In this special episode, we’re thrilled to welcome Marquis and Taylor Williams, the dynamic duo behind the “U Stuck Wit Me” podcast! These high school classmates turned married millennial podcasters share their unorthodox love story, navigating the highs and lows of marriage while challenging traditional ideas about relationships. We dive deep into how they've maintained their connection, the unique challenges they've faced as a couple, and how their podcast has helped them and their listeners rethink what it means to be in a committed relationship. You won’t want to miss this fun, heartfelt, and thought-provoking conversation that’s sure to inspire you to view love through a different lens.
[00:00:03] After over 25 years of marriage, we've learned that successful couples have great friendships, put each other first, and focus on light just as much as love. We believe marriage should be fun and easy.
[00:00:15] Our goal is to share our journey with the hopes of helping others build strong, happy relationships. Join us as we continue to create our lives Beyond I Do.
[00:00:35] Do you and your partner want to learn simple ways to grow closer?
[00:00:38] Do you and your partner want to grow happier together?
[00:00:42] Do you and your partner want to be a unified front?
[00:00:45] Do you and your partner want to divorce-proof your marriage?
[00:00:49] If you answered yes to these questions, you need to check out our book, A Locker Forever, 10 Keys to a Successful Marriage Beyond I Do.
[00:00:58] Each section focuses on a different aspect of marriage and briefly describes how we handled it in our relationship.
[00:01:04] At the end of the section, you're given an action step or key to complete with your partner.
[00:01:10] These keys are practical steps you can immediately implement in your relationship and help you and your partner be proactive and intentional about your relationship.
[00:01:19] You can purchase your copy on Amazon.com.
[00:01:22] And until next time, we will holler at y'all.
[00:01:35] Before we get into our episode, we want to share this disclaimer.
[00:01:38] We are not marriage counselors, nor are we mental health professionals.
[00:01:43] We simply want to share with you what has worked in our marriage.
[00:01:46] Now, on to our episode.
[00:02:00] Welcome back to another episode of the Beyond I Do podcast.
[00:02:04] And on this episode, we have special guests with us.
[00:02:07] We have another couple with us.
[00:02:09] We have Marquise and Taylor joining us from the Windy City.
[00:02:13] And they're going to tell us all about their love story and also share a little bit about their podcast, which is called...
[00:02:22] You stuck with me.
[00:02:24] You stuck. You stuck with us.
[00:02:26] You stuck with me.
[00:02:26] You stuck. I like that.
[00:02:27] All right.
[00:02:28] So if you would, thank you for joining us.
[00:02:31] Go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourselves individually, and then we'll start with the love story.
[00:02:38] Well, to start out, thank you for having us.
[00:02:42] So...
[00:02:42] Thank you for being here.
[00:02:44] My name is Marquise Williams.
[00:02:46] I'm 34.
[00:02:48] I like to play basketball, read.
[00:02:50] I'm a real estate appraiser.
[00:02:53] Big Bulls fan, Big Bears fan.
[00:02:55] I'm in love with this beautiful woman.
[00:02:57] Aw. Let's start already.
[00:03:02] And my favorite pizza is Supreme Pizza.
[00:03:05] High five. Best one.
[00:03:06] Right.
[00:03:07] All right.
[00:03:07] That is my one goal to visit Chicago to eat pizza.
[00:03:13] Yeah.
[00:03:14] But that's sidebar for me because I'm greedy.
[00:03:16] I'm sorry.
[00:03:17] My name is Taylor.
[00:03:20] Hi. My name is Taylor Poindexter Williams.
[00:03:23] I am 31 years old.
[00:03:25] I like to read a good book, a long walk on the beach.
[00:03:31] No.
[00:03:34] You got beaches up there?
[00:03:36] I'm just kidding.
[00:03:40] That's what I describe it is.
[00:03:42] I'm just a woman of many talents.
[00:03:44] I have...
[00:03:45] I'm a big, avid music head of old school genre, new school.
[00:03:50] Um, and I'm aspiring DJ at night.
[00:03:54] Oh.
[00:03:54] During the day, I've worked full time as a quality insurance agent.
[00:03:59] Um, and I like to say I'm Marquise's better half.
[00:04:03] You, we're Velcro.
[00:04:04] You don't see, you don't see one too far without the other.
[00:04:07] So I'm his partner in crime, his better half, his common piece.
[00:04:12] He's, he's my common piece actually.
[00:04:14] Um, what other titles do we have for each other?
[00:04:19] We have a lot.
[00:04:19] Oh, and of course, uh, co-host of the You Stuck With Me podcast with him.
[00:04:25] So...
[00:04:25] And, you know, I was waiting to see if you were going to hear a song.
[00:04:31] Cause you open up your episodes for songs, but it's okay.
[00:04:34] We'll have to, they'll have to go to your podcast to hear.
[00:04:38] Well, I mean, Hey, I can, as the show progresses, I have a song for you.
[00:04:44] I'm not opposed.
[00:04:46] I'm not opposed.
[00:04:48] All right.
[00:04:49] So we've heard a little bit about the two of you individually.
[00:04:52] So I have been, we purposely, when we did our little meet and greet,
[00:04:57] we didn't ask too many questions about how you met and how you all,
[00:05:01] because we wanted to be like our listeners and we wanted to be surprised.
[00:05:05] So if you all would let us know how Taylor and Marquise came about.
[00:05:10] Well, before Marquise gets started, I have to preface this.
[00:05:15] I have to say there's three sides.
[00:05:18] There's this side, the truth and the truth.
[00:05:23] All right. Touché.
[00:05:26] Good.
[00:05:27] You want me to get you your cap now? You want to wait till later?
[00:05:30] Hey, whatever, whatever.
[00:05:33] Hey, okay. I'm just saying, Hey, there's three sides.
[00:05:37] Right. And one of my sides is the actual truth.
[00:05:40] I don't know what you talking about.
[00:05:43] This is not the time to play pretend.
[00:05:46] I should be telling you that.
[00:05:47] So I should be telling you that.
[00:05:48] We can hear, we can hear, um, the truth and then Marquise's version.
[00:05:54] And then we can decide which one we think is the real truth.
[00:06:00] Okay.
[00:06:01] See, I hear that. She said my truth and then the truth.
[00:06:03] She didn't even, you know, talking about the third part.
[00:06:06] It's okay. The truth is more than one truth in this.
[00:06:12] But go ahead and start the story. I love it when you start your stories though.
[00:06:17] This is set up, man.
[00:06:19] This is us all the time. It's all love.
[00:06:24] So, so to start off our love story, we actually went to high school together.
[00:06:28] Uh, I was a senior and she was a freshman, but we actually saw each other the year prior because I, the junior high school was attached to the high school.
[00:06:37] So we would just see each other and not think anything about it.
[00:06:40] So when the next year she started high school, I was already in high school.
[00:06:45] We, we would see each other more because our school was so small that students were taking classes, well, different grade levels.
[00:06:54] So, uh, we actually had gym class together for a semester.
[00:06:58] Um, she was sitting in the bleachers, uh, talking to one of her friends and me just being the comical senior that I am.
[00:07:07] I walk over to her and she's pointing and I just go.
[00:07:16] And, and then I don't know what she said I did after that, but I just got up just being comical.
[00:07:22] So, so weeks later, I just see her down the hallway.
[00:07:27] I'm thinking to myself, she's cute.
[00:07:29] Let me see if I can ask her out.
[00:07:30] So I decided to ask her out to a movie.
[00:07:34] Two weeks later, she was gone.
[00:07:37] When she came back, she didn't even tell me no.
[00:07:40] She never gave me an answer.
[00:07:43] Yeah.
[00:07:45] So my graduating year of high school, I had to hold that L.
[00:07:49] Oh, wow.
[00:07:49] Wow.
[00:07:50] And, and you're sharing.
[00:07:52] I love that you are sharing that, but because you won in the end.
[00:07:57] So you never, you asked her out to school and never got an answer.
[00:08:01] So she essentially ghosted you to your face.
[00:08:05] Yeah.
[00:08:05] Wow.
[00:08:05] Wow.
[00:08:06] She, she ghosted me in the same school in the same hallway.
[00:08:09] Oh man.
[00:08:11] Wow.
[00:08:11] Now, now see, this is where, this is where there's holes in this that need to be filled.
[00:08:15] Okay.
[00:08:16] So this is, I'm actually, you actually told more of the truth this time.
[00:08:23] What do you mean more?
[00:08:24] I tell all the truth.
[00:08:26] I tell all the truth.
[00:08:27] Matter of fact.
[00:08:30] So, so everything was right except for the ghosted part.
[00:08:35] Mm-hmm.
[00:08:35] So I was talking to one of my best friends, Oden Bleachers.
[00:08:39] He comes to me, pulls up on the bus, he talks about that, fix all that.
[00:08:43] Okay.
[00:08:44] Oh, what?
[00:08:45] Oh.
[00:08:47] So.
[00:08:48] So.
[00:08:48] I said I was, I was a comedian in high school.
[00:08:50] I was a comedian.
[00:08:51] You, you were brave too.
[00:08:53] Yeah.
[00:08:53] You were brave.
[00:08:53] I was.
[00:08:54] I was, cause she could have got up and chased me around the gym.
[00:08:57] Yes.
[00:08:57] And I was so caught off guard, I didn't chase him.
[00:09:00] So, so the part about me ghosted Marquise, it was not on purpose.
[00:09:06] So around that timeframe, I had got sick.
[00:09:10] I had missed a lot of school.
[00:09:11] Like I was really sick.
[00:09:13] And you know, out of sight, out of mind.
[00:09:15] So I didn't think none of it.
[00:09:17] And then Marquise won't tell you that I was actually dating somebody at the time.
[00:09:23] Oh.
[00:09:23] I had a boyfriend.
[00:09:25] A what?
[00:09:25] A boyfriend.
[00:09:26] A what?
[00:09:26] We're not doing this right now.
[00:09:30] So, so, you know, out of sight, out of mind.
[00:09:33] So I'd always tell him if he really wanted to answer from me, how come he couldn't be more
[00:09:39] persistent?
[00:09:39] Like, hey, remember I asked you out, you know, I noticed you've been gone for a while.
[00:09:45] What's up?
[00:09:46] He never did that.
[00:09:47] He just let it.
[00:09:48] He just let it.
[00:09:49] Float away.
[00:09:51] So after that, years passed.
[00:09:54] He went away to school.
[00:09:56] I went away to school.
[00:09:57] I actually went out of state.
[00:09:58] I went to Kansas State at the time.
[00:10:00] He stayed in, you were in state then, right?
[00:10:03] First, I went to Wigel Forza in Ohio for a year.
[00:10:05] And then I went to Northern Illinois for the rest of my collegiate career.
[00:10:09] Yeah.
[00:10:09] So by that time he was in NIU.
[00:10:12] So he's a member of Phi Beta Sigma.
[00:10:15] I'm a Zeta.
[00:10:16] So we're constitutionally bound.
[00:10:18] Right.
[00:10:18] So he, um, he found out that I became a Zeta exactly a year after he became a Sigma.
[00:10:25] So on Facebook, he was like, oh, congratulations, Soror, you know, welcome to the family, all this.
[00:10:31] And we had to start, you know, being in each other DMs for a while on Facebook.
[00:10:36] Mm-hmm.
[00:10:37] And by that time, I graduated.
[00:10:39] I moved back to Chicago.
[00:10:41] I started a new job.
[00:10:43] And I came across the, was it Chicago Greek picnic?
[00:10:48] NPHC.
[00:10:49] NPHC picnic.
[00:10:50] And at first I wasn't going to go.
[00:10:52] My mom was like, no, go out, have fun, you young, you know, go out and mingle.
[00:10:56] And I'm like, no, I'm not really feeling going out to the picnic.
[00:11:00] But she pushed me.
[00:11:02] So I went out and then I ran into Marquise.
[00:11:04] I just see this six foot five man with the bucket hat.
[00:11:07] And I was like, Marquise, is that you?
[00:11:11] Nah, I was bucket hat crazy at that time.
[00:11:13] He was bucket hat crazy at that time.
[00:11:16] And we, we just walked around the whole park, just catching up.
[00:11:20] And then, well, as they say, the rest is history.
[00:11:23] Oh.
[00:11:24] That's beautiful.
[00:11:25] So you won't.
[00:11:26] Thank you, mom.
[00:11:27] So you didn't even have to wait.
[00:11:29] You waited six, seven years for an answer?
[00:11:33] No, it was ten years.
[00:11:35] Ten years.
[00:11:36] Wow.
[00:11:37] Wow.
[00:11:38] I had to mature.
[00:11:40] God said we wasn't ready for each other yet.
[00:11:42] I had to go out there to learn what life was like so I could be more prepared for you.
[00:11:48] Ooh, that was smooth.
[00:11:49] Good answer.
[00:11:50] Good answer.
[00:11:50] I like that.
[00:11:51] That's a good answer, yeah.
[00:11:53] That was real smooth.
[00:11:54] I mean, and there's truth to it because, you know, you never know what could have happened then.
[00:12:00] And something real juvenile could have been the reason of the breakup.
[00:12:04] Mm-hmm.
[00:12:04] And y'all could have been mad forever.
[00:12:07] But here y'all are.
[00:12:08] Yep.
[00:12:09] Taylor and her other half.
[00:12:12] Yeah.
[00:12:15] So how long have y'all been married now?
[00:12:19] July 16th of this year will make two years.
[00:12:22] Oh, and how long did y'all date before you popped the question?
[00:12:26] I hope you did.
[00:12:27] That was another question I had because I hope you did a better job than some people.
[00:12:34] So how long did y'all date before you were like, this is it?
[00:12:40] This is it for me.
[00:12:43] Almost five years.
[00:12:44] And how did you, did you, was it a big thing?
[00:12:48] Did you know this is it?
[00:12:50] I'm going to do it.
[00:12:51] Were you nervous?
[00:12:53] Well, she loves when I tell the story.
[00:12:56] So I'm going to tell the story.
[00:12:58] So, you know, I like to see her smile when I tell it.
[00:13:01] Yeah.
[00:13:01] I like it when he tells the story.
[00:13:02] It's like one of my favorite love stories.
[00:13:05] So, so one of my fraternity brothers, he just got engaged prior and I was there when
[00:13:12] he and his wife first met.
[00:13:14] And so when I, he posted on Facebook.
[00:13:16] So I said, congratulations.
[00:13:17] And we had a little conversation and I said, give it two years and I'll be ready.
[00:13:22] Little did I know at the time that I was manifesting this.
[00:13:25] I was just speaking what I felt.
[00:13:28] So two years later, one of my friends who was, he ended up being one of the groomsmen
[00:13:33] in our wedding, he gets engaged.
[00:13:35] So I really started thinking about it.
[00:13:38] And so I had to talk with my dad and I had to talk with my mom the first time.
[00:13:43] The first time my mom didn't believe me.
[00:13:45] She didn't believe me at all.
[00:13:48] So at the time, me and my dad, we would go walking in the morning for exercise.
[00:13:53] So I went back to talk to my mom a second time after talking to my dad a second time.
[00:13:57] And she said, Oh, you serious?
[00:13:59] I said, yeah.
[00:14:00] Yeah.
[00:14:02] So we had our talk and then the funny, the part that she loves about the story of my
[00:14:07] dad is I was, you know, back and forth about it.
[00:14:10] He asked me three questions.
[00:14:11] He said, do you love her?
[00:14:13] I said, yes, I'm in love with her.
[00:14:15] He said, has she always been there?
[00:14:17] And I said, yes.
[00:14:18] And he said, so what you waiting on?
[00:14:22] Oh, just like that.
[00:14:23] Just like that.
[00:14:24] Yes.
[00:14:26] So, up until that time, this is during the middle of the pandemic.
[00:14:32] So we weren't able to see each other because at the time I was still beginning stages of
[00:14:37] the leukemia battle and she was working at a hospital.
[00:14:41] So my immune system was compromised.
[00:14:43] So I couldn't be around a lot of people.
[00:14:45] But my mom, at the time I was living with my mom and she was tired of fighting with
[00:14:48] me, trying to see her and trying to take care of me, make sure that I make it through
[00:14:52] this.
[00:14:54] So we ended up, we were just having a conversation.
[00:14:57] She said, we don't take enough pictures.
[00:15:00] And at that time I was already thinking about, I'm like, how am I going to propose
[00:15:02] her?
[00:15:03] And then when she said that, I said, okay, boom, a photo shoot.
[00:15:07] So I called up one of our sorors.
[00:15:10] She doesn't know what I do.
[00:15:12] We went to school together and she's at photography.
[00:15:15] So I did a photo shoot for her by myself years prior.
[00:15:20] So I asked her about it, set it up and she didn't know about it.
[00:15:24] So this entire time I'm setting it up and I'm thinking to myself, okay, how am I going
[00:15:29] to propose?
[00:15:30] So I went to my friend who was the one who just previously got engaged before we did.
[00:15:36] I asked him how I'm going to do this.
[00:15:37] Jesse said, you're an athlete, right?
[00:15:39] I'm like, yeah.
[00:15:41] He said, have you practiced?
[00:15:42] And I said, no.
[00:15:43] Well, the reason why you don't know what you're going to say is because you haven't
[00:15:45] practiced.
[00:15:49] So my mom leaves the house for something I don't remember.
[00:15:53] But when she was gone, I was downstairs and I was practicing what I was going to say,
[00:15:58] making sure that I was smooth with it and make sure that it came out fine.
[00:16:02] It took me about four or five times before I get it right.
[00:16:05] But so come the day of the photo shoot, we do about six changeovers.
[00:16:12] Was it six?
[00:16:13] Oh, I think it was five.
[00:16:15] Five.
[00:16:15] Five.
[00:16:16] Five changeovers.
[00:16:17] So we get to the end of the photo shoot and she's going to change her clothes first.
[00:16:22] So I go to a sorority sister and ask her how she's going to do it.
[00:16:27] She's like, OK, this is what I'm going to do.
