Magic Johnson Gushes Over His ‘Best Friend’ Cookie Johnson After 34 Years of Marriage (Exclusive)

In the game of love, Earvin “Magic” Johnson knows he won big with his wife, Cookie Johnson.

“She’s my best friend besides being my wife,” Magic, 66, shared exclusively with Us Weekly at the HollyRod Foundation’s 2025 DesignCare Gala on Saturday, October 4. “Cookie is a caretaker and she takes care of myself, our kids, our grandchildren and all of her friends. She’s a woman of God, and it’s a blessing.”

Magic and Cookie met as freshmen at Michigan State University in the late 1970s. The pair would later marry in September 1991.

“I’ve been with her for 47 years and married for 34 years,” Magic said. “We’re business partners. It’s everything rolled into one.”

In September, Magic and Cookie, 66, celebrated their wedding anniversary with an intimate lunch at the Bel Air Hotel with some of their closest friends, including Sugar Ray Leonard and actress Vanessa Calloway.

At the time, both parties expressed gratitude for their love story that continues to grow year after year.

“I love how our love is authentically our own, I enjoy every moment together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Cookie wrote via Instagram on September 14. “Here’s to our forever love!!”

Magic added, “A great celebration. Awesome food, awesome presentation, and the outside patio was fabulous! It made our 34th anniversary something to remember!”

Before supporting close friends Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete’s annual charity event — which raises funds to provide compassionate care to those living with autism and Parkinson’s disease — Cookie reflected on the early days of her romance with Magic.

“For me, I think I fell in love with the fact that Earvin is a gentleman. He was raised right,” she told Us at NYA EAST in Los Angeles. “Even when we were in college, he opened doors for you. He treated me well. He spoils me rotten. And that’s one thing I’ve always admired about him.”

She also respects her husband for being such a “hard worker” and never believing in giving up.

“When somebody knocks you down, he just gets right back up and he looks forward and figures it out from there,” Cookie gushed. “The rest of us are still down there crying going, ‘Why did they do that? Why me?’ And he’s like, ‘It’s done. We’re moving forward. Let’s figure it out.’”

While Magic and Cookie were happy to gush about each other, they were thrilled to praise Holly, 61, and Rodney, 59, for their philanthropic work with the HollyRod Foundation.

Founded in 1997, the nonprofit continues to advocate and support the autism and Parkinson’s communities.

“We’re just blessed to know them so well,” Magic said to Us. “We just love Holly and Rodney and what they stand for and what they’ve done for the community, and we continue to be blessed to know that they’re our friends.”

Cookie added, “[Holly] doesn’t just raise money, but she is out there in the field. She’s figuring out things. She’s helping to figure out where to put the money. If you see right now what she’s done with her son [RJ] and how far he’s come? It shows you the heart that they have and the hard work that they put in.”