Watch: Regina King shares grief two years after son Ian Alexander Jr.'s death
March 14 (UPI) -- Regina King is sharing the grief she has experienced in the two years since her son's death.
The 53-year-old actress discussed her journey with grief in an interview with Robin Roberts that aired Thursday on Good Morning America.
King's son Ian Alexander Jr. died by suicide at age 26 in January 2022.
On GMA, King said she is "a different person now" in the wake of her son's death and his battle with depression.
"Grief is a journey," the star said. "I understand that grief is love that has no place to go.
"I know that it's important to me to honor Ian and the totality of who he is -- I speak about him in the present because he is always with me, and the joy and happiness that he gave all of us."
King shared how she respects her son's death as his choice, an acceptance she doesn't expect everyone to understand.
"To have to experience this and not be able to have the time to just sit with Ian's choice, which I respect and understand, that he didn't want to be here anymore," the actress said. "That's a hard thing for other people to receive, because they did not live our experience, did not live Ian's journey.
"I was so angry with God," she added. "Why would that weight be given to Ian? All of the things that we had gone through, with the therapy, psychiatrists, programs. Ian was like, 'I'm tired of talking, Mom.'"
"I understand that grief is love that has no place to go. I know that it's important to me to honor Ian and the totality of who he is."@ReginaKing speaks out to @robinroberts for the first time about her son's death over two years ago. https://t.co/yIiTGItzCY pic.twitter.com/D2fXGdcauc— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 14, 2024
King is known for the series American Crime, The Leftovers and Watchmen.
The actress will next star in Shirley, a new film recounting the true story of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman and the first Black woman to run for president of the United States. The movie premieres March 22 on Netflix.