[00:16:29] I'm going to pull her forward and take pictures of her by herself and you go behind her and
[00:16:34] get in position.
[00:16:35] I'm like, OK, cool.
[00:16:37] So she finished taking pictures of her.
[00:16:39] She turns around.
[00:16:41] She sees me with the ring in my hand and on one knee.
[00:16:44] She's like, oh, my God.
[00:16:45] Are you serious?
[00:16:47] Are you serious?
[00:16:47] I'll be crying everything.
[00:16:50] I'm sorry.
[00:16:51] I'll be crying.
[00:16:52] I'll be crying.
[00:16:52] Snot.
[00:16:53] Everything.
[00:16:53] Oh.
[00:16:55] So I reach out to her.
[00:16:57] I reach out my hand to her because she's backing up.
[00:17:00] So I start to say to her, I said, Taylor, I love you.
[00:17:07] And you mean the world to me.
[00:17:09] You got everything.
[00:17:10] You've been there from the diagnosis to the recovery.
[00:17:14] And you've done everything that I needed.
[00:17:17] I have one question for you.
[00:17:19] Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?
[00:17:23] She's like.
[00:17:25] And so, so me and I saw her like, can we hear a yes?
[00:17:29] Yeah.
[00:17:29] She's like, yes.
[00:17:31] So I put the, I put the ring on her finger.
[00:17:34] And we were newly engaged October 10th, 2020 overlooking Lake Michigan on the rooftop.
[00:17:40] Oh, yeah.
[00:17:42] The speechless big dog.
[00:17:43] Yeah.
[00:17:43] The speechless.
[00:17:44] Aw.
[00:17:45] I'm going to cry ugly tears.
[00:17:48] That's beautiful.
[00:17:50] Now.
[00:17:51] You did a hundred percent better than I did.
[00:17:57] We're not going to talk about it, but we're still together.
[00:18:03] We're not going to bypass the fact that her looks at it all.
[00:18:05] Right.
[00:18:06] Her looks at it all like, we're not going to talk about it.
[00:18:09] I mean.
[00:18:10] We were in a different situation.
[00:18:12] Right.
[00:18:12] We were, we did everything different.
[00:18:15] So, I mean, the proposal kind of matched the situation.
[00:18:18] We, we got pregnant and then moved in and, and we got married a week before my son was born.
[00:18:25] Our son was born.
[00:18:26] So different, the proposal matched all of that.
[00:18:30] It was just, it was something, but we still together.
[00:18:33] That's all that matters.
[00:18:35] I guess.
[00:18:37] So.
[00:18:37] That's what she likes to tell me when I say 10 years.
[00:18:40] She's like, well, we're together now.
[00:18:42] We're together now.
[00:18:43] That's all that matters.
[00:18:44] It doesn't matter how long it was.
[00:18:46] Two, two weeks, five years, 10 years.
[00:18:49] We're together now.
[00:18:49] That's right.
[00:18:50] That's right.
[00:18:51] That whole movie thing.
[00:18:53] I think your story checks out.
[00:18:53] It's time to move past that.
[00:18:55] I know y'all.
[00:18:56] I just like to mess with her about it.
[00:18:57] Y'all been to plenty of movies since then.
[00:18:59] Oh yeah.
[00:19:01] So you, you mentioned an illness.
[00:19:05] And so if you want, if you would touch on that a little bit, because that, that happened
[00:19:10] while you were dating.
[00:19:12] Yeah.
[00:19:12] So, uh, about two months into us dating, I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia.
[00:19:20] It was a month.
[00:19:21] Oh, I'm sorry.
[00:19:21] A month.
[00:19:22] Yeah.
[00:19:22] A month into us dating, I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, which is a blood cancer.
[00:19:28] So.
[00:19:30] Taylor.
[00:19:32] A month in, even though y'all knew each other, y'all had, but a month in dating.
[00:19:38] Was there something that told you I'm going to stick around or was it a hard decision a month in?
[00:19:51] Honestly, it wasn't a hard decision.
[00:19:53] Um, I get this question a lot.
[00:19:57] Um, cause that's, that's what kind of our basis is of our podcast is to share an unorthodox love story as we call it.
[00:20:04] Yeah.
[00:20:05] So to backtrack a little bit, um, that whole year was just horrible.
[00:20:10] Like I had two deaths in the family months prior to that.
[00:20:15] I lost my grandmother, um, January of that year.
[00:20:19] Then my mother passed.
[00:20:20] I wanted, what was it?
[00:20:21] Three, four months after that.
[00:20:24] And then months after that, the diagnosis happened with Marquise.
[00:20:28] Oh.
[00:20:29] So, um, Marquise was there.
[00:20:34] One thing I'll say what I adore and love about my husband is that he has a nurturing side.
[00:20:40] And around that time we wasn't, this is before we was even dating.
[00:20:44] Like we was still trying to figure out what we was going to do.
[00:20:47] Yeah.
[00:20:48] Right.
[00:20:48] And we had a disagreement.
[00:20:51] We hadn't talked to each other for, was it two weeks?
[00:20:54] Yeah.
[00:20:54] For two weeks.
[00:20:55] And I remember I sent this text to him.
[00:20:57] I was like, Hey, you know, I'm sorry that I haven't talked to you.
[00:21:02] I know.
[00:21:03] I don't even remember what we argued about.
[00:21:05] I mean, we don't even remember what we argued about.
[00:21:08] I was like, Hey, I'm sorry.
[00:21:09] I haven't talked to you.
[00:21:09] Whatever.
[00:21:10] Like that.
[00:21:10] My mom's in ICU.
[00:21:11] I don't know what's about to happen.
[00:21:13] And I just sent it to him and he was like, I'm on my way.
[00:21:17] So he was with me all the way until her passing.
[00:21:21] And then he actually stayed with me for a while too.
[00:21:24] So I can get adjusted to being in an apartment without her and everything like that.
[00:21:28] So fast forward to the diagnosis.
[00:21:32] I never had a doubt of my mind to leave Marquis because I always had the foresight of he's going to be this.
[00:21:38] Right.
[00:21:39] Right.
[00:21:39] I never really saw him as like sick or anything like that.
[00:21:42] So as I see him, as he is now, I always saw him like that.
[00:21:46] I always pictured him as that, that tall guy.
[00:21:50] I met at the picnic.
[00:21:51] Like I knew he was going to be okay.
[00:21:53] And I'm not gonna lie.
[00:21:55] You know, there was a couple of times where I was just like, Oh God, like, like what, what lesson you trying to teach us out of this?
[00:22:05] Right.
[00:22:05] It was like, it's hard.
[00:22:07] Like, I remember when I first found out calling my sister, I was like, I pretty much consider myself a strong woman.
[00:22:14] But if something happened to ever happen to Marquis, I don't know if I'd be able to handle it anymore.
[00:22:20] Cause it was like, Oh, grandma gone.
[00:22:23] Mama gone.
[00:22:24] And now finally found the love of my life.
[00:22:27] My, my soulmate.
[00:22:29] Now we gotta go through a trial and tribulation.
[00:22:33] Like what's going on here?
[00:22:35] Wow.
[00:22:36] And so the diagnosis and treatment, how long did you go through treatment?
[00:22:42] And how are you now?
[00:22:46] Uh, I went through treatment, uh, at the time before I was able to go back out in public.
[00:22:51] It was from September to February.
[00:22:59] So February, I was able to go back out in public for the first time in the first place.
[00:23:03] I actually wanted to go because I had my eyes set up on it.
[00:23:06] Was gonna see black Panther.
[00:23:08] Uh, so that's why I have the shirt on.
[00:23:13] Was that the first time?
[00:23:14] Very first time.
[00:23:15] Yeah, that was the first time.
[00:23:16] So that year I was able to go back out in public, went to see movies.
[00:23:21] We actually traveled a little, we went to Kansas city that year.
[00:23:24] And then, uh, during the, during my time when I was recuperating, uh, I picked up playing, uh, uh, competitive Madden.
[00:23:33] So while playing, I was watching other pros and just like, okay, I want to do that.
[00:23:39] How do I do that?
[00:23:40] Did my research.
[00:23:41] I'm like, okay, because everything's going on with the next year.
[00:23:46] So the summer came in when we went to Kansas city, we went to Atlanta.
[00:23:50] And then August, we went to our first competitive tournament in Jacksonville, Florida.
[00:23:54] Oh, wow.
[00:23:56] So, uh, it was a two day tournament.
[00:23:59] I made it to the second day and I lost in the first round.
[00:24:03] So while we're walking around trying to stick around to see who wins the entire tournament, she tells me that she's hungry.
[00:24:10] So we go to the pizza bar because it's at a pizza bar with an enjoying and gaming lounge next to it.
[00:24:15] So as we're sitting at the pizza bar, we hear a pop and everybody in the pizza bar just gets quiet.
[00:24:21] And we're looking around like, Oh, there must've been a balloon.
[00:24:23] But then it's like, wait a minute, there's no new balloons here.
[00:24:26] Next thing we hear pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
[00:24:28] And so we started rushing for the exit.
