Regina King Reflects On The Passing Of Her Late Son Ian: ‘His Physical Absence Is So Loud’

Regina King, Ian Alexander, Jr.

Regina King Reflects On The Passing Of Her Late Son Ian: ‘His Physical Absence Is So Loud’

Actress Regina King is opening up about how she’s coping with the loss of her only child, Ian Alexander Jr., following his tragic passing in 2022.

In a new interview, Regina King, 53, reflected on how life has been since her son, whom she shared with ex-husband Ian Alexander Sr., died by suicide at 26. While sharing her late son’s struggles with depression, the Oscar winner also spoke on how she’s been able to process her journey with grief.

Regina King with son Ian

Regina King said,

“I feel like I am in a place now where my faith has really been challenged. I don’t know that I should say this, because I feel like it’s where I used to be, but that idea that what you put into it is what you get back—it’s been proven to me that that’s not necessarily true.”

Despite his battle with depression, King said Ian Jr. was “pure joy and pure light” to everyone around him.

Regina King, Ian Alexander

She continued of her son, who was a DJ and performing musician,

“He was struggling so much. We knew. We knew what we were going through, but he never presented that way. That’s why I know that a smile doesn’t always mean happy. He would never not let whoever he was with feel like they were the most special person in the world.”

King furthered,

“So for me, I’m like, ‘Man, he was putting a lot into things, a lot into people, a lot into this world, and yet it wasn’t translating back.’”

While speaking on her communication with Ian since his passing, she stated,

“We always talk about spirit. They’re always with us in spirit. But his physical absence is so loud that it’s hard to sometimes tap into that spiritual connection.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the actress spoke on the importance of seeking support from other women who have lost their children to share their grief journeys.

King said,

“One thing that I feel like every mother that I talk to feels like is that no one could have prepared me for this. No one told me this part. There’s something about them, 11 years, 12 years later—the grief is still there.”

As previously reported, King recently spoke on Ian’s death for the first time during her appearance on Good Morning America. She previously stated,

“I’m a different person, you know, now than I was Jan. 19…Grief is a journey, you know? I understand that grief is love that has no place to go.”

King added,

“Sometimes 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?…My favorite thing about myself is being Ian’s mom…And I can’t say that with a smile, with tears, with all of the emotion that comes with that. I can’t do that if I did not respect the journey.”

Leave Regina King some well wishes in the comment section below.

[Sources: 1, 2]