Ice Cube reveals secret to 32-year marriage with Kimberly Woodruff as they mark anniversary on Thanksgiving

Ice Cube opened up about his enduring marriage as he marked his 32nd anniversary with wife Kimberly Woodruff on Thanksgiving.

The 55-year-old rapper-actor shared the secret to their lasting bond during a recent episode of Cam Newton’s Funky Friday podcast.

‘We want to be [married]. You’ve got to want it,’ he said. ‘I don’t want nobody to have my woman. She’s mine. I’m hers.’

Together, Ice Cube and Woodruff are parents to four children: sons O’Shea Jr., 33, Darrell, 31, and Shareef, 24, and daughter Kareema, 30.

The star emphasized that their marriage works because they understand that not every day will be perfect.

‘Every day ain’t gonna be roses. You can’t expect that from your spouse,’ he explained. ‘It’s all about whether you’re a family or not. You gotta be willing to give, and there’s gotta be someone you want to give that time, effort, and love to.’

The 55-year-old rapper-actor shared the secret to their lasting bond during a recent episode of Cam Newton’s Funky Friday podcast 

He also marked the milestone by posting throwback photos from their wedding and other cherished moments over the years on Instagram.

’31 years of marriage. 34 years of love. Happy Anniversary,’ he wrote.  

Ice Cube had previously opened up about his first impressions of Woodruff during a 2021 interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger. 

‘When I saw her, something automatically went through my head and said, “Either that could be your woman or that should be your woman.” We end up in the same store and, man, she didn’t want me. She turned me down! She was with somebody else,’ he said.

‘I think my man T-Bone did a lot of the talking. But I just knew that this wasn’t gonna happen. 

‘So I ended up seeing her I think five, six months later and we remembered each other and we ain’t been apart since.’

In 2018, Ice Cube recalled proposing to Kimberly for a second time at the 20-year mark, during a chat with Nova’s  Fitzy & Wippa.

‘The second time I basically said, “If I propose again, would you say yes?”,’ Ice Cube, real name O’Shea Jackson, said.

‘We want to be [married]. You’ve got to want it,’ he said. ‘I don’t want nobody to have my woman. She’s mine. I’m hers’

‘She said, “Yeah I would”, so I didn’t really have a lot of pressure. I had built up 20 years of good faith,’ he added, laughing.

Ice Cube, who famously starred in 1991 film Boyz n the Hood, went on to describe how he proposed to his wife for the first time.

‘I don’t know if it was considered romantic. I had bought her a new car [a BMW 5-series] and when she went to sit in the car, there was a ring sitting on the seat.’

 The Ghetto Bird hitmaker previously told comedian Rickey Smiley on his morning talk show: ‘It’s a true partnership. I respect my wife and she respects me. I still get the butterflies when I see her.’