[00:24:31] So we realized this is a mass shooting going on.
[00:24:35] So, um, between us, we were probably about, we probably about 20 or 30 feet away from the shooter, but 10 feet away from the door.
[00:24:42] And even us trying to get through the door, we probably went, we weren't the first people to get in.
[00:24:47] It was like, we were like the middle of the pack.
[00:24:49] So I was actually between us, the first one to get out and I started running.
[00:24:52] I thought she was behind me and I turned around and see her.
[00:24:55] And then I heard her say, bang, I turned around.
[00:24:56] Look, she is hobbling out with no shoes on because she sprained her ankle.
[00:25:02] So I run back to grab her.
[00:25:04] And then we get to safety.
[00:25:05] We find this elevator.
[00:25:06] So we're pushing the button on the elevator.
[00:25:08] It doesn't open.
[00:25:09] And then we see this guy open the rear door to the restaurant that was next door.
[00:25:15] And we're saying, help us, help us.
[00:25:17] And we don't know if it was a language barrier or not, but he actually tried to close the door.
[00:25:21] And one of the tournament, uh, tournament runners comes around the corner and say, hey, let us in.
[00:25:26] And then there's an open shooter going on.
[00:25:28] So we all run into the, we run into the restaurant, us three, and then realize that there's about four or five, six other people behind us.
[00:25:35] And we immediately hide in the bathroom.
[00:25:38] Now, while we're in the bathroom, we're all getting low on the floor because we don't know whatever the guy is shooting.
[00:25:43] We have the ability to come through the wall.
[00:25:46] Right.
[00:25:47] So we're in the bathroom for about 30 minutes to about an hour.
[00:25:51] And the entire time, I'm trying to make sure that she's good.
[00:25:54] Her ankle was swollen.
[00:25:56] So she sits down on the toilet and she keeps her legs propped over the toilet paper holder.
[00:26:03] And so while I'm making sure that she's good, you know, besides the ankle, eventually I'm like, okay, let me see if there's a police officer or a fireman or EMT that can come and get her.
[00:26:16] Because by that time we stopped hearing shots.
[00:26:20] So eventually I was able to find a paramedic and no, I'm sorry, police officer.
[00:26:24] And while walking, I asked him, was anybody seriously hurt or did anybody die?
[00:26:30] He said, we have three casualties.
[00:26:32] And the first person that came up was one of the players that we were initially talking to prior.
[00:26:37] And the only reason he was the first person that came to mind was because he was the first one sitting in the hallway where the shots started.
[00:26:44] Oh my gosh.
[00:26:46] So three people died, including the shooter after the shooter shot who he didn't get everybody who's trying to shoot because he had intended targets.
[00:26:55] One of them actually got up and left because he lost the same round that I did.
[00:26:59] And he went back to the hotel and went to sleep.
[00:27:02] So two people who were shot after he stopped shooting everyone, he turned the gun on himself and killed himself.
[00:27:09] Was it over the tournament?
[00:27:13] It wasn't over the tournament.
[00:27:15] It was, from what we understand, he was being made fun of by other players and he wasn't mentally right.
[00:27:22] He wasn't.
[00:27:23] He was mentally ill.
[00:27:24] He had been off his medication for some time.
[00:27:26] Um, he actually was sent to live with his father because his mother couldn't handle it anymore.
[00:27:33] She was trying to get him to stay on his meds.
[00:27:35] But the father was like, you know, my son is fine.
[00:27:39] So I'm sure that.
[00:27:40] And he used to get made fun of all the time.
[00:27:42] So that.
[00:27:44] But after all that, we finally get back to Chicago.
[00:27:48] I think I want to say, what was it? A couple days after that?
[00:27:51] Like probably a week later.
[00:27:53] The next. No, we know that the next day.
[00:27:55] No, I'm talking about when we found out that it came back.
[00:27:59] Oh, yeah, it was a week.
[00:28:01] Yeah.
[00:28:02] So because of everything that transpired in Jacksonville at the time, the leukemia was in remission.
[00:28:08] Because the way my body's reacted to all the traumatic stuff.
[00:28:13] And being worried about me.
[00:28:14] The leukemia came back.
[00:28:16] It came back.
[00:28:16] Oh, my gosh.
[00:28:19] So fast forward to July of 2019.
[00:28:25] I am getting ready to go undergo a stem cell transplant.
[00:28:30] So if you're not familiar with the way a stem cell transplant works, goes, you have to have a match.
[00:28:36] And initially we had a few matches, but they all fell through for some strange reason.
[00:28:42] And at this point I look at it as guys saying, no, they're not it.
[00:28:46] I have the one for you.
[00:28:48] So eventually we did do the stem cell transplant.
[00:28:51] And I was in the hospital for three weeks, three weeks.
[00:28:56] So the stem cell transplant was successful.
[00:29:02] And I literally lost 96 pounds between the end of the stem cell transplant and Christmas.
[00:29:12] It took me back.
[00:29:14] It took me to Christmas to gain all that weight back.
[00:29:16] So when I went in, I was 247.
[00:29:18] By the time Christmas came around, I was 171.
[00:29:24] 161, so somewhere in there.
[00:29:26] So I look like I look like I wasn't eating and I was malnourished and everything.
[00:29:31] But once after Christmas, I started to regain the weight, regaining my appetite, sleeping better.
[00:29:39] So during that time, after I became well enough to be able to go back out again, COVID hit.
[00:29:49] Yes.
[00:29:50] Wow.
[00:29:51] So.
[00:29:52] So all this happened before you guys got married?
[00:29:56] Yes.
[00:29:57] So the best way I describe it is we went through sickness and health before we said I do.
[00:30:06] Uh huh.
[00:30:07] And death.
[00:30:09] Yeah.
[00:30:10] I mean, at this point, y'all can't not stay married.
[00:30:16] Like y'all can't stay married.
[00:30:17] That's why we say you talk to each other.
[00:30:20] We start with each other.
[00:30:21] Because at this, I mean, like, I can't even think of a reason why you wouldn't be to get married.
[00:30:29] Like, um, like, one thing y'all constantly each thing y'all have referenced family and friends.
[00:30:38] So the support system that you have is tremendous.
[00:30:43] I mean, the support system for each other, but each step you're talking about family and friends.
[00:30:50] So is that been, do you think that's been very important with the success of your relationship?
[00:30:56] I think it plays a huge part in it.
[00:31:00] Yeah.
[00:31:01] Because, you know, from thinking about it from my dad saying, what are you waiting for?
[00:31:07] To us saying you stuck with me to friends saying, you know, you guys are, you know, the epitome of a relationship.
[00:31:17] Y'all been through it all.
[00:31:18] And it's like, we wouldn't wish this on nobody.
[00:31:22] Well, we accept, we accept the compliments when we get that.
[00:31:25] But we always say we don't aim to be like couple goals or relationship goals.
[00:31:31] Right.
[00:31:31] Because not everything, what works for us don't always work for everybody else.
[00:31:35] Right.
[00:31:36] So we always say thank you for the compliment, but.
[00:31:40] We don't want the couple goals.
[00:31:41] No, you, we want, we want everybody to do what fixed, what tailored was tailored to them.
[00:31:48] No pun intended.
[00:31:49] Right.
[00:31:49] And that's how, that's, I like that, but that's, that's how we, we are.
[00:31:54] We're like, you know, we want to be open with how we've done things and what works for us.
[00:32:00] Yeah.
[00:32:00] But at the forefront of that is do what works for you.
[00:32:05] Exactly.
[00:32:05] Okay.
[00:32:06] Stand firm in it because our, I think like when I'm listening to you talk about friends
[00:32:11] and family, our friends and family are supportive or have been supportive.
[00:32:16] But one thing that we've tried to do throughout our marriage is to rely on each other first
[00:32:22] and foremost, and we turn to each other.
[00:32:26] And I think that's been a very important thing in helping us because that's how you earn trust.
[00:32:32] That's how you, you know, I can be vulnerable with him and tell him sometimes aside from vulnerability,
[00:32:40] I can be very mean.
[00:32:42] And sometimes I have to tell him stuff that I can't tell other people because they'll think
[00:32:46] kind of serial killer, but I can tell him.
[00:32:51] And he'll say, yeah, I can see.
[00:32:55] I'm sorry.
[00:32:56] I wasn't expecting the serial killer.
[00:32:57] Yeah.
[00:32:58] Yeah.
[00:32:59] Yeah.
[00:32:59] Yeah.
[00:32:59] See, see you.
[00:33:01] So, but I can tell him those things and he's like, yeah, I see that baby.
[00:33:05] Now, I don't know if in his head he's thinking, I hope she never gets mad at me.
[00:33:11] I'll tell her like, hey, nah, you're wrong with them.
[00:33:15] You're wrong.
[00:33:15] Right.
[00:33:16] You will.
[00:33:16] You will.
[00:33:17] Or no, we can't do that.
[00:33:19] Yeah.
[00:33:19] And sometimes he tells me, like, there have been times when I would get upset about something
[00:33:27] because I grew up as an only child and I'm used to having my way and I like it that way.
