All About Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Wife & Relationship History

For his fans, Malcolm-Jamal Warner will always be remembered as Theo Huxtable from “The Cosby Show.” But for those closest to him, he was a devoted husband, father, son, and friend—roles he protected fiercely from public view.

In a rare 2025 interview on the “Hot & Bothered” podcast, Warner spoke candidly about growing up with separated parents and how their strong co-parenting influenced his views on family.

Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images

“My parents were separated when I was three. They got divorced when I was six,” he said. “My father has been remarried for 47 years, and my mother and father are like brother and sister. My whole life, they’ve had this close relationship and coparented very well.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Death at 54

On July 20, Warner tragically drowned off the coast of Costa Rica, according to Costa Rican National Police. People reported that the official cause of death was listed as asphyxia. He was 54.

Following confirmation of his passing, it was revealed that Warner is survived by his wife and daughter—though he never publicly disclosed their names during his life.

Who Was Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s Wife?

Though he fiercely guarded her privacy, Warner spoke lovingly about his wife during that same 2025 podcast appearance. Recalling their first date, he shared: “I was just really honest and frank and candid about everything. I wasn’t trying to smash.”

While he initially told her he didn’t want children, that changed within a matter of months. “I said, ‘What do you think about starting a family?’” he shared. “At some point during this time, if I’m going to have a kid, this is the person I would like to have it with.”

Warner said the decision felt immediate and specific. “This feels right and this makes sense. When people say, ‘When you know you know,’ that’s what that feeling is.”

His Past Relationships: Regina King, Karen Malina White & More

(Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)

Warner’s most public romance was with actress Regina King. The two dated for two years before parting ways in 2013. “We both had to do whatever we had to do to be ready for each other now,” King told Parade in 2012, as quoted in US Weekly. “We probably wouldn’t have been ready years ago.”

He was also in a long-term relationship with “A Different World” actress Karen Malina White. Though he didn’t name her directly on the podcast, Warner opened up about the aftermath of a six-year relationship: “After being in a relationship for six years, I spent the next two years like a man who had been in a relationship for six years,” he said. “I went on this hiatus. I was cold turkey.”

That time off from dating, he shared, led him to meeting his future wife through a mutual friend.

His Close Connection With Michelle Thomas

Warner was also romantically linked to his “Cosby Show” co-star Michelle Thomas, who played his on-screen girlfriend Justine Phillips. Thomas died in 1998 of stomach cancer.

In a touching 2015 Instagram tribute, Warner wrote: “If there was ever an angel who walked amongst us mere mortals, this woman was it. So powerful even her haters would have to agree. She lit up the room like she lit up the screen! R.I.P. my love. We miss you.”

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