'Stella' Strikes Back: Terry McMillan on Gay Soon-to-Be Ex
July 13, 2005 -- -- Terry McMillan, author of "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," is speaking out about her bitter divorce from Jonathan Plummer, who says he is gay and wants some of her money.
McMillan's book, which was made into a movie starring Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs, was based on her relationship with Plummer, who is almost half her age.
Plummer, 30, spoke about the relationship on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday and his reasons for seeking to void the prenuptial agreement in order to receive alimony. Now McMillan, 53, is telling her side of the story to PBS' Tavis Smiley in an interview that aired Tuesday.
"I've got evidence to prove all kinds of things that he knew he was gay when he met me, that this is basically extortion," McMillan told Smiley. "He's a habitual liar and a sociopath."
McMillan's opinion was far different when she first met Plummer while on vacation in Jamaica in 1995.
"He gives me comfort and he makes me feel beautiful and smart," she said in 1996. "A man in his 20s just doesn't have the baggage, not at all, and it's sort of like they come with a clean slate and you fill the bag together, which is kind of nice."
Turns out Plummer had a lot more baggage than McMillan ever imagined. Plummer told McMillan he was gay in December and she filed for divorce in January. On June 17, Plummer won a minor victory when a Superior Court judge ordered McMillan to pay Plummer $2,000 a month in spousal support, plus $25,000 in attorney's fees until a full trial on the validity of the prenuptial agreement and the annulment request is heard in mid-October.
McMillan does not think she should pay her soon-to-be-ex a cent.
"You know, he has risked my life having sex with men for years. He's gotten to become a U.S. citizen because of his affair with me, his relationship with me," McMillan told Smiley. "I don't care about him being gay but he risked my life. What if I'm sitting here HIV positive? I can't get rid of that and he wants my money? He should get a job."
