Sheryl Lee Ralph, son Etienne Maurice and the bride-to-be ABC News journalist Stephanie Wash.Photo:getty (2)
getty (2)
Sheryl Lee Ralphis excited about her growing family!
“I’m so happy, I’m so inspired, I love it!” Ralph, 66, said of her sonEtienne Maurice’s recent engagement while chatting withEntertainment Tonight. In the interview published Wednesday, theAbbott Elementaryactress gushed over the July proposal.
Sheryl Lee Ralph.Chris Haston/NBC via Getty
“The fact that Stephanie just fits and blends so well into our family, you know, that’s all you can ask, that your children are happy in different stages of their life,” Ralph said her son’s engagement to the bride-to-be, ABC News journalist Stephanie Wash.
“Now if I can see that happen for my daughter, I will be ecstatic!” Ralph added, referencing 28-year-old Ivy-Victoria. The Emmy Award winner shares both children with ex-husband Eric Maurice, whom she divorced in 2001.
Etienne Maurice and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Ivy-Victoria Maurice.Michael Kovac/Getty
Michael Kovac/Getty
During her chat with ET, she shared that the engagement is still new, so she will give the happy couple time to settle into their new roles before jumping into wedding planner mode. “They’re just at the beginning of it, so, when they need help, they’ll ask me, and I will be there to give it,” Ralph confessed.
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And while she hasn’t finalized any plans for the ceremony, the Broadway star does have some ideas of what she’d like to see. “I want the music to be good. I want it to be just wonderfully outstanding because these are the days that, as you go through your marriage, you have to look back on what is probably your happiest day together and remember that day,” theMoeshaalum shared.
Etienne Maurice, Sheryl Lee Ralph.Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
Maurice and Wash sharednews of their engagementthrough asocial media postlast month. “From strangers to soulmates. July 6th will always be the day our lives changed. Issa fiancé! #HappilyMauriced,” he wrote on a joint Instagram post with his future spouse. They dated for two years before he popped the question in front of a New York cityscape. Some of their closest family members were present for the big moment.
“Words can’t express the overflowing joy in my heart as I witness my family growing in love. Seeing my son take this beautiful step of engagement fills my spirit with so much gratitude and excitement. Lord I can’t take it!” Ralph wrote onInstagramat the time as she shared group photos from the big day.
On Tuesday,PEOPLEcaught up with Ralph as she discussed her partnership with MadeGood and its back-to-school campaign. During the interview, the proud parent revealed how grateful she is that her son is still here after two harrowing events a decade ago.
In 2013, Maurice was involved in both a car accident and a mugging where he was shot three times — including a bullet that grazed his forehead. “There are moments in your children’s lives thatwill bring you to your knees,” Ralph admitted.
“Sometimes in exhaustion. God’s willing, it is in prayer. People talk about testimony. The test has become a testimony. The pain has brought him through with greater purpose. And through his own experiences in life, he is able to be of better help and service to others,” she continued.
Since the incidents, Maurice has become the CEO and founder ofWalkGood, a Los Angeles-based company that connects people from “all walks of life” through the arts, health, and wellness.
source: people.com
