S Epatha Merkerson has played Sharon Goodwin on Chicago Med since the show’s inception. As such, she’s a very familiar face to fans of the One Chicago franchise. Which, in and of itself, brings a lot of questions. Like, for example, is S Epatha Merkerson married or dating someone in real life? Keep reading to find out.
Who is S. Epatha Merkerson’s Ex-Husband?
Merkerson isn’t married right now, but she was indeed married in the past. The actress married Toussaint Louverture Jones in March of 1994 and after 12 years, the couple got divorced in February of 2006. Very little is known about their time together, and neither party is known to be dating anyone right now. They had no kids together.
S Epatha Merkerson has remained in the public spotlight due to her profession, but her ex-husband has gone on to live a relatively quiet life outside of the spotlight. Merkerson stars as Sharon Goodwin, the Chief of Patient and Medical Services on Chicago Med, NBC’s medical drama following the personal and professional lives of doctors and nurses in the emergency department of the fictional Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. The series — which premiered in 2015 and is created by Dick Wolf, the same mind behind the Law & Order and FBI franchises — is the third spin-off in NBC’s One Chicago franchise, which also includes Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
In the show, her character, Sharon Goodwin starts the show married to Bert. But in the Season 1 finale, Bert walks out on Sharon after 35 years, leaving her not just devastated, but very much skeptical about the institution of marriage in general. Later in the show, we see Goodwin struggle as Bert is officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, leading her to feel responsible for her ex-husband. Thankfully, in the Season 9 finale, Goodwin and her family found a reliable hospice center that would cater to all of Bert’s needs. But there is good news on the romance front for Goodwin in Season 9, as well. The season saw her embark on a new romance, with Dr. Dennis Washington, the Division Chief of Hematology/Oncology at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center. In the Season 9 finale of Chicago Med, after Bert was admitted to hospice care, Washington was there to comfort Goodwin as she processed the events.
Merkerson recently signed a deal that will see her stay on Chicago Med for at least one more season. That’s great news for fans of the franchise because if she were to leave, she would join a long list of One Chicago stars who have also exited in the past year, including Chicago Fire‘s Kara Killmer (Sylvie Brett), Alberto Rosende (Blake Gallo), Eamonn Walker (Chief Wallace Boden) and Chicago P.D.‘s Tracy Spiridakos (Hailey Upton.) She would also follow original cast members Nick Gehlfuss (who played Dr. Will Halstead) and Brian Tee (who played Dr. Ethan Choi) who both exited in Season 8.
