Judge Mathis’ Son Greg Mathis Jr. Reacts to Parents’ Past Divorce Scare: ‘Never Been in a Media Whirlwind Like That Before’ (Exclusive)

Greg Mathis Jr. is speaking out on his parents’ relationship status.

The actor, 36, offered a life update during an interview with PEOPLE at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, Feb. 22 in Los Angeles. After his mom, Linda Reese Mathis, filed for divorce from his father, Judge Greg Mathis Sr. last year, the pair reconciled. Now, Greg Jr., who is starring in the upcoming BET+ film Fighting To Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story, says watching it play out publicly was an interesting experience.

“I’ve never been in a media whirlwind like that before,” the actor shares. “And I’m so happy they worked it out though because, woah, that was a lot to go through. But I’m happy they worked it out and the family’s doing well. I’m so happy.”

Greg Jr. is navigating his own marriage as well, having just tied the knot with husband Elliott Cooper in October. The pair came out and shared their relationship with the world on the E! reality series Mathis Family Matters in 2022 following several years together.

“You know, it’s interesting because we’ve been together for a decade already, so it’s kind of more of the same,” Greg Jr. explains. “But it is a little added layer of just, this is serious. Like, we’re going to be together forever, and so it’s exciting to get into just planning our future together, thinking about children, just where we stay rooted permanently.”

“It’s going to be an exciting journey for both of us,” he adds.

His next steps with Cooper are to look into adoption and surrogacy options so they can start building their family, but Greg Jr. admits there are a lot of factors that go into the decision.

“I find the cost of it daunting,” he says. “It is a different story for us. I mean, we have to really invest in some type of way in having and expanding our families, and so that’s been the most daunting part of it. I think it’s just figuring out how we line this up financially for ourselves and make it happen.”

On Feb. 27, Greg Jr.’s latest film, Fighting To Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story, premieres on BET+. He tells PEOPLE that he hopes its message can impact the lives of those who watch it.

“It’s about a real woman, Dwen Curry, but she was assigned male at birth,” he explains. “And so it really follows her story as she comes into her second life and becomes the woman that she is today.”

He continues: “I think it’s such an important story to tell given what’s going on in our country right now to be able to tell this story. And so I’m looking forward to folks tuning in and seeing just how incredible of a woman. It’s a crazy story, so I don’t want to give away too much, but I’m excited for people to see it.”

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Greg Jr.’s parents, Greg Sr. and Linda, wed in June 1985. A month prior, they welcomed daughter Jade, followed by their second daughter Camara in 1987 and sons Greg Jr. in 1989 and Amir Jr. in 1990.

In July 2024, Linda filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences,” but by November, they told TMZ they were back together.

 “I think what happens sometimes in life, God has to break you down and lift you up and put you on another mission,” Greg Sr. told the outlet. “As a street kid, went to jail, came out. I was on a mission to help street kids. And I have. For 25 years. Now, I’m on a mission to help Black love.”

When he planted a kiss on her forehead, he declared: “And that’s not for television. We kiss all the time, y’all!”