What Happens When You Marry Your Homie | Why couples that laugh together last together

Everyone has opinions about what makes a marriage work. Date nights. Love languages. Never go to bed angry. Most of it sounds great on a podcast, until you try to live it. When Jevin and L. Marie Smith sat down with me for the Shaping Freedom podcast, they brought 21 years of marriage, four children, a family brand built on humor and honesty, and a willingness to say the things most couples keep to themselves.

Jevin is a digital creator, actor, DJ, and comedian known for his viral "Embarrassing Dad" pickup videos and the children's book Daddy Loves to Embarrass Me. He plays 45 Cent in the comedy film A Hip Hop Story (written by Affion Crockett and directed by Damaine Radcliffe) alongside Cedric the Entertainer, Wayne Brady, and Lil Rel Howery. L. Marie is a digital creator and lifestyle influencer, beloved on the internet as "Temu Janet Jackson" for her Janet Jackson impressions so committed and so wrong that Janet herself has reposted them. Together they've turned ordinary family moments into content that millions of people recognize themselves in.

What became clear in our conversation was what it takes to sustain a relationship over time—two people continuously choosing each other, even when it’s difficult. It showed up in how they communicate. Here are three of many gems shared: 

1. They set their relationship up for success

For twenty-one years they’ve built on that initial transparency. They came into the relationship with very different communication patterns.  Jevin grew up in his mother’s beauty shop privy to conversations about the frustration with men who wouldn’t communicate. He’d decided early in his life that he wouldn’t be that guy.

L. Marie grew up in a home where conversation wasn’t part of the culture. Her family didn’t talk things through at the dinner table or process things out loud.  Feelings were handled alone.  So, while open dialogue doesn’t come naturally to her, they’ve stayed in the practice of working on it – together. 

Recently, L. Marie had an opportunity to impress herself.  Something was bothering her and, every instinct told to keep it to herself. Instead, she let Jevin in on what was going on. ‘I just need you to know,' she told him. 'I'm going to get over it. But I do need you to know.'

This is what the work looks like. Recognizing the pattern you learned, choosing to respond differently in real time, and building something new through that choice.

2. What they Walked Through Became Their Foundation

In 2007, Jevin couldn't find work. L. Marie was pregnant with their third child. They were getting eviction notices and things felt dire.

L. Marie went into a Target, locked herself in the bathroom, and cried. A stranger waited outside the door and told her, "In three months, your life will not look like this."

She walked through the store anyway, laying her hands on things for her children she couldn't afford, praying over every one. She and Jevin never told a soul what they were going through. But within 30 days, people in their lives started showing up. Thousands of dollars arrived through priority mail. Boxes of baby clothes showed up at the door. L. Marie calls it what it was: God moving on someone's heart before anyone even knew to ask.

They lived with Jevin's mother. Then an extended stay hotel. That, they both say, was one of the best periods of their lives. Breakfast was made. Someone cleaned the room. L. Marie could just be a mom.

On May 27, 2008, they moved back to LA. Two days later, Jevin won a game show. The way he sees it, that's how faith works. You take the step before you can see where your foot is going to land. Once we are willing to walk, the path gets built under our feet.

3. They Learned How to Support Each Other

L. Marie didn’t sugarcoat what it’s like being married to Jevin. “Being married to this guy has been scary,” she said, laughing. He moves fast. He jumps into new ideas without hesitation. And that runs counter to how she was wired. But instead of resisting it, she chose a different way of showing up. She became his biggest supporter. His partner. His friend.

For two decades, that’s been part of their rhythm. He leaps. She steadies. She holds the vision with him, even when she can’t fully see it yet. Not blindly, but with faith in what they’re building together.

When he hesitated about stand-up, she pushed him. People called it gold. When the pickup videos went viral within 24 hours, she was right there. When the family started booking national campaigns with Hyundai, T-Mobile, and Burlington, it wasn’t luck, it was the result of what they’d already been building within their family culture.

Jevin named what has made all the difference for him. “When she pushes me or believes in me, I'm like, yo, I could do anything.”  L. Marie added, “I've learned that ironically, somehow, by the grace of God, the parachute does open.” That’s the shift right there. Moving from fear to support. From control to trust. From standing on the sidelines to building something together.

L. Marie encouraged, "If your partner has a vision, just try."Perhaps that’s the part people miss about relationships. Freedom and faith. It’s not about being held back. It’s about having someone in your corner who helps you expand.

“This is my homie,” Jevin said.

TL;DR:

• Be clear before it gets complicated. Clarity in a relationship is the thing that keeps small misunderstandings from becoming mountains. Twenty-one years of marriage started with two people who told each other the truth before they even had a reason to.
  

• The hardest season carries the deepest lessons. Eviction notices, an empty bank account, and a baby on the way. That was 2007. Everything they've built since traces back to what they survived together.
  

• Back your partner's dream before the results show up. That's what trust looks like in a marriage. You say yes, you show up, and you figure the rest out together.

Learn More:

• Follow Jevin "Wealthy Jev" Smith at @wealthy_jev on Instagram and @wealthyjev on TikTok to watch a father turn school pickups into the most embarrassing, joyful content on the internet.
  

• Follow L. Marie Smith at @lmariewealthy on Instagram for the Temu Janet Jackson content that Janet herself reposted, and proof that the best creative partnerships start at home.
  

• Check out A Hip Hop Story and grab Daddy Loves to Embarrass Me on Amazon for the children in your life who already know what it's like to have a parent with zero chill.
  

• Listen to the full Shaping Freedom episode and hear what 21 years of love, laughter, and choosing each other sounds like.