[00:33:34] And so something will happen and I don't get my way and I'm angry and I'm saying choice
[00:33:39] words and I'm like, am I wrong?
[00:33:42] Yeah.
[00:33:43] Yeah.
[00:33:44] You are.
[00:33:45] You're wrong.
[00:33:46] He said, you can be upset, but, and he should, he tells me the human side of things.
[00:33:51] And, and then I'm like, okay, well let's calm down and, and bring it back in.
[00:33:56] That sounds like us.
[00:33:58] So I'm my mom, I was, I'm my mom's only child, but I'm my dad's middle child.
[00:34:05] Like I have an older brother and a younger brother.
[00:34:08] So growing up, I always used to be around boys all the time.
[00:34:12] So it's like, when I was younger, I had this tomboyish phase.
[00:34:17] I had it real, really bad, real bad.
[00:34:20] But as I got older, you know, I started to be more, more, more into my femininity.
[00:34:25] I feel like with Marquise, I can be soft.
[00:34:28] Right.
[00:34:28] So I don't have to always be the, the hardcore.
[00:34:32] As I say, I was a gangster before I met Marquise, but now I'm an emotional gangster.
[00:34:37] So.
[00:34:39] There you go.
[00:34:41] There you go.
[00:34:42] There you go.
[00:34:44] So that's.
[00:34:47] I'm not a killer, but don't push me, you know.
[00:34:50] There you go.
[00:34:51] That's right.
[00:34:51] Yeah.
[00:34:52] So.
[00:34:53] Yeah.
[00:34:54] So with him, he's, as I always say, he's my common piece.
[00:34:58] He's the one that can really calm me down.
[00:35:00] Like, hey, people like, hey, they, you know, just take a breather.
[00:35:04] You don't have to go pow, pow all the time, you know.
[00:35:08] So.
[00:35:10] That would be me.
[00:35:10] You know.
[00:35:11] Yeah.
[00:35:11] When we first got together, if they messed his order up.
[00:35:16] Oh, man.
[00:35:17] You could see him start to sweat.
[00:35:19] Look.
[00:35:20] We were bad.
[00:35:21] Rest of the world, I was like, Lord, y'all, please do right.
[00:35:24] Yeah.
[00:35:25] She about to go off.
[00:35:26] She about to go off.
[00:35:26] And they weren't going to know her and mama together.
[00:35:29] Oh, my goodness.
[00:35:30] A few times, boy had stepped to the side.
[00:35:33] You know, be like.
[00:35:34] But they going to get your order right.
[00:35:35] They finna go off.
[00:35:38] I'm going to get your order right.
[00:35:39] All right.
[00:35:41] I have calmed a lot in my older age.
[00:35:44] You guys, you guys have a fantastic story.
[00:35:48] I mean, y'all have a fantastic beginning.
[00:35:52] And honestly, looking at you guys, I thought you guys been married 10 years.
[00:35:57] Mm-hmm.
[00:35:58] Honestly.
[00:35:59] When you said two years, I was like, two years?
[00:36:01] What?
[00:36:03] Like y'all been together.
[00:36:04] But the friendship is key.
[00:36:07] Yeah.
[00:36:10] That's one of the things we said.
[00:36:12] Talking on the night, our friendship has sustained us a lot because it gave us that respect for each other to where we're like, you know, yes, anybody can leave.
[00:36:23] Anybody can get up and leave.
[00:36:25] Try to do something with somebody else.
[00:36:28] But, you know, that respect for one another is what keeps us, you know, grounded and keeps us together.
[00:36:34] So, and I see that you two have that.
[00:36:36] I mean, I just, through the screen, I mean, just y'all having that.
[00:36:40] Y'all like each other.
[00:36:41] Yeah.
[00:36:42] Y'all like each other.
[00:36:42] And that's something that we feel as if not more important than love.
[00:36:51] Because Blake is what makes me wake up and look at him and think, I like him.
[00:36:58] When we say we're best friends, we're best friends.
[00:37:01] We hang out, we, so we can tell that that's the same with Taylor and her other half.
[00:37:09] Yep.
[00:37:11] So tell us with your podcast, how long have you all had your podcast?
[00:37:16] And how did that come about?
[00:37:19] Well, we've had our podcast since October of 2022.
[00:37:24] So one of our friends, we were just sitting around and we were talking about stuff that we gone through.
[00:37:29] And these things reflect on those stuff too.
[00:37:31] Cause I think we had talked about like, man, we went through a lot.
[00:37:36] And they were like, y'all should write a book.
[00:37:39] And I'm like, we're not at that age or that mindset to write a book.
[00:37:44] Nobody has time for that right now.
[00:37:45] But we'll be on podcast.
[00:37:47] Yeah.
[00:37:50] So we just sitting here.
[00:37:52] We already knew how we want the, the setup of the podcast, like how we want to format and everything like that.
[00:37:58] But of course, when you create something, anything like a child or a job or anything like that, you always have trouble coming up with the name.
[00:38:06] Right.
[00:38:07] So we tried a whole lot of names, like, I don't know, random stuff.
[00:38:12] Yeah.
[00:38:13] And I was like, you know what?
[00:38:15] I got it.
[00:38:16] How about you stuck with me?
[00:38:18] So you stuck with me came.
[00:38:21] That was one of the first things I told Marquis, um, when he first.
[00:38:25] Yeah.
[00:38:26] We see the diagnosis and he first got discharged.
[00:38:29] Um, before he got discharged out of treatment.
[00:38:32] I remember we was sitting in his hospital room.
[00:38:35] He had a nice room to like overlook, like the football stadium, everything.
[00:38:40] Uh, uh, University of Chicago, like all that.
[00:38:43] I could see Lake Michigan, the beaches.
[00:38:45] Lake Michigan, all that.
[00:38:46] The downtown skyline.
[00:38:46] And I was just like.
[00:38:48] Like I almost lost the Sox game if I wanted to.
[00:38:50] Yeah.
[00:38:51] And I was just telling him like, look, man, I don't do this for everybody.
[00:38:57] You know, I don't, I don't do this for everybody.
[00:39:00] I, last time I did all this for real, my mama was still here on earth.
[00:39:05] You got, you have special treatment.
[00:39:08] And you know, that's just.
[00:39:10] So one of our quirks is we always find a joke out of everything.
[00:39:13] So I told him.
[00:39:15] So I told him, I was like, look, you need to get your.
[00:39:17] Ish together.
[00:39:18] Ish together because I'm not doing this again with you.
[00:39:21] Yep.
[00:39:22] You stuck.
[00:39:22] You stuck with me.
[00:39:24] So I was like, you know what?
[00:39:26] Why not name it?
[00:39:26] You stuck with me because it's talking about our orthodox love story and how we always say he stuck with me and I'm stuck with him.
[00:39:34] He, we, I'm not going anywhere.
[00:39:36] Oh, it works two ways.
[00:39:39] Like she said, and then it's like through a pandemic, through a mass shooting, through a cancer diagnosis and everything in between.
[00:39:48] You stuck with me the entire time and you never left.
[00:39:50] Now you mentioned children.
[00:39:54] Is that, is that the next.
[00:39:56] Ooh.
[00:39:57] Is that the next journey?
[00:40:00] Yeah, it is.
[00:40:02] Y'all said, you know what?
[00:40:04] We hadn't been through enough.
[00:40:08] We.
[00:40:10] It's funny that you say that because.
[00:40:13] She has a God daughter and we were, we were actually just messing around in the living room.
[00:40:18] And I made a video on Instagram.
[00:40:20] It's on my personal page.
[00:40:22] And it's on the podcast page too, right?
[00:40:24] Oh no.
[00:40:24] I don't think it was on the podcast page yet.
[00:40:26] So I'm sitting there.
[00:40:27] I'm like, y'all, me and the wife are about to go through our toughest challenge yet.
[00:40:32] I turned around and had her and the toddler in the background.
[00:40:35] And I was like, a toddler.
[00:40:38] But she's, she's a cute thing.
[00:40:40] I mean, let me tell you, a toddler, an infant, a school age, a grown child.
[00:40:48] It's different, different phases, but the foundation that the two of you have, you're
[00:40:55] going to need that.
[00:40:56] So it's good that you have that.
[00:40:58] That's have y'all like, do y'all know you want this many or you just going to start with
[00:41:03] one and see how that goes?
[00:41:05] Oh, I want twins.
[00:41:07] And I want boys.
[00:41:08] So I want twins.
[00:41:10] So he wants boys, but I'm like, whatever God provides, hopefully he'll do it in my favor
[00:41:17] with the twins.
[00:41:18] I said, let's break EB.
[00:41:20] You have twins.
[00:41:21] I have boys and we call him one.
[00:41:23] Oh, wait.
[00:41:23] So you want me to have more than twins?
[00:41:24] No, I'm saying you have twin.
[00:41:26] Have twin boys or either a boy and girl.
[00:41:28] That would be, that would be ideal.
[00:41:31] A boy and girl.
[00:41:33] And yeah, I can only imagine a little her.
[00:41:35] She's like, who are you calling mommy?
[00:41:38] I'm going to tell you.
[00:41:40] Mm-hmm.
