Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjoe have been married since 2005. I am much more familiar with Nicole as an actor. I looked up Boris and he was in Boston Public, which I loved, but I need to pay much more attention to him. And not just because he is a very attractive man, but because he and Nicole are wonderful parents too. And by wonderful, I mean they subscribe to the same parenting philosophy I do: the kids are embarrassed either way – just live your life. Nicole and Boris happily post their loved up moments on Instagram, much to the chagrin of their 16-year-old daughter, Sophie, and their 15-year-old son, Nicolas. But Nicole said she doesn’t worry about the kids’ comments because, “everything embarrasses them… we’ve got to live our life.”
Ask Boris Kodjoe if he and his wife Nicole Ari Parker delight in embarrassing their teenagers by posting Instagram videos of their romantic moments and he sighs.
“Everything embarrasses them,” the 48-year-old actor tells PEOPLE in the latest issue. “Just walking out the door embarrasses them, because we have the wrong shoes on, the wrong outfit or whatever. We can’t worry about that. We’ve got to live our life.”
A clip of Kodjoe and Parker, 51, snuggling in an airport departure lounge in December is a perfect example. The And Just Like That… actress shared the footage on Instagram explaining that she and her husband had been in two “different cities for too long.”
Their daughter Sophie, 16, swiftly responded in the comments section. “I filmed this,” she wrote, deadpanning. “Why am I tagged mother? I already lived the trauma.”
For the record, I am not honestly advocating embarrassing kids for fun. But Nicole’s right, they get embarrassed by everything and at some point, parents should enjoy themselves. Obviously, children of celebrities will get poked fun of, but the video in question of Nicole and Boris is just some canoodling in an airport. Mild embarrassment at best. And going off Sophie’s response, which was brilliant, I think she’s playing along. The only advice I’d give to Nicole and Boris is to not overdo it. Not for reasons of PDA – have at it, you beautiful couple. But if the kids get inured to seeing it, it can no longer be weaponized. I frequently ‘motivate’ my kids to do whatever I’m trying to get them to do by telling them they can stay where they are, but “dad and I are going to be here making out.” Nothing but skid marks leading away from where that child was sitting.
Nicole is currently appearing in And Just Like That… and Boris is on Station 19, but they just worked together on Safe Room. Nicole starred on the project with Boris directing her. They said they loved the experience. Especially because they work so much on other projects, they hardly get to see each other. Nicole said the secret to making it work while spending so much time apart is, “Everything is fast-tracked, every marital spat and every parental issue because we’re all so busy we’re very focused on solutions, and healing and not holding on to things for too long… It’s like, let’s just get to the good place.” It’s obviously working.
Photo credit: Avalon Red and Instagram
I mean, everything…hot.
Yes. No doubt about that!
LTW is my favorite part of AJLT. The two of them are super hot and their kids should be happy they have parents who love each other like that. My parents getting separated when I was in jr high cured me of any grossness I got from their PDA. Once they were back together I never took anything for granted anymore.
OMG so much truth! My 14-yo son HATES when I’m on the phone with my friends. I live away from most of my close friends, so once a week I go in for a lengthy phone call, which always includes a lot of laughter, and he finds it embarrassing (even in our own home, no one else around!). I’m like, “Dude, I’m not going to just not enjoy myself for the next four years” lol! I think at that age, they’re just embarrassed to even have parents and our very existence annoys them LOL
I had no idea those two were married! They are both so beautiful. I stopped watching Station 19, but I’ll occasionally stop by just to see him. Beautiful family.
He is a big part of why I watch Station 19. He is so hot!
Yes, they are all gorgeous and I see the love between them. Melts my heart.
Ah I think they got together in Brown Sugar, i lost track of them after that glad to see they are still together after all this time . love the daughter’s comment
The Soul Food TV show on Showtime in the late 90s early 00a
Now THAT is the body language of a coupe that’s really into each other. Phew, I need my fan.
When Nicole married Boris, hearts everywhere broke, but Nicole is so wonderful that I could not hate. They just make me happy and give me so much hope for people who want love. I love that they are so hot in addition to becoming a seasoned married couple. And I think that both kids had major health challenges as infants, too, and Nicole and Boris were wonderful about it. She dropped out of her career for a bit to take care of them.
I’m glad that they found each other, and being a spectator to their love, as corny as it sounds, is life affirming to me
I saw them (many years ago) in a restaurant when she was prego with her first. They just radiated happiness. I’m happy they’ve continued to go the distance.
She is divine on AJLT. Honestly, I’m really enjoying the “reboot” and she and Seema are a large part of that.
WOW!! Gorgeous family.
I love that they still canoodle – not just for their sake, but also because they are showing their kids what a healthy, loving marriage looks like! What a gorgeous family, too.