Regina King reveals that the way her son Ian Desduné dies has changed her lifestyle.
“Now, I know sadness and happiness can happen at the same time,” King told Senior Life in Los Angeles In the cover story posted Tuesday. “I'm only a thousand percent of my life right now. I don't know that this has come with time, pain or pandemics – probably all. But I feel it.”
The king's only child, she shared with her ex-husband Ian Alexander Sr., died of suicide on January 26, 2022.
While talking to the media, King explained how the orange wine she launched earlier this month helped her son’s memory.
“His art, his creativity – everything is there. It's the epiphany I have, and it comes from where memories continue to be created in the spirit of Ian,” King said. “I'm surrounded by people who talk about their children – engagement, wedding, new chapters. I still like to talk about Ian: I just don't have the chance to create new memories the way they do. But I don't focus on that. It's the way I'm co-creating new things.”
She added that she thought of her son “every time” she poured a glass of wine. King continued, “I was thinking about him 24/7 anyway, but always at this moment, I could see his face.” “For those who never had the chance to dance with Ian, maybe they would be curious. Maybe they would ask. His name is there, in the middle of it all. He would never forget. If you see me, you will see Ian.”
The king previously disclosed his son's death in an interview Good morning USA March 2024.
“When it comes to depression, people expect it to look heavy,” she said of her son's struggle. “It's necessary to experience this, not to have time to sit in Ian's choices, which I respect and understand, and he doesn't want to be here anymore.
After she admitted she was “angry at God,” King recalls, “Why give Ian the weight? In all the things we went through with psychiatrists and plans, Ian was like, Ian, ‘I’m tired of talking, mom.”
Kim went on to point out that she was “a different person” from her son before her death. “Sadness is a journey. I know sadness is love without place,” she explained. “I know it's important to me to respect Ian's overall respect, and now talking about him because he's always with me and the joy and happiness he brings to all of us.”