(Photo Credit: PR Photos)
LL Cool J’s wife of 23 years, Simone Smith, bears a striking resemblance to her handsome grandfather, as evident in a throwback photo she shared of him on social media, noting that she “misses a lot.”
The mother of four and renowned jewelry designer received messages of love and support from fans who filled her comment section.
See her post below:
Simone’s pic of her grandfather portrays a younger Smith back-hugging “Papa George”. She captioned the image: “When I was a little girl the church ladies use to call me lil brother Pyle because I looked so much like my grandfather. Gosh I miss him #Papa #PapaGeorge #TheManWhoRaisedMe”
Instagram user @mygirl219 wrote “Sweet memories of a beautiful relationship with your Grandfather,” while @cantgetright997 praised Simone’s looks saying, “Damn girl only thing that changed was your hair,” and @missing_u_2017 added “His spirit lives on forever in your loving memories. Thank you for sharing.”
A few years ago, Simone was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma. Her husband put his career on pause to support his wife through her battle with the disease. Simone said the experience brought them closer.
“You don’t abandon someone in that foxhole, you know,” the actor and rapper revealed during a sit-down with Oprah. “You got to be there in that foxhole with them. So I made some decisions professionally and decided to be by Simone’s side during that period.”
LL and Simone met as teens in the early 80s. The couple married in 1995 and have four children together. The rapper revealed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” that it was love at first sight with Simone.
“I was just 19, something like that,” he told Kimmel. “It was Easter, and I was driving down the block in my mother’s car.” He then stopped to say hello to a friend, and his friend said, “Hey, you wanna meet my cousin?” LL Cool J was about to decline the proposal when he saw Smith. He recalled, “I looked over and said ‘Oh yeah, I’ll meet your cousin.’” That was the begging of a beautiful love story.
