LL Cool J has taken on the task of hosting the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards for the second time, and ahead of the show, we are taking a closer look at the iconic rapper’s life, specifically his relationship with his wife, Simone Smith.
Who Is LL Cool J’s Beautiful Wife?
The entertainment industry is not often celebrated for its long and successful romances, but LL Cool J and Smith are a couple that have withstood the test of time. They first met in 1987 in New York City when a mutual friend introduced them.
The musician recalled the story in an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in 2012, Huff Post reports. “I was just 19, something like that. It was Easter and I was driving down the block in my mother’s car,” LL Cool J recalled. A friend asked him if he wanted to meet their cousin. “I looked over and said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll meet your cousin,'” he said of Smith.
It would be another eight years before they would marry on August 7, 1995. The couple also shares four children.
On August 7, 2025, Smith celebrated their relationship on Instagram with a sweet throwback photo. In the caption, she shared her thoughts on how they had been married for 30 years on this day. “Marriage isn’t for the weak, it’s for the faithful. It takes work, love, listening, picking your battles, being a friend, a prayer warrior, a cheerleader, and a safe place,” she wrote.
She continued, “Every marriage has its own DNA. There’s no blueprint… just grace, commitment, and two people willing to grow through every season together. We’ve laughed, cried, prayed, forgiven, and grown — together. We did the work, and God did the rest. 30 years. Countless memories. One God who kept us. LORD I THANK YOU.”
What Has LL Cool J Said About Hosting the MTV VMAs?
LL Cool J is going to give the audience a good show on the night of the MTV VMAs, which will be aired live from the UBS Arena in New York. “I’m giving people a night off from all the madness in the world… so they can have a good time and enjoy music and enjoy everything about music, all the different genres, all the different generations,” he told People on Saturday, September 5.
He continued, “I’m not going to try to make it about LL COOL J… Just have fun and usher people in and out. I’m like the crossing guard at the junior high.”
It will be a big night for the rapper for another reason, too. At the 2025 MTV VMAs, he will get to present fellow musician Busta Rhymes with the Rock The Bells Visionary Award. This will be the first year that the award will be given, and LL Cool J’s 1985 song “Rock the Bells” inspired the name.
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