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Kevin (KevOnStage) and Melissa Fredericks say “I Do” – again. The comedian and his wife retied the knot late last month to commemorate 20 years of marriage. In celebration, they hosted three days of festivities in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for close family and friends.
Their parents, siblings, and children, Isaiah, 17, and Josiah, 15, were in attendance. Many familiar favorites like Chance and Tabitha Brown, Devale and Khadeen Ellis, Tommy and Codie Oliver, Glenn and Yvette Henry, Spice Adams, Loren Lott, Tony Baker, Keith Lee and more also showed up to support the couple. Erica Campbell gave the opening prayer and Pastor Jonathan Miller presided over the vow renewal ceremony.
Melissa shared her excitement for the renewal on the Dear Future Wifey podcast in March. She said that this time around her vows would be declared with a new perspective. “Love is a risk and with time that risk proves to be a good decision. I now know what I meant when I said, ‘through thick and thin, for richer or poorer, I do.’ Those words have weight because I have walked them out,” she explained. “The first time you hope it to be true. At a vow renewal, you know them to be true. The conviction is different. I have 20 years of experience to prove it. So, I think it’s very powerful to have the opportunity to do it again.”
You don’t experience 20 years of anything without overcoming challenges and gaining valuable wisdom.
In the same interview, the couple got candid about their relational trials, detailing a time during the pandemic when they almost called it quits. Kevin shared that letting go of pride made a huge difference in the outcome. “I can’t lose her. People don’t understand how, truly, Melissa is instrumental in everything I do. They just see the results of her. It’s more than the videos, it’s the business acumen, the support. I’m not losing all of that for pride or ego,” he said.
The couple also shared the sentiment that fighting for the future in the present helped them stick it out. “At the end of the day, I’m always trying to look at what our life will look like 20 years from now. When all the glitz and glamor is gone, and for Thanksgiving or Christmas when our kids come home. I’m fighting for that version of our story,” Kevin explained.
The Fredericks have long championed the need for honesty around marriage and the work required to find common ground. They aim to help others avoid unnecessary hardships via their platforms. Their New York Times Bestselling book, ‘Marriage Be Hard’, is one avenue. The work guides couples to discover the keys to upholding their vows while staying sane.
The accompanying podcast, Marriage Be Hard Conversations, continues the efforts with no-holds-barred conversations about “forbidden” topics like jealousy, divorce, and how to be Christian and sex positive. Overall they want couples to get comfortable visiting – and revisiting – the topics that matter, in order to transform their bond and the life they are building together.
