Nineteen Eighties when Warner was on “The Cosby Show” and King was starring in a distinct NBC sitcom, “227.”
“Malcolm and I have a lot in common,” King instructed Essence in January 2011. “We’ve both been child actors and were also blessed to be raised by incredible mothers who instilled good values in us. Things are maturing nicely.”
Later that yr, Warner instructed BET: “We like to protect what we have because it’s very special and very precious… But I will say that it’s a relationship that makes all the sense in the world.”
After two years of relationship, Warner reportedly blindsided Warner by dumping her.
On the time, Us Weekly reported that Warner pressured King and her son Ian Alexander Jr., who she shared with ex-husband Ian Alexander Sr., to maneuver out of their home. (King’s son died by suicide in Jan. 2022 on the age of 26.)
In a March 2013 tweet, King denied that there was drama between herself and Warner.
“Hey everybody PLEASE don’t believe everything you read. Me & MalcolmJamalWar are good. Life happens. Forward motion. Godspeed,” she mentioned on the time.
Two years later, King insinuated that she had a nasty breakup with Warner in an interview with Us Weekly.
“Someone broke up with me on Valentine’s. Yeah. I’m serious,” she claimed. “Then he actually sent me flowers that said, ‘I still love you,’ and I threw the flowers in the trash, and he was upset that I threw them in the trash, and I was like, ‘F–k you.’”
King didn’t identify the particular person, however she mentioned that folks would “know” who he’s.
Earlier than relationship King, Warner was in a relationship with actress Michelle Thomas, who performed his girlfriend on “The Cosby Show.” He was reportedly by Thomas’ bedside when she died in 1998 of a desmoplastic tumor at 30.
Warner additionally dated actress Karen Malina White from 2000 to 2007.
On the time of his demise, Warner was married and had a daughter. He saved his spouse and their baby out of the highlight.
“If something happened and we weren’t together romantically, she would still be the person that I would want to raise a child with,” Warner mentioned about his spouse on a podcast in Might.
The Emmy nominee was in Costa Rica together with his household when he died on Sunday.
Costa Rican Nationwide Police instructed The Publish that Warner was pulled from the water by individuals within the space and brought to shore, the place they desperately tried to avoid wasting his life.
His physique was taken to the morgue at San Joaquin de Flores for an post-mortem, together with his reason for demise listed as asphyxiation by “submersion,” police shared.
Warner has been remembered by many Hollywood stars together with his “Malcolm & Eddie” co-star Eddie Griffin and his “Reed Between the Lines” co-star Tracee Ellis Ross.
Invoice Cosby, who performed Warner’s dad within the hit sitcom, additionally reacted to Warner’s demise by evaluating it to the passing of his son Ennis Cosby, who was murdered in 1997.