[00:41:41] It's nothing like that mirror to look in and see yourself reflected.
[00:41:47] And it comes up at times when I would get on to my daughter and I'm telling her, you need
[00:41:54] to pick up this room.
[00:41:55] You need to do this.
[00:41:56] And then it flashed to me as I was young.
[00:41:59] Mm-hmm.
[00:41:59] I don't know how to pick up that.
[00:42:01] Yeah.
[00:42:03] So that is your greatest mirror.
[00:42:05] And then the funniest thing is when you're, when you're getting on to them and you hear
[00:42:12] your parents through you.
[00:42:14] Oh, as you're saying that.
[00:42:16] Yeah.
[00:42:17] I don't know.
[00:42:20] I've said some things to other kids who are, you know, doing something and I'm like,
[00:42:24] Oh my God, I sound like my parents.
[00:42:26] Yeah.
[00:42:27] I already start thinking about all the stuff.
[00:42:30] My mom used to tell me she used to, she used to, I don't know where, what it would
[00:42:34] be.
[00:42:34] She'd be like either with bills or whatever.
[00:42:36] She'd be like, just keep living.
[00:42:38] I feel that now.
[00:42:40] And my grandmother would say that to me and I find myself repeating that.
[00:42:46] Oh yeah.
[00:42:46] Um, there, there's nothing like experience to teach you and sometimes to whip you in the
[00:42:53] time.
[00:42:54] Yep.
[00:42:55] Yeah.
[00:42:56] And now I'm sitting up here listening to my parents talk about being grandparents.
[00:43:01] I'm like, y'all let my kids get, get away with murder, but you would try to hang me
[00:43:08] from a tree.
[00:43:09] And grandparents are ready for grandkids.
[00:43:13] They're ready.
[00:43:14] Right.
[00:43:15] So what you waiting on?
[00:43:16] Let me tell you, my mama had a living room.
[00:43:19] You know, the formal living room where on the time we'd be in there, there's a company
[00:43:24] come over.
[00:43:25] We'd sit at that bad boy one day and my son is like sitting on the couch, standing up
[00:43:32] on his feet and stuff.
[00:43:34] I'm like, sit down boys.
[00:43:35] Oh, that's all right.
[00:43:36] They're nothing but some furniture.
[00:43:37] And I'm like, it's furniture.
[00:43:39] Right.
[00:43:40] Is this the same furniture that you lifted me by one arm?
[00:43:44] Exactly.
[00:43:46] It beat me for just touching me.
[00:43:48] Come on.
[00:43:49] But yeah, they get away with murder.
[00:43:52] Right.
[00:43:52] Right.
[00:43:53] My mom, my mom passed away in 2015.
[00:43:57] My kids though, they, they had a full experience with her.
[00:44:03] And one of the last times she and I really had words about it.
[00:44:10] It was like eight o'clock in the evening and the doorbell rings.
[00:44:14] And I go to the door and she's there.
[00:44:17] She has a work shirt.
[00:44:18] So you just getting off of work.
[00:44:20] And she said, the kids wanted to go to the store.
[00:44:25] What kids?
[00:44:26] They said they needed their coffee and their creamer.
[00:44:29] Yep.
[00:44:32] My kid.
[00:44:32] Oh, they not going nowhere.
[00:44:34] They not go.
[00:44:34] It's eight o'clock at night.
[00:44:36] You go home.
[00:44:36] You from, from here on out, those things need to come through me or him.
[00:44:42] They don't just beckon you, but she came from work and she's going to take them on a
[00:44:46] grocery store run.
[00:44:48] Yeah.
[00:44:49] Um, me on the other hand, do you have coffee cream or money?
[00:44:55] Huh?
[00:44:55] I tell you.
[00:44:56] You better get some milk.
[00:44:58] Well, I wasn't going to be drinking coffee.
[00:44:59] I didn't get coffee as a kid.
[00:45:01] They knew not to ask us.
[00:45:03] Cause, uh, it wasn't going to happen.
[00:45:05] Right.
[00:45:07] So.
[00:45:09] Yeah.
[00:45:09] That is hilarious.
[00:45:10] That sounds about right.
[00:45:13] My grandma would did that with me.
[00:45:15] Isn't that right?
[00:45:16] And, and that was the thing.
[00:45:18] So, you know, we're a little bit older, a little bit older than y'all.
[00:45:22] And I remember when, um, happy meals came out.
[00:45:27] And we lived around the McDonald's and my grandfather, he was a man of few words, but
[00:45:34] he would be sleeping in his chair and his belly would be poking out and I'd walk over
[00:45:38] and put my hands on his belly and wake him up.
[00:45:40] And I'd say, I want a happy meal.
[00:45:43] And he'd fuss, but he'd get on up and take me to get a happy meal.
[00:45:48] So I, he, I was treated that way as well.
[00:45:51] Um, but that was part of the reason that I didn't want my kids treated that way.
[00:45:56] Cause I feel like in some ways, um, it almost stunted some growth.
[00:46:02] Um, you know, our, the power bill that when I call them people, they don't care who I am.
[00:46:08] They don't care that I'm the oldest grandchild, the youngest grandchild.
[00:46:12] I don't care about any of that.
[00:46:13] They just want their money.
[00:46:14] And so there were times when we could rely on my mom or my grandmother, but we probably
[00:46:21] shouldn't have been relying on them so much.
[00:46:24] Uh, but there again, being young and making grownup decisions.
[00:46:29] Yep.
[00:46:31] So as far as like, uh, your family connection, um, now we, we talk about on our podcast about,
[00:46:39] you know, the importance of having, you know, the togetherness you two are one.
[00:46:46] And, uh, we talk a lot about, you know, uh, she's number one, number one in her life.
[00:46:54] So that, you know, when we have issues, cause they will, um, we make sure that we have a family
[00:47:04] and, uh, as much as we can between each other and, uh, not go bad mouthing about the other two family members.
[00:47:14] Um, how, how good of a connection you guys have with each other's family?
[00:47:21] Um, like, uh, I, not, I know Taylor, your mom, your mother's passed away, but, uh, you and the father get along Marquis.
[00:47:29] Uh, how was y'all's relationship?
[00:47:33] Well, unfortunately, um, both of our parents passed away, but I did get to meet my mother-in-law before she was my mother-in-law.
[00:47:39] Mm-hmm. So, um, from what I do recall, she was a very beautiful woman.
[00:47:44] Um, very, uh, a fashionista.
[00:47:48] She, baby, she was, she stayed, she stayed with a purse and a good heel.
[00:47:53] So, but, but as far, you know, as far as the rest of her family, uh, I have no issues with them.
[00:48:00] They have no issues with me. They know that I'm going to go to the lengths of the earth to protect her.
[00:48:04] Um, um, her, her friends, ironically enough, also went to the same school we did.
[00:48:11] So I know them well, uh, I know, uh, one of their older brothers, he was a year ahead of me.
[00:48:18] Um, yeah, everybody's, everybody's cohesive, you know, issues.
[00:48:23] My, my little brother adores her. My little brother adores her.
[00:48:27] Well, I was getting ready to say, even though, um, both of my, um, parents have passed on.
[00:48:33] I do have, it's, I have a lot of cousins on my mom's side in particular.
[00:48:38] So I have a few male cousins. They're like my father figures.
[00:48:42] So when Marquis started to come around, they were like, okay, look now, like, what is your name?
[00:48:49] What are your intentions and everything like that?
[00:48:51] Because they're very protective of me.
[00:48:53] Cause they'll, they even, even my older, uh, lady cousins too.
[00:48:58] Um, one of them, she lives in Mississippi.
[00:49:00] Now she came and visited us last summer.
[00:49:05] And she was like, I'm not going to interrogate you, but I want to say thank you for holding down my little cousin.
[00:49:11] Because even though this is the baby out the bunch, this is the one that's been through a lot.
[00:49:16] Like, like the embodiment of a strong woman.
[00:49:19] And sometimes we'd be worried about her cause she's so strong.
[00:49:23] Like she don't want to let anybody in.
[00:49:25] So just having him to have that connection with my cousin means a lot.
[00:49:29] And then also I have, I still have a good relationship with my godmother.
[00:49:34] So she, she's like mama bear too.
[00:49:38] Um, I have a best friend who I've known since like second grade.
[00:49:44] I, we call it, that's like my sister, the little big sister.
[00:49:48] I'll call her like her, her mom is my mom.
[00:49:50] So it was like that.
[00:49:52] I still have a village.
[00:49:54] Right.
[00:49:55] That's good.
[00:49:55] That's fantastic.
[00:49:56] Right.
[00:49:57] That's fantastic.
[00:49:58] Yeah.
[00:49:59] My dad passed away.
[00:50:01] Uh, the six months before we got together.
[00:50:07] And, uh, my mom passed away in 19, 2019.
[00:50:12] And, uh, so, you know, I so wanted, you know, well, she met my dad one time.
[00:50:19] We were fun.
[00:50:19] Yeah.
[00:50:20] She did get a chance to meet him, but to have that relationship.
[00:50:24] Mm-hmm .
