Ernie Hudson is enjoying a bit of a popularity renaissance right now, thanks to his red carpet appearances for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. 78-year-old Ernie really got everyone’s attention when he walked the red carpet in London wearing only a black t-shirt and jeans, forcing the Internet to lust after his grand-zaddy self. Ernie sat down for an exclusive People interview recently and took the opportunity to chat about his wife of almost 40 years, Linda Kingsberg. He talked about how much he loves her, having (and not having) female friends, and how he lost an argument about which way to hang their toilet paper.
He loves her just the way she is: “I love her for who she is and not who I want her or think she should be,” the Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire tells PEOPLE. “So I just trust her to be herself and if she’s happy, then I’m good.”
Happy wife, happy toilet paper life: He came to this realization years ago when they had an argument “over the toilet paper roll, which way it rolls,” Hudson recalls. Though they bickered, Hudson let it go. “I’m like, ‘I don’t care. If it makes you happy, I’ll do it that way. If me opening the door is an issue for you, then I’ll open the door.’ What am I going to fight over? I’m good,” continues Hudson, who has two children with Kingsberg and another two from his previous marriage to Jeannie Moore.
On meeting Linda after his divorce: “We were together for basically nine years before I finally said, ‘You know what? We’re together. So let’s just go ahead and marry,’” says Hudson, who tied the knot with her in 1985.
Women make more interesting friends: Since they’ve been together Hudson says he has learned to make compromises in other areas, especially when it came to friendships he had with females. “I like women as friends. I find women more interesting to talk to because they’ll talk about their kids and they’ll talk about emotions and feelings and things,” he says.
Giving up his female friends was best for his marriage: He says “most” of his friends were women, but “it wasn’t the best thing for my marriage. Even though I can explain this relationship, I’m more concerned about [my wife] now and I know that she’s my friend now. And I can’t spend two hours on the phone with my best girlfriend and expect her to understand.”
Well, first of all, there is only one correct way to hang toilet paper and that’s pulling it over. Come on, people, there is no need for that awkward underneath method. It’s just easier and more aesthetic to place it over. Surely none of you have any real arguments for why hanging the toilet paper underneath is better. I am willing to die on this hill.
As for the rest of Ernie’s interview about his wife, I think it’s so awesome how he speaks about having women as friends. We are more interesting to talk to, #thankyouverymuch! I do think it’s kinda weird and sad that he had to give up most of his women friends to do what was best for his marriage, though. ”Even though I can explain this relationship…” Is he trying to say that his wife is the jealous type? Or is he leaving out some additional information about maybe something *ahem* else that happened which led him to decide to drop his female friends? It could also just be a generational thing that Ernie’s not explaining properly. Whatever it is, it’s clear that he loves his wife very much and that they’re very happy together now. Thank goodness they came to the right resolution to the toilet paper issue.
Photos quote: Joe Sutter, PacificCoastNews / Avalon, David Edwards/DailyCeleb.com/Avalon, Robin Platzer / Twin Images / Avalon, Getty
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcW5lbIRxe8SrpaKdj53Cpb%2FOp5ahoaOUxKqyxJifmpyPlqyltdKanqudlaKyr8C%2BmpmoraSUtbDDvq2mmKCRo7SgwMeelq2nmaGytavPmqeeql8%3D