Why The Real Drama Behind ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’ Was Way Bigger Than The Movie
When Terry McMillan’s novel “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” hit shelves in 1996, it felt revolutionary. A story centered around a Black woman in her 40s reclaiming desire, sensuality, joy, and freedom on her own terms was refreshing for readers who wanted more representation in romance.
Inspired by her own whirlwind romance with Jonathan Plummer, a Jamaican man she met on vacation – who also happened to be 23 years younger – the plot seemed almost too good to be true. Baby, that book had aunties ready to book a trip to Jamaica immediately.
Two years later, the film adaptation starring Angela Bassett and Taye Diggs turned McMillan’s fantasy into one of the most beloved Black romance films ever made.
But, behind all of the fantasy was a real-life story far messier than Stella’s ending and one that would change McMillan’s life forever. Thirty years after the release of her bestselling novel, we’re looking back at the real-life story of love and loss that inspired “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.”
According to Oprah.com, McMillan admitted her love affair with Plummer directly fueled the book’s creation. “He was so sexy,” she said. “I really do think I did see him as a work of art because I thought he was beautiful. I loved him to death.”
However, what started as vacation lust quickly became real life.
Plummer left Jamaica for California. He and McMillan married in 1998, and suddenly the fantasy behind Stella had become reality – until a bombshell dropped. Six years after they said, “I do,” Plummer came out as gay to McMillan, according to Oprah.com.
Whew, chile.
McMillan told Winfrey that she was completely blindsided by the news, having no idea that the husband who was always so affectionate and loving with her was gay.
“I couldn’t drive in a car without him holding my hands,” she said. “He brushed my hair. Massaged me. All kinds of wonderful things.”
While Winfrey pressed Plummer on his identity and being honest with his wife, he maintained that he was not intentionally deceptive about his sexuality, saying, “I identified as heterosexual when I was 20. I may have thought about being gay, but I didn’t act on it.”
Still, the revelation detonated their marriage publicly, and the couple filed for divorce in 2005.
According to SFGate, McMillan later wrote about her embarrassment in court documents:
“It was devastating to discover that a relationship I had publicized to the world as life-affirming and built on mutual love was actually based on deceit. I was humiliated.”
Plummer’s attorney, Dolores Sargent, pushed back against the narrative that he was trying to financially exploit McMillan. “All I want to do is settle the case in a way that’s fair to both parties,” she said, adding that Jonathan needed “sufficient funds to re-establish himself.”
Per CBS News, McMillan sued Plummer in 2007 for $40 million, claiming he and his attorney attempted to damage her reputation publicly during the divorce proceedings.
The lawsuit alleged the pair “conspired and formed a plan to threaten to humiliate and embarrass Terry McMillan.”
But, beneath the headlines and courtroom chaos was a much larger conversation that needed to happen about repression, masculinity, and sexuality during the early 2000s.
It’s easy in hindsight to say Plummer should have never entered the marriage if he was struggling with his sexuality. But that era was also a very different time, especially for Black men navigating masculinity and queerness publicly.
Silence often felt safer than honesty, and unfortunately, women frequently became collateral damage in that repression.
Years later, the two appeared together on Oprah again, where Plummer admitted he found relief once McMillan dropped the lawsuit.
“It was hard to go through all this litigation with her,” he said. “I’m truly sorry about the way things ended.”
He continued, saying, “She accepted me for who I am. We’re not best friends, but we are friends.”
Hopefully, this battle will be used as a blueprint to not continue this harmful pattern.
Only time will tell.