[00:50:24] And, and, and my mother, her and my mother, uh, it was decent.
[00:50:33] That's why I said about the family dynamic is good that y'all have a strong family dynamic
[00:50:37] because ours was a little bit different, but, you know, we made a lot of friends.
[00:50:41] And I will say this though.
[00:50:43] Uh, me getting along with his mom, it was a little rocky at first.
[00:50:47] Just a little bit.
[00:50:49] And that's, and that's probably only because of everything I was going through physically.
[00:50:53] And not only that, I'm the oldest son.
[00:50:55] So I'm pretty sure it's hard for mom.
[00:50:59] So that goes for son.
[00:51:00] Right.
[00:51:01] And she said somebody just as vocal as she is.
[00:51:04] So.
[00:51:05] That.
[00:51:05] And I think that was the.
[00:51:07] That's what it was.
[00:51:08] That thing with his mom.
[00:51:10] She talked back.
[00:51:11] Right.
[00:51:12] Right.
[00:51:13] And sometimes, sometimes it's a little blunt, but you know, that was, I think that towards
[00:51:21] the end she realized, well, for one, we had been together for so long.
[00:51:27] Um, and I think that she respected that.
[00:51:29] I think that she realized she was treating me like her mother-in-law had treated her.
[00:51:34] Yep.
[00:51:35] Um, and so towards the end, especially the last couple of years, she and I had gotten
[00:51:41] much closer than when we started.
[00:51:45] Now, my mom, on the other hand, was the exact opposite.
[00:51:49] And we've often said if we could make my mom and his mom.
[00:51:55] And we're going to get right.
[00:51:56] Right.
[00:51:56] It's a middle ground because my mom, my mom would move and follow us where we would
[00:52:02] go move up the street.
[00:52:04] And like I said, the kids would call her, you know, take me to the state.
[00:52:09] So.
[00:52:10] You talk to her and you like, yeah, I think we want to do such and such.
[00:52:13] And then next day, you know, there's a package at the door.
[00:52:16] Right.
[00:52:17] Yes.
[00:52:18] So we, we had, um, a little bit of both.
[00:52:21] And, but we, like I said, the one thing that helped us is it's us, you know, and, and if
[00:52:29] anyone didn't understand that, then that's cool.
[00:52:33] You can do that away from us and we're good.
[00:52:36] So.
[00:52:37] Yeah.
[00:52:38] We've always said that.
[00:52:39] And, uh, as far as her and my dad, my dad is like, she's the daughter that my dad never
[00:52:44] had.
[00:52:44] So.
[00:52:45] Yeah.
[00:52:46] Like we didn't, we got him a baseball jersey.
[00:52:50] He got her shoes.
[00:52:51] Oh, my dad, my dad adores her.
[00:52:55] He said, you did good son.
[00:52:57] Because the ones that you brought home before you.
[00:52:59] And he told me that too.
[00:53:01] He was like, he was like daughter.
[00:53:04] He was like daughter in love.
[00:53:05] I'm gonna be honest with you.
[00:53:07] I'm glad he chose you.
[00:53:09] The ones before you.
[00:53:11] I was like, sorry.
[00:53:15] My dad was home, buddy.
[00:53:17] I did it too.
[00:53:18] Right.
[00:53:19] I ain't gonna lie.
[00:53:20] But I always say this.
[00:53:22] It was just me finding myself what I like and what I did not like and what I was willing
[00:53:26] to put up with and what I wasn't willing to put up with.
[00:53:28] I'm like, you know what?
[00:53:30] I'm good right here.
[00:53:31] I'm good right here.
[00:53:31] That's why I tell her like, I'm not going nowhere.
[00:53:33] And I don't have the patience to find somebody else.
[00:53:36] I just don't.
[00:53:37] This was a lot of work.
[00:53:39] That's what he said to me one day.
[00:53:41] And it hurt my little feelings a little bit.
[00:53:44] Cause you supposed to want to be with me.
[00:53:45] Cause you supposed to want to be with me.
[00:53:47] But he said, I ain't trying to meet nobody.
[00:53:49] No, you gotta learn.
[00:53:50] But then, I mean, I get it now.
[00:53:52] Cause I feel the same.
[00:53:53] You stuck with me.
[00:53:54] Oh man.
[00:53:56] I see.
[00:53:57] It blows right off the tongue.
[00:53:58] It blows right off the tongue.
[00:54:00] Right.
[00:54:00] Y'all did something with that one.
[00:54:02] Now we look on like social media and stuff.
[00:54:04] All these issues that people have.
[00:54:07] And you know.
[00:54:07] Oh man.
[00:54:08] You can't go to Cheesecake Factory for your first date.
[00:54:11] Can't go to a move for the first date.
[00:54:13] Like, what the hell y'all gonna do?
[00:54:15] Right.
[00:54:15] Right.
[00:54:16] And see, that's another thing that we like to do on our podcast.
[00:54:20] We would like to dispel all the rumors.
[00:54:22] All the mess.
[00:54:24] All the madness with young couples saying that you can't do this because you'll make X amount of dollars.
[00:54:29] Well, you can't tell me what to because you don't make no money at all.
[00:54:32] So.
[00:54:33] And we had to debunk that theory.
[00:54:34] I had to say on our podcast, we did have an episode about that.
[00:54:37] I'm like, what's wrong with Cheesecake Factory?
[00:54:40] Right.
[00:54:40] Yeah.
[00:54:42] And like, for us, that's, it's all foreign for us because we've been married for so long.
[00:54:48] But also, we were so young.
[00:54:51] He had a long term relationship before we got married.
[00:54:55] I had something before we got married.
[00:55:00] But like the idea of adult dating, I never had that.
[00:55:04] Now, you didn't either.
[00:55:06] Not like meet people and then go, like we didn't have that.
[00:55:09] I love that.
[00:55:10] So, to hear some of those things, it's really odd to me that you like, you're going to be that picky over somebody.
[00:55:19] There was a one where the girl said the guy cashed up her $30 for lunch and she was upset.
[00:55:28] She was expecting a hundred dollars.
[00:55:30] What was it?
[00:55:31] What the heck?
[00:55:31] I was a hundred dollars and I saw that and I said, okay, you know what?
[00:55:35] Send me it back.
[00:55:36] You starve.
[00:55:37] Right.
[00:55:38] Exactly.
[00:55:39] And now I have to have an appetizer and an entree and dessert.
[00:55:43] Man, for lunch, you ain't getting nothing else done for the rest of the day.
[00:55:47] Why?
[00:55:47] Because if you put all that food in you, you want to take a meal.
[00:55:51] You're going to take a meal.
[00:55:52] You're going to take a meal.
[00:55:53] That ice is going to be kicking your butt.
[00:55:54] Had it been me, it would have been $10.
[00:55:59] He'd have been frugal.
[00:56:02] $10.
[00:56:03] You make it up, Shawty.
[00:56:04] That was one of the things he told me.
[00:56:06] So, when we were friends, there was this Chinese buffet that we would go to.
[00:56:11] And he was like, I knew then when you went to the buffet and you ate.
[00:56:17] Yep.
[00:56:18] I knew then you was the one.
[00:56:20] Yep.
[00:56:21] I knew she was the one.
[00:56:22] It was the buffet.
[00:56:24] See, I mess with her.
[00:56:25] She mess with me about it when we go out somewhere and she'll pay and then I'll pay
[00:56:28] and I look at her like, you're an expensive cheap date.
[00:56:30] No, Marquis, let Marquis tell you when he realized that I was the one.
[00:56:35] I, it was, it was a particular restaurant he always wanted to go to.
[00:56:39] Mm-hmm.
[00:56:40] All these years in college.
[00:56:43] I don't know what the situation was with him and his girlfriend there.
[00:56:46] He always wanted to go to Michael Jordan Steakhouse, right?
[00:56:50] Mm-hmm.
[00:56:50] And he would tell me like, you know, I always wanted to go for my birthday every year,
[00:56:54] but it always come up.
[00:56:55] And I'm like, is this Michael Jordan Steakhouse?
[00:56:57] Okay.
[00:56:58] So, I surprised him by taking him to Michael Jordan Steakhouse, which really wasn't.
[00:57:03] It wasn't.
[00:57:04] It wasn't that expensive.
[00:57:06] It wasn't that expensive.
[00:57:06] I guess also for the time of day we went too.
[00:57:08] But just to see him light up like a little kid.
[00:57:13] I'm like, oh my gosh, I want that.
[00:57:15] I want that.
[00:57:15] Because growing up, I was a Michael Jordan head.
[00:57:20] I'm talking about, I had the jersey, the basketball, the shoes.
[00:57:24] You still are.
[00:57:25] The cars.
[00:57:25] I still got all of them.
[00:57:27] Wow.
[00:57:28] So, you already know who signed on the Jordan versus LeBron debate.
[00:57:32] Oh, yeah.
[00:57:33] Same.
[00:57:34] Come on.
[00:57:34] Same.
[00:57:35] That's not even the debate.
[00:57:37] That's not even the full debate.
[00:57:38] Right.
[00:57:39] So, oh, I lost that thought.
