The late Black Panther actor’s wife, Simone Ledward Boseman, has at last revealed the reason behind hiding Chadwick’s four-year battle with colon cancer.
She made the disclosure in her first official interview since her husband’s passing in August 2020, during a conversation with Whoopi Goldberg of Good Morning America.
She said, “It was COVID, when things were really starting to spiral. And that meant that everybody was in their house, and there was no pressure for anybody to go outside. It seemed like, ‘Is this a crazy coincidence that we get to actually be inside, that we get to be here with family — together? And everybody in the world is also experiencing this togetherness in the midst of this awful, scary, unpredictable time?’ We kept that circle real — our circle was basically a dot.”
Since her husband’s tragic death, Simone has continued to uphold his legacy, but she admitted that the last few years have been extremely challenging for her.
She said, “It has been the most challenging two years I’ve ever had in my life. Some days I’m doing worse than I’m really willing to acknowledge and other days I’m doing better than I feel comfortable admitting. The grief really, it moves in.”
Simone went on to say that she feels incredibly fortunate to have been Chadwick’s partner and that, despite their brief relationship, they shared love.
“I can’t believe that I was so lucky, I can’t believe that I got to love this person. And I also got them to love me too”, she said with teary eyes.
Simone has accepted a number of posthumous awards in Chadwick’s honour since his passing.
These include a Critics’ Choice Award for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a Critics’ Choice Award for his performance as Leeve Green in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and a Golden Globe.