Holly Robinson Peete and husband Rodney Peete have had their shares of ups and downs — but according to her, their different reactions to son Rodney “RJ” Peete Jr.’s autism diagnosis almost broke them.
“Rodney was on Denial Street,” Robinson Peete, 59, recalled of her husband’s initial reaction to RJ’s diagnosis during the Tuesday, January 30, episode of Kelly Ripa’s “Let’s Talk Off Camera” podcast.
Robinson Peete explained that when their eldest son, RJ, was 3, doctors told her and Peete, 57, that their child “would never do” a lot of things, including go to mainstream school or say, “I love you.” RJ, who is now 26, has defied those odds and has been employed by the Los Angeles Dodgers for more than eight years.
However, during RJ’s early diagnosis, Robinson Peete remembered her husband being in shock, as Peete hoped RJ would be “the Heisman Trophy winner” and follow in his athletic footsteps. (Peete played quarterback at the University of Southern California before playing in the NFL for 15 years.)
“Instead, [Rodney] got the kid who comes to the locker room and runs around and twirls and flaps and stims,” Robinson Peete told Ripa, 53, referring to RJ’s self-stimulatory behaviors such as repeating movements or sounds.
Robinson Peete said her spouse “could not process” their son being unable to run and play and get involved in sports. “We were not on the same page. We weren’t even in the same state or country,” she explained.
The actress noted that when RJ was a child, she remembered feeling “alone” in her marriage. “I finally said to him, ‘I cannot eggshell my life around you because you’re sad about the kid you got,’” Robinson Peete said of her message to Peete at the time.
“This was a big issue. I was ready to leave him,” she confessed. “Did I want to do this on my own? No, but he was no help, and then he was in denial, and even people in his family couldn’t even say the word autism. My gangsta mom jacket is on, and I cannot [deal] with you. So I told him, ‘I’m out of here.’”
Robinson Peete revealed that Peete did come around, especially after he saw a therapist get through to RJ before he did. “It was through sheer embarrassment that [Rodney] turned it around,” she said. “He was like, ‘There’s no way in the world some stranger’s going to connect with my kid but I won’t.’ And that really was what turned him around, and he’s been on board ever since.”
RJ’s support system also includes his three siblings: his neurotypical twin sister, Ryan, who is not affected by the disorder, and their two younger brothers, Robinson, 21, and Roman, 18. Robinson Peete exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2023 that her kids’ devotion to their brother has only strengthened her and Peete’s efforts to help RJ become the best he can be.
“There were times in the beginning where it was tough, right, and my husband and I struggled because he had his sort of idea of what to do. And I had mine,” Robinson Peete explained. “But at the end of the day, yeah, [we became stronger].”
She recalled watching RJ’s “siblings advocate for him, but they almost treated him like a little brother for a while. So they’ve always been in his corner. I feel like we’ve really got a great, strong Team RJ.”
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Robinson Peete, who has been married to Peete since 1995, noted that while her relationship has been tested, she and Peete have overcome all the lows. “It’s just really all about committing to being on the same page and committing to fight for what’s important for us,” she told Us, pointing to Peete’s “willingness to go to therapy” as one of the big factors in keeping their marriage healthy.
“He’s a good guy. I want to keep him around. We’ve been through a lot, but we’re going to stick this out,” Robinson Peete gushed.
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