‘Soul Food’ actor Michael Beach refuses to kick his ex-wife out of the house he shares with his current wife and 8 children

Miles, the character played by actor Michael Beach in the movie “Soul Food”, had an especially complicated marriage and love life.

In the 1997 film, he played a musician who was married to a wife named Terry, played by Vanessa Williams. However, one evening, after she left home, Miles gave in to temptation and slept with her cousin Faith, played by Gina Ravera. Viewers often remember the iconic scene through which Terry attacked her husband and cousin with a knife during a family party.

Beach’s real life is just as complicated, but not as messy. His wife of 17 years, Elisha, whom he married in 2007, and his ex-wife of eight years, Tracey, live with him in the same house in what he describes as a functional “blended family.” .

During a recent interview with Sway Calloway, Heather B and Tracey G on “Sway’s Universe” last month, Beach tried to make clear his unconventional yet harmonious family lifestyle, capturing the complexity of their situation from an outsider’s perspective and sharing how Thanks to this solution, all and sundry’s life has been more enriched.

When the “Lean on Me” actor talked about his unique life structure in 2020 on OWN’s “Black Love” special, he first explained how he and Elisha were together for a decade before they married and how long they’d been in one another’s lives.

“In ‘Black Love,’ I talk about my ex-wife living with my wife and me and our kids,” he told Calloway, adding: “She’s been living with us now for, I do not know, 7 years. -8 years old and she is just part of our family.

He married Tracey in 1998, and after their divorce in 2006 he thought he would never marry again.

Beach candidly looks back on her first marriage, which produced 4 children, saying, “It didn’t work out. I believed, well, why do I actually have to do that again? I’m done.

Beach noted that despite the marriage ending, “it wasn’t a terrible marriage.”

He then explained that he and Elisha were together for ten years before they got married in 2007, and that they’d been in one another’s lives for a very long time.

“We’ve been together for 24 years,” Beach explained, emphasizing the length of his relationship with Elisha. “Literally, in and out of my mind, she saved me from myself… when it got here to my happiness. I can not imagine not being in love and being with someone… aging like me and not having a relationship like that.

The 60-year-old admits that this example could appear strange from the outside, but for his or her family it really works perfectly.

“It sounds slightly crazy, yeah. This is a rare situation,” the “Split” actor told the hosts. “They (his children) just know her as Tracey. They know we were married… because our older children, of their 30s, come to see us all the time. They know Tracey is their mom and I’m their dad.

This family reunification, although complex, has grow to be a natural part of their lives. Beach says this arrangement helped him let go of any negative emotions from his past.

He said: “Quite a bit of people stick to it and it doesn’t really help. You grow to be bitter and make bad decisions because of this burden and pressure. I actually have found that letting things go makes my life much easier.

According to Beach, Elisha played a key role in constructing a peaceful family dynamic.

“She helped me do it,” he said of letting go of the past. “The fact that she’s come to terms with the fact that my ex-wife lives with us…yes, exactly.”

It’s clear that the solution, which can surprise outsiders, was a win-win for everybody involved, including the Beach children.

“The funny thing is, they’re together more than we are,” he said, noting that he had to participate in acting gigs and was sometimes gone for months at a time.

He pointed to the time when Tracey moved in and he was filming “Aquaman” in Australia for 2 months and couldn’t go home. He saw the two of them spending time together, supporting one another.

“Elisha and Tracey have grown closer… Tracey has been very helpful in looking after our (four younger) children, taking them to school and helping with lunches. It just worked out,” Beach said.

He has 4 children with Tracey: 26-year-old twins; Quincey and Tyler, Alexander24; AND Roarke Beach36.

Beach and Elisha’s children’s names are, Jackson14, Nolan10, Ledgendwho’s in highschool and Davis7. Nevertheless, this example has given rise to some misconceptions, especially from those outside the family.

Several fans dismissed the non-traditional family roles all and sundry was taking over, including Tracey helping Elisha with the smaller kids, saying things like, “Michael Beach is Efn MAN. I need him to play my part in the story of my life.

Another commented: “I do not know. Lol sumin seems kinda cool.

Still, the “Waiting to Exhale” star shrugs off the criticism by clearing up misconceptions about her marriage. He made it clear that unlike his hero, Miles, he could be very different when it comes to his wife.

This explanation got here after he caused a stir on social media in 2023 when he asked fans to weigh in on the film and suggest who they thought he must have chosen – likely knowing that folks would see similarities to his current situation.

“On social media, especially with ‘Black Love,’ it is often like, ‘Oh, well, something like this is occurring. “That little sex thing,” Beach laughs at the assumption that each one three are in a polyamorous relationship. Clarifying the matter, he added: “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Finally, Beach sums up why this blended family arrangement works so well: “Tracey is part of my life, part of my family. We have four children together… I can’t cut her off. It just won’t happen.”

His ability to embrace an unconventional family structure and move past the hurts of his past has given him peace.

In a world where many individuals hold grudges, Beach’s story is a lesson in forgiveness, openness, and the ability to redefine family in a way that advantages everyone involved.