Joshua Jackson is setting the record straight about how the wedding proposal went down with wife Jodie Turner-Smith.
The former "Dawson's Creek" star shared on the "The Tonight Show" last month that the British model-actor proposed to him on New Year's Eve, but he has now clarified with Refinery29 that it was one of two proposals between them.
"So yes, we were in Nicaragua on a beautiful moonlit night, it could not possibly have been more romantic," he said. "And yes, my wife did propose to me and yes, I did say yes, but what I didn't say in that interview was there was a caveat, which is that I'm still old school enough that I said, 'This is a yes, but you have to give me the opportunity.'
"She has a biological father and a stepdad, who's the man who raised her. (I said), ‘You have to give me the opportunity to ask both of those men for your hand in marriage.’ And then, ‘I would like the opportunity to re-propose those to you and do it the old fashioned way down on bended knee.’ So, that's actually how the story ended up."
Jackson, 43, and Turner-Smith, 34, reportedly got married in December 2019 and then welcomed their first child, a baby girl, in April 2020.
He said Turner-Smith endured ugly comments on social media after he told the story of her proposing to him.
"Good God, you cannot believe the things people were leaving my wife on Instagram," he said. "She did it. I said ‘yes.’ We're happy. That's it. That's all you need to know.
"That has been a real education for me as a white man, truly. The way people get in her comments and the ignorance and ugliness that comes her way is truly shocking. And it has been a necessary, but an unpleasant education in just the way people relate to Black bodies in general, but Black female bodies in specific. It is not okay. We have a long way to go."
The "Dr. Death" star has seen firsthand the vitriol that a prominent woman of color can face online and he expressed nothing but awe for his wife and all that she has to endure.
"I think it's like a golden cage, the concept of the strong Black woman," he said. "I would wish for my wife that she would not have to rise above with such amazing strength and grace, above the ugliness that people throw at her on a day to day. I am impressed with her that she does it, but I would wish that that would not be the armor that she has to put on every morning to just navigate being alive."
On the flip side, the couple have become beloved by their fans for their fun, flirty relationship on Instagram and Twitter, where they will comment on each other's posts.
"We're rarely in the same room (writing) the thirsty comments because that usually just gets said to each other," Jackson said. "But, look, if either of us misses a comment, you better believe at night, there's a, 'Hey, did you see what I wrote?' One, she's very easy to love out loud and two, she's phenomenal.
"And I have to say, the love and support that is coming my direction has been a revelation in my life. I've said this often, and it just is the truth: If you ever needed to test whether or not you had chosen the right partner in life, just have a baby at the beginning of a pandemic and then spend a year and a half together. And then you know. I didn't get married until fairly late in the game. I didn't have a baby till very late in the game and they're the two best choices I've ever made in my life."
Related video: