Marlon Wayans is one of the most enduring Wayans brothers. As the youngest in the pack, he has continued his career well beyond those of his siblings and remains an a-list talent and beloved comedian. When it comes to love, however, Wayans has not always been super successful. He recently opened up about why it is hard for him sometimes to share his space with anyone else, let alone a love interest.
Marlon Wayans is the youngest of 10 kids. His family grew up in the Chelsea projects in New York in a three-bedroom apartment. Marlon pretty much was always surrounded by his siblings and always sharing, something that followed him into his career. The first two decades of Marlon’s career was shared with older brother Shawn and their success in films like Scary Movie and White Chicks. Now, a fully formed solo star, Marlon reflects on how all that time sharing space has made him really appreciate his solitude.
While talking with The Breakfast Club, Marlon discussed how he does not like being “that guy” in relationships. He feels like it is not his responsibility to help women heal because he does not put that pressure on women. “We have to heal ourselves; we can’t put it on other people to heal you,” he said. Marlon says he attributes a lot of his healing to therapy and wishes more people did it. He jokes that the therapist does not really help you, but instead, they create a space for you to figure out the problems on your own. According to him, therapy helped him realize that he was so protective over his space because for so long, he always shared it. He says he quickly realized the distance he keeps between himself and women is because he grew up in a house with ten kids and truly values his space. “I don’t want a roommate! It’s not about me not wanting somebody.” He says that while growing up, everyone told him what to do. Now he can walk around his 7,000 sq ft house and admire the empty space and feel at peace. “Ah, it’s nice to be alone,” he says.
While he loves his space away from his family, make no mistake, Marlon loves his tribe very much. The Wayans family is a Hollywood empire, and Marlon has been carrying their legacy for the last decade. He is known for flying out all his nieces and nephews to his shows and stayed single so that he could be the #1 man in his mother’s life to her dying day.
Marlon and his first nephew are only a few years apart and were practically raised together like siblings. As a result, Marlon takes pride in being the bridge between his generation of Wayans and the one that followed immediately after them. Already, the likes of Damon Wayans Jr, Chaunté Wayans, and Damien Dante Wayans have followed the family name into Hollywood. Marlon has two children, Amai Zackary Wayans (born May 24, 2000) and Shawn Howell Wayans (born February 3, 2002), who have yet to follow dad into show business. Do you think Marlon is right for valuing his space coming from such a massive and visible family?