[00:57:42] I had an old moment.
[00:57:44] Oh my gosh.
[00:57:45] It was there.
[00:57:46] I don't know.
[00:57:46] I don't see how y'all about our age.
[00:57:51] What's.
[00:57:52] Look.
[00:57:53] Marquise's story was truth.
[00:57:57] He told the truth.
[00:58:00] Look, he's still telling it.
[00:58:02] He's still telling it.
[00:58:03] He's still telling it.
[00:58:04] Scott Simon.
[00:58:04] Okay.
[00:58:06] Well, just like I said before, when we did the meeting, and I was like, you know, I'll
[00:58:13] extend my hand to you guys, you know, for y'all got plenty of family, so you probably
[00:58:21] will never need us.
[00:58:22] But feel free to reach out to us if you ever have any questions or want to, you know, talk
[00:58:29] some junk about each other.
[00:58:31] And I mean, you're family now.
[00:58:35] You stuck with us.
[00:58:37] So, I don't know how you put that in there, Mike.
[00:58:39] We got a lot of family.
[00:58:41] You're family too now.
[00:58:42] So.
[00:58:43] Okay.
[00:58:43] I have a random question.
[00:58:46] And it's going to be weird.
[00:58:48] You said, he's 6'5".
[00:58:51] So, how tall are you, Taylor?
[00:58:53] I'm 5'8".
[00:58:55] Okay.
[00:58:56] So, I'm 5'1".
[00:58:59] So, standing next to both of you, I would look like I'm shrinking.
[00:59:04] I'm 5'8".
[00:59:05] Yeah.
[00:59:07] I was just wondering that when you said 6'5".
[00:59:11] Yeah.
[00:59:12] I'm 5'8".
[00:59:13] And that's without my hair.
[00:59:15] So, I got my hair braided up now, but usually I just rock like an afro puff.
[00:59:19] So, that adds a couple more inches.
[00:59:22] Standing 5'8".
[00:59:23] 6'0", if you include the hair.
[00:59:27] I think, actually, when we first, because we were trying to coordinate about meeting,
[00:59:33] and when we first looked you guys up in the first video I saw, she had the afro puffs.
[00:59:37] Mm-hmm.
[00:59:38] Mm-hmm.
[00:59:39] Now, sidebar, her and I, when we started talking about our podcast, she actually did mention
[00:59:46] something about, you know, singing a song or playing some music or something.
[00:59:50] Not singing.
[00:59:51] I'm not as brave as you tell me.
[00:59:54] I love it.
[00:59:55] I absolutely love it.
[00:59:57] That was actually her idea because we were thinking about ways that we can make our podcast
[01:00:03] unique.
[01:00:04] And while I was sitting there thinking about it, she said, well, I know you love music, so
[01:00:08] we want to tailor it, no pun intended, to her.
[01:00:11] And then she said, what if we made the podcast episodes, the names, song titles?
[01:00:18] Mm-hmm.
[01:00:18] And I said, you know what, I've never seen that before, but those songs that we ended up
[01:00:22] picking in some way or another worked for the relationship.
[01:00:25] Yeah.
[01:00:26] You know, I have my favorites, she has her favorite.
[01:00:30] My favorite is actually, we did a Luther Vandross, Can I Take You Out Tonight.
[01:00:36] Okay, so since you mentioned it, y'all gonna close us out with a song?
[01:00:42] Yeah, what song you wanna do?
[01:00:45] Mmm.
[01:00:52] I'm mad y'all looking up at the same thought.
[01:00:58] Oh my goodness.
[01:01:00] What about whenever you call me?
[01:01:04] I'll be there.
[01:01:06] Whenever you need me.
[01:01:08] Oh, I'm mad.
[01:01:09] I'm mad.
[01:01:11] I'm mad.
[01:01:11] Whenever you call me, I'll be there.
[01:01:15] I'll be around.
[01:01:17] Do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do,
[01:01:21] do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, do, yeah.
[01:01:22] See it?
[01:01:23] Oh, wow.
[01:01:24] What?
[01:01:24] Y'all got fireworks.
[01:01:25] Did y'all see that?
[01:01:27] I saw it.
[01:01:27] Yeah, we saw it.
[01:01:28] We ain't never seen that old school.
[01:01:30] Look at that.
[01:01:32] Yeah, very good.
[01:01:33] Thank you.
[01:01:34] That is cool.
[01:01:34] I got an episode.
[01:01:35] I got an episode named for our honeymoon.
[01:01:39] I'm not going to tell you that.
[01:01:42] So, for our listeners, I know we've said it, but tell us again the name of your podcast,
[01:01:49] your social media handles, where they can find you so that they too can be entertained by song
[01:01:56] as well as the topics that you all discuss.
[01:02:00] You want to do it like how we do it on the end of the podcast?
[01:02:03] The only right way to do it.
[01:02:05] Right.
[01:02:05] So, you can find us, you can send us emails and questions at youstuckwithmeatgmail.com.
[01:02:11] That is U-S-T-U-C-K-W-I-T-M-E at gmail.com.
[01:02:16] You can send us sticky notes at our Facebook page, youstuckwithmeatgmail.com.
[01:02:21] Instagram, you can do the same thing, youstuckwithmeatgmail.com.
[01:02:24] That is U-S-T-U-C-K-W-I-T-M-E underscore podcast.
[01:02:29] You can find me on IG and the platform known as Twitter.
[01:02:33] You can find us on TikTok.
[01:03:02] TikTok before the government shut us down, you know.
[01:03:05] You can find us on TikTok under Queen Points 22.
[01:03:08] Again, that's Queen Points 22.
[01:03:10] And if you want to check out our podcast episodes, you can check us out on Apple.
[01:03:13] Make sure you like, subscribe, share, tell everybody because we like to talk to y'all, see what y'all talking about.
[01:03:19] And also, don't forget about Spotify and the YouTube channel.
[01:03:22] Definitely hit up to YouTube.
[01:03:24] Yeah.
[01:03:25] Yeah.
[01:03:25] Love it.
[01:03:26] Love it.
[01:03:27] Love it.
[01:03:27] That is awesome.
[01:03:28] Y'all going to make me ugly cry again.
[01:03:31] Love it.
[01:03:32] Y'all going to have to send us all that and make sure we got it.
[01:03:36] So, when I do the program.
[01:03:38] Most definitely.
[01:03:40] I usually do a title page and I put all that information up.
[01:03:44] Yeah.
[01:03:45] We'll need to make sure we get those.
[01:03:47] So, thank y'all so much.
[01:03:49] Guys, we have had fun and thank you for just joining us.
[01:03:55] This has been a ball.
[01:03:56] Yeah.
[01:03:56] Loving your story.
[01:03:58] Yeah.
[01:03:58] Loving you guys' energy.
[01:04:01] You guys are there forever.
[01:04:04] And I tell you this, if one of you change your mind and decide you want to dip out, I'm coming to find one of you.
[01:04:13] Oh my gosh.
[01:04:15] Not a recording thread.
[01:04:18] Like I said, I'm good where I'm at.
[01:04:21] I don't want to go anywhere because there's nothing.
[01:04:23] The dating pool, the sex pool, ain't nothing but crab legs and TikTok in there.
[01:04:27] Look, I don't have the patience.
[01:04:28] Look, I don't have the patience.
[01:04:30] You know what about that?
[01:04:30] I'm going through this again.
[01:04:33] Look, I don't have the patience for it because, you know, it's too many crab legs.
[01:04:38] Too many, I can't take you to the Cheesecake Factory.
[01:04:40] I can't take you to Burger King.
[01:04:42] You know, like, too much.
[01:04:44] No, I'm good where I'm at.
[01:04:45] Yeah.
[01:04:46] Y'all good.
[01:04:46] Y'all can have it.
[01:04:47] We'll just sit and watch from afar.
[01:04:49] Yeah, we'll just watch from afar and sip wine or something.
[01:04:52] Yeah.
[01:04:53] Well, thank y'all again.
[01:04:54] If I can't go get you a combo and bring it to your job and you'd be satisfied, you know,
[01:05:00] tell me what is that?
[01:05:02] Baby, I get excited when he brings me the chicken, chicken, chicken, Caesar salad from Jewels.
[01:05:07] Like, that's, that's.
[01:05:09] Look, when y'all, when y'all come to Chicago, we'll put y'all on your blood.
[01:05:12] Yes.
[01:05:14] What sorcery is this?
[01:05:16] Don't tempt me with a good time.
[01:05:18] Trying to tell you.
[01:05:19] Trying to tell you.
[01:05:20] Trying to tell you.
[01:05:20] Trying to tell you.
[01:05:20] All right.
[01:05:21] Well, thank y'all so much.
[01:05:22] We appreciate it.
[01:05:23] We've enjoyed it.
[01:05:24] Yes.
[01:05:25] Thank you.
[01:05:25] Thank you for having us.
[01:05:26] Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Beyond I Do podcast.
[01:05:43] Please make sure to like this episode and also subscribe to our podcast.
[01:05:49] You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at the Beyond I Do podcast.
[01:05:55] And until next time, we will holler at y'all.