Chadwick Boseman's Widow Talks 'Challenging' Two Years Of Grieving Late Husband

For the first time since the world said goodbye to the icon that is Chadwick Boseman, his beloved widow Simone Ledward Boseman is opening up about the actor's final moments and the side of him the world never knew.

Simone and Chadwick were first linked in 2015 after a photo of them at LAX surfaced. However, it wasn't until 2018 that it was confirmed they were a couple after Simone's grandmother affirmed the news.

The couple got engaged in 2019, per reports, and she was by his side until his very last day in August 2020.

For the first time since Chadwick’s demise in 2020, Simone, who keeps a very low profile and isn’t on social media, broke her silence about life with her husband. She sat down for an interview with Whoopi Goldberg on "Good Morning America."

Simone gave fans an insight into the unique love she shared with the "Black Panther" star saying, "I can't believe that I was so lucky. I can't believe that I got to love this person, and I also got them to love me too. Sure, he was an actor, and that was -- there was a lot of fun stuff that we got to do. But he was an artist."

The grieving wife praised the late actor for being more than just a Hollywood star. Instead, just like most of his characters, Simone revealed that Chadwick was a "leader and a king," and she believed it was the "greatest blessing" to be by his side.

She explained that the tight bond they shared shone through the tragedy of his painful demise. "Even with the pain of his loss, now I still get to have this beautiful spirit relationship with him. And that, while it's difficult to accept, is also beautiful because he's an ancestor now. He is, and he is never leaving me," Simone explained.

The doting wife, who continues to carry on her husband’s legacy, recalled their first meeting and the heartwarming action he performed. She shared that she met Chadwick shortly after he filmed "Get On Up." It was at a James Brown tribute concert, and she was working at the Hollywood Bowl when it happened.

She remembered a "really respectful" Chadwick trying to flirt with her in the sweetest way. In Simone’s words, "We were on the side of the stage at a certain point, and I guess he didn't know if I was really catching his hints. And he just kinda randomly just bent down and untied one of my shoelaces … as a little joke."

She continued, "And I said, 'Oh, OK, so this is flirting, this is him flirting with me.' And then he got back down and said, 'Oh, I'm sorry.' He got back down, and he retied my shoelace." Simone admitted she fell for the "21 Bridges" star pretty quickly and the rest is indeed history.

Gushing about her husband’s phenomenal personality, she said, "I just came to a realization that I could really trust him. He did not go into anything with his eyes closed. And I knew that I could follow him off the edge of a cliff because he's got a plan, you know?"

Simone described the Howard university alum as "the smartest, most caring, most genuine, most just real, authentic, truth in everything -- like nobody that I had ever met."

Unfortunately, their beautiful love was disrupted by Chadwick’s sudden death on August 28, 2020, from Colon cancer. The world was in utter shock about the news, with no one even being aware that he was battling such a difficult disease while giving his best on-screen.

However, his wife Simone, close family members, and a few loved ones knew about his health condition. She revealed that they were already dating for two years before he was diagnosed.

On his four-year battle with stage IV colon cancer, Simone revealed that her husband never wanted people to "see him sweat." She noted that they had to be "very very careful" in keeping his health a secret.

"There was always some level of concern," she admitted. "But we really do have a very, very trusted circle of people that were there to support him and support me." However, Simone revealed that it must have been "exhausting" for the Golden Globe winner to continue carrying on, "trying to get everything done."

Coincidentally, the moment Chadwick’s health began to spiral came during the pandemic when everyone was holed up at home, so there was "no pressure" to perform, and they got to spend time as a family together.

As for how she has been dealing with his immeasurable loss, Simone confessed that it has been "the most challenging two years I've ever had in my life." She continued, "Some days, I'm doing worse than I'm really willing to acknowledge. And other days, I'm doing better than I feel comfortable admitting."

However, while carrying on Chadwick’s legacy through his foundation, Simone maintained that her late husband would want her to pursue her own dreams and not let his demise overshadow her life.

She revealed that she had the idea of writing an album as a way of honoring her husband’s memory while channeling her love for music.