Since the passing of Nipsey Hussle, Lauren London has been more focused on herself, her family, and God. The beloved actress was starring in a new show, Games People Play, on BET, and she and the West Coast rhymer just appeared on the cover of GQGQ in February 2019 before his life was cut short on March 31, 2019. Nipsey was gunned down in front of his The Marathon Clothing store by Eric Holder Jr. and the assailant was recently convicted of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter.
Lauren hasn’t spoken out much since the death of her son’s father but it appears that she is slowly starting to get back to the grind. In 2021, she starred alongside Michael B. Jordan in the Amazon Prime film Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse and she will be starring in the upcoming Netflix comedy with Nia Long, Eddie Murphy, and more.
The mother of two was the first guest on Angie Martinez’s new podcast Angie Martinez IRL and she opened up about her healing process since Nipsey’s death, her relationship with God, and what love looks like for her in the future.
Lauren Shares Advice on How to Help People Who Experience the Death of a Loved One
“I think just sitting with someone. I felt like the people who came to just be with me and sometimes I think just holding space. It’s hard because when your friend or someone you love is going through something, you naturally wanna fix it. And this is not something to fix, it’s something to go through with someone so you just roll with them. You sit with them. You hold space with them. You hug them. You feed them. You may be [trying] not to say something to make them feel better because it’s really nothing that can make them feel better. Just hold the space for them and just be there.”
Lauren on How Food Can Be Healing
“One of the greatest things that I learned that I’m still learning is that food really helps with depression. I’m an emotional eater so my weight fluctuates so I get sad and want to eat a Twix or pizza and stuff like that but it would make me more depressed. I love Twix. But then I would learn that higher vibrational foods–I wasn’t so down. I wasn’t so deep in my depression so that’s one of the things that I’m still trying to apply.”
Lauren on Being Proud of Herself
“There was a time that I couldn’t even take a shower. There was a time I didn’t even laugh and I remember feeling so dark like am I ever going to laugh? Am I really going to–something really makes me chuckle, genuinely? And I have laughed and I take a lot of showers…I was really in a dark place and I am someone who doesn’t just feel it. I go in it. I’m just proud that I’m not where I was three years ago.”
Lauren on How Her Sons Have Been Dealing with the Passing of Nipsey Hussle
“Theirs shows up in different ways. Kids internalize everything until they get in their teens so I’m trying my best to help them cultivate how to deal with their emotions as best as I can through therapy. And I try to be an example. They see me meditate. They come with me on my spiritual retreats.–Anything that I do that feeds my soul, I share with them because I feel like I don’t know where they’re gonna go with their life but as long as they have the tools like, ‘I remember when my mom was angry or stressed, she did this, let me try that.’ They’re doing great; much better now.”
Lauren on the Legacy She Wants to Leave
“I would love to leave generational wealth for my grandkids and I would like to have a sweet place in everyone’s heart that I met.”
Lauren on Representing Nipsey’s Legacy
“We share a 5-year-old so I have to. But I’m very big on integrity and honor naturally. So, I’m always gonna intend to hold myself up and have integrity in what I do and honor in what I do and try to always think about what would Hussle do if it was me.”
Lauren on How She Developed a Relationship with God after Nip’s Death
“I remember hearing people used to say you don’t really have a relationship until you question God and I had a lot of questions afterward. Real ones. I prayed really hard when I heard he had got shot, so then I felt like, oh my prayer didn’t work? So prayer didn’t work and then I was like what’s really going on? Why? How? I felt like God dropped the ball on me. That’s how I felt. I took it real personal and then I started to feel like, why not you? Why not you, girl? Who are you? Women go through this daily. Why not you? And so then I had to get out of my ego and then my relationship started.”
Lauren on Where She Is With Love and Dating
“A lot of times, not all of the time, we are in so much of our ego that we’re in possession of another person. We’re not experiencing them. We’re not totally loving them and letting them be free. We think we’re supposed to be together forever and that’s not a spiritual relationship. Spiritual relationship is without the ego. It is we are together, I bring you up, inspire you, you inspire me. Now, if there ever comes a point where I’m not inspired anymore and now in my ego, I feel like I need to possess you. Now I feel the need to control you and your mind. I’m in my ego and that’s not love. There’s love in there but now I’m operating more in my ego and not my pure love. And I can say this because I’ve operated from these spaces before.”
“Nobody is yours unless the agreement is we’re gonna experience earth a little bit longer than some. I just don’t feel the need to participate in my ego and someone else in theirs anymore. And I’ve experienced pure love. I’m not without pure love. I might not ever be married but I experienced pure love and that’s with Nip. I got to see that on Earth. I don’t need to do that again. I like to feel enlightenment with God. Now, like I said I don’t know when I’m 50, 60, 70, but 37, I’m good.”
Angie Martinez IRL Podcast | We're All Gonna Die: Lauren London
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