He’s the larger than life character known for his comedic charm, buoyant charisma and passion for fitness. Terry Crews is, without question, a formidable force on screen, but now the actor is opening up about his personal life with the kind of courageous vulnerability few men can attest to.
Recently, Crews has opened up about the impact his porn addiction has had on his life. Ahead of the release of his new audiobook, Stronger Together, written by Crews alongside his wife, Rebecca King Crews, the actor described a turning point in his life the couple refer to as D-day. For Crews, it was the day he had to ask his wife for forgiveness for both his porn addiction and for being unfaithful to her ten years earlier.
“I would like to describe myself as a toxic male,” Crews said, referencing his past behaviour. “You gotta understand, the marriage was dead.”
For Rebecca, Crews’ vulnerability was eye-opening. “I like to say, ‘You don’t tell the testimony till you’re through the test. And every so often when the emotion might get a little deep we just hugged each other. And I’ll say to him again…I’ll say, ‘I forgive you, Terry.’”
It’s not the first time Crews has opened up about the impact of porn in his life, previously talking to Jimmy Kimmel about the addiction. Crews explained, “With porn and alcohol and different things like that, people think it’s a willpower issue, but it’s not. It’s literally a lack of information issue. Because the trick is you think it’s great. Everything works for you until it doesn’t, and that was one of the things I really wanted to get out.”
The addiction was one that started early on, with Crews telling The Wendy Williams Show that he was addicted to porn before he even hit his teens. “I was addicted to pornography since I was 12 years old. Let me tell you. My father was addicted to alcohol and my mother was addicted to religion. So what happens is you had an addictive household,” he said.
“You don’t know how powerful you [women] are. Men get addicted to looking at pictures of you. That’s how powerful a woman is. it’s one of those things that took me away and it medicated me. But this is the problem. I never told anyone. I didn’t tell my wife for years.”
Crews and his wife have now been married for 32 years and have five children together. As Rebecca revealed, “The relationship has healed. So now we don’t have to blow up before we glow up.”
To this, Crews added: “This is the thing – and I truly believe this – when you do the right thing, the universe will bless you…Us being stronger together was the best decision for us.”