Meagan Good Says Jonathan Majors Tried to 'Encourage Me Not to Be with Him' amid His Legal Battle (Exclusive)

The actress and star of 'Divorce In the Black' opens up about how she met and fell for Jonathan Majors at the height of his controversy for domestic violence

When Meagan Good first met Jonathan Majors the two knew there was something there.

“We met at an event and it was just instant chemistry,” she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue, opening up about life and love ahead of the premiere of new film Divorce in the Black, premiering July 11 on Amazon Prime.

But despite initial sparks flying, "I wasn't really in that mind frame," she says, given she was still healing from her divorce from pastor DeVon Franklin. "Then we re-met again about four months later, and I was like, 'Oh f---, this is going to happen.' And it did."

Last year, Good, 42, made headlines and set the internet ablaze when she first stepped out with Majors. The pair took their relationship public just as the Creed III star, 34, faced misdemeanor charges of domestic assault against his ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari.

But according to Good, they hadn't planned to share their relationship with the world at that time.

"Someone saw us somewhere going to a movie and then kind of reported it, and it was like, 'Should we shut it down or not?' And I was like, 'No, because people have a perception of you that's not true. A perception of who you date that's not true,'" she says. "'So if this is what it is then at some point they're going to find out.'"

Related: Meagan Good Says Playing Battered Wife Who Finds Her Strength Was 'Therapeutic' (Exclusive)

Then, Good says, “he actually tried to encourage me not to be with him. He wanted to protect me. I was like, ‘My love, first of all, you’re dealing with a Black Leo. And also, I grew up in this industry. The things that I’ve been through gave me the bandwidth to love other people, regardless. So when we got together it was like, this is going to be a lot, but you got the right one.”

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Majors has maintained his innocence and Good was at court by his side earlier this year when he was found guilty on two counts of assault and harassment and later sentenced to attend a year-long domestic violence intervention program.

She admits the ordeal, along with the public scrutiny, hasn't been easy.

“It is tough to watch,” she says, as her tears begin to flow recalling Majors breaking down on stage at a recent awards show. But out of the public eye, she and Majors have built their relationship by “praying together, meditating, working out,” she says.

“We come outside when we need to but we’ve really existed inside this bubble and it’s been wonderful. It’s crazy because even with everything that’s been going on, this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time."

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