Exclusive! Cookie Johnson on: the Magic 'miracle.' 'The Lord has healed Earvin.' - Interview

Ebony, April, 1997 by Laura B. Randolph

Cookie Johnson has always believed in Magic. That's why, just two days after she learned she was pregnant with their son and Magic walked into their den and told her that he was infected with the virus that causes AIDS, Cookie didn't even think about leaving him. Though she'd only been married to Earvin (Magic) Johnson for less than a year, the thought never once crossed Cookie's mind. There was too much between them, she said at the time--too much love, too many dreams, too much history.

"The love that we built up over [14 years of dating] is what I hold on to," she said shortly after Johnson shocked the nation when he announced in 1991 that tests for an insurance policy revealed he was infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. "There's no way that I was going to leave him to deal with it by himself."

It wasn't, however, Cookie's decision to stand by her husband that caused such a stir throughout much of America. It was something else she said at the time of Johnson's announcement. Something most people dismissed as either wishful thinking or impossibly naive. "I honestly feel that the Lord is going to heal him and that we are going to live together forever and have more children and be happy," she said.

Today, five years later, Cookie believes her faith has been rewarded, and her prediction has come to pass. All of it. For one thing, she says that she and Johnson have never been closer or more in love. For another, they have two beautiful, healthy children. And last, but by no means least, Cookie is certain that God has blessed them with a miracle.

"The Lord has definitely healed Earvin," Cookie says in a tone that can't disguise her unadulterated joy over the results of recent tests in which, she says, doctors could find no signs of the disease in her husband. "He is still taking medication, but there is no virus left in his blood."

The doctors' explanation for the test results is far less spiritual. "They think it's the medicine," Cookie acknowledges. But she and Johnson believe otherwise. They believe it is the miracle each of them has been praying for since the day they learned of the diagnosis. "We claim it," she says quietly, "in the name of Jesus."

Though it is sometimes hard for her to believe herself, almost from the day she learned Johnson had been infected with the AIDS virus, Cookie says her life "has only gotten better and better." In fact, she says, "This really is one of the best times of my life." There are a lot of reasons for this, Cookie believes, chief among them is the way the diagnosis changed her and Johnson's outlook on life. Now, they see every day--every moment--as a blessing. They don't sweat the small stuff and, most important of all, they take nothing--especially each other--for granted.

"Every moment becomes important...," she has said, explaining how the diagnosis changed her life. "You know how little things used to bother you? Well, now it's like nothing. Things just roll off our heads, and we just keep going because there's a bigger issue up there." Thanks to that shared philosophy, life inside the Johnson family has never been sweeter. "We just have a good time every single day," Cookie says. "We talk about everything and we have never been closer. Sometimes Earvin will come home and say, `Let's get out of the house, just me and you,' and he always makes sure somehow we always have time for each other."

It was Magic who started the romantic vacation trips that have become a cherished tradition. "Every August we rent a yacht--a huge one, like a 140-footer, and we spend 10 days sailing the Mediterranean," she says. "We don't take the kids, and we don't hotel hop. We just take our time and sail to Monte Carlo, San Tropez, Portofino. Before [Magic's diagnosis], I would say, `This is too expensive.' But now I really love it because Earvin doesn't get mobbed everywhere we go, and we can have the privacy we want."

It is clear from the way Cookie describes her life as Mrs. Earvin Johnson that, since she married the man she met when they were freshmen together at Michigan State, she has made peace with a lot more than the cost of their summer vacations. At 37, Cookie says she is finally rooted, finally secure in her place in his life. "I'm not always worried about what he's doing or where he is," she explains. "I don't spend any of my time worrying about that kind of stuff anymore. Before, I never knew if it was a secure relationship or not. And now I feel very secure." As a result, she says, "Our relationship is easier. I'm a lot more relaxed. And a lot more tuned in to me."

Their relationship is so relaxed, in fact, that both Cookie and Magic forgot their last wedding anniversary. "It wasn't until eight o'clock at night when a friend called to say `happy anniversary' that I remembered," she says. "I said, `Earvin, guess what? Today is our fifth anniversary.' He said, `Honey, with you, every day is our anniversary. To me, that's the biggest compliment. I know so many women really get into having flowers and candy and cards. But Earvin gives me a lot of attention all the time, so I'm not starving for it."