There's a chapter in Jamie Foxx's new book, Act Like You Got Some Sense: And Other Things My Daughters Taught Me that pulls at the heartstrings of any mother or father who's no longer with their child's other parent and any kid who grew up wishing their mom and dad were together. In it, Foxx relays a story of his oldest daughter, Corinne, having boy trouble while they were on a family trip to Paris. In trying to comfort his little girl in that moment, Foxx told Corinne any young man that liked her should treat her a certain way, to which she lashed out and asked her father what he knows about love, considering he has two children by two different women.
"My face cracked," Foxx told ESSENCE reliving the moment. "It really shook me but then I gathered myself. I said, 'Yeah, you're right. Life ain't perfect that's the first thing you gotta understand; relationships aren't perfect. But one thing you can attest to is you, your mom, and anybody around you, if you say I need you, I'm there 1000 percent.'"
In the book, that anecdote leads Foxx, 53, to talk about an aspect of his life that's been much speculated about, which is his seeming aversion to marriage. He even references his infamous interview with Oprah nine years ago in which she asked him if he was ever going to walk down the aisle.
In speaking about his decision not to marry -- and the judgements that come with that -- Foxx explained his choice is "not saying that you don't want to love, not saying that you don't want someone that you care for, not saying that you don't want to care for other people, I just never saw it in my life."
Not much is known about Foxx's dating life at all, though he speaks fondly of the mothers of Corinne and his youngest daughter, Annalise, in the book. Asked whether he's felt judged for having children with women who aren't Black, he shared, "With me and my dating and my kids, I've been very tight with that because I am a Black man and I'm aware of that. I'm aware of my Blackness in every single way, but I like to keep my life private."
Referencing a joke he used to make in his standup routines about no longer dating white women -- in public -- Foxx added he hasn't felt any backlash for his romantic pursuits. "I didn't hide that and I didn't hide the fact that I love my Black folk and I didn't want any of that to define me or make it seem like it was anything other than I had children with people I loved at that time and still love. I don't want that to cloud anything because I'm not that dude."
Acknowledging that there are Black men who intentionally seek out non-Black women to marry and have children with, Foxx added, "Everything in my world is Black, even the white folks. I take those same white people to the George Floyd [rally] and we gone watch Do The Right Thing too.
Check out our full interview with Jamie Foxx in the video above.