Meagan Good is arguably one of Hollywood’s original ‘It’ girls. She’s had a 30+ year acting career and has starred in some of the classic films and TV shows that we all know and love today. From “Eve’s Bayou” to “Think Like A Man,” Good has stayed booked and busy throughout her acting career. She recently starred in Tyler Perry’s new thriller, “Divorce in the Black,” and she’s been getting open and honest about her personal experience with divorce.
“I was just like, ‘Why is this happening?’ My greatest fear was for my husband to leave me after 10 years of marriage, the way that my mom and my dad separated, and that’s exactly what happened,” she shared.
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This was a devastating blow to the 43-year-old actress, but Good continued to lean on God. She said she got through the initial shock with “a lot of prayer and a lot of evaluation.”
“It was a lot of rediscovering God and realizing that sometimes the way that we see or understand things — it’s not that it’s not true, it’s just that you do come into different seasons. I had to accept that if this isn’t something I’ve chosen, but it’s something that God has allowed, then God has allowed it for a good reason and I think that we [DeVon and I] both have grown from it tremendously.”
While Good may have been shocked by Franklin’s separation request three years ago, she now feels like it was a brave thing for her then-husband to do.
“At the time, I was so mad at DeVon, but now I think what he did was brave,” Good added. She explained, “To grow where we were supposed to grow, we should’ve been married for that specific time. I can now look at DeVon and say ‘That’s a good person’ and be grateful for our time.”
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Good’s faith really allowed her to shift her perspective on the divorce. Leaning on her Christian faith allowed her to dig deeper and find meaning in that difficult time. When Sharpe asked if she ever felt like the divorce was a failure, she said, “I feel like we had almost 10 successful years of marriage.”
“I feel like I got so much from it that has made me better, that has made me grow and I feel that he feels the same way,” she added. “I don’t feel like it was a failure by any means, I just didn’t understand it.”
Now, Good has moved past the hurt and recognizes the growth that’s taken place in her life. She’s a testament to trusting God’s plans for your life, deciding to move through the difficulty, and coming out on the other side with joy.
Good not only is grateful for the experience of divorce, she’s also grateful for the man she married. The actress told PEOPLE that she’ll “always” see Franklin as a “beautiful human being regardless” of their divorce.
“When I say regardless, it’s not that he did anything. I mean regardless of the marriage ending and me disappointing and being disappointed and all that,” she shared. “What I will say is I think that we gave a lot and we got a lot. There’s nothing that I regret about my marriage, and there’s nothing I regret about the person that I married.”
If you find yourself going through a divorce or an unexpected separation, take some cues from Good. There is beauty, gratitude, growth, healing, happiness and so much more than can stem from a breakup. Ultimately, you may find yourself feeling thankful for the divorce, like Good.
“I’m actually very, very thankful for that experience and how it’s helped me grow,” the actress said. “I’m thankful for what I gave to him, and he’s thankful for it. And I’m thankful for what he gave to me, and he knows that I’m thankful for it.”
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