Divorce Court judge Star Jones says open marriages do not work, telling Us that bringing a third party into a marriage is the one recurring issue she sees on the show.
"This is a new trend. Open marriages do not work. Situationships are bulls***," Star Jones, 64, told Us. "There is no such thing as making a third party into your marriage. It never works. It is fun for a minute, and then somebody gets ticked off. Trust Star."
She made the comments before winning a Daytime Emmy on Friday, Oct. 30, the same day she announced Court has been picked up for its 29th season.
Jones signed on to the syndicated show in 2022 and has presided over it since season 24.
After years of couples on her bench, Jones says the biggest misconception about marriage is not dealing with conflict head-on. "Don't get pissed off and go into your own corner and not deal with it," she said.
She says she practices what she preaches. Jones has been married to her second husband, administrative law Star Ricardo Lugo, since 2018, and is stepmother to his 21-year-old son, Jake. "My husband and I have a rule, and we learned this from his older brother: 24 hours cannot go by being mad at each other," she said. "We got to kiss, and we gotta move on, and we've not broken that rule." The weekend of the interview was the 11th anniversary of their first date.
Asked what she wishes she had known about marriage 20 years ago, Jones pointed to something old-fashioned. "The Bible says you need to be equally yoked, and that's not just religion: Its values, its interests, its emotions, its communication skills, its long-term goals," she said. She also said she once made a list of what she wanted in a man, and advised, "If you don't match your list, then you might need to make some changes because you're never gonna get what you really want until you are that person that deserves it."
Jones won her first Daytime Emmy over the weekend, taking Outstanding Daytime Personality – Daily at the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Hollywood, California, alongside the show's bailiff, Corey Jovan. "Fourteen times I've been nominated and my God!" she said. "I've been in the business 35 years, and that's my Cinderella slipper to be able to be here tonight."
The premiere date for season 29 of Court has not been announced. Previous episodes are available to stream on Hulu and Tubi.