Sex and The City star Cynthia Nixon has two children from her relationship with a male English professor, which lasted from 1988 to 2003. They have a daughter Samantha, 11, and a son Charles, 5. In September, 2004, the news came out that she had a same sex partner, an education activist named Christine Marinoni, and that the two were raising Nixon’s children together in Brooklyn. At first Nixon understandably wasn’t too open with the press about her relationship, and you can’t blame her based on the sensational way the story was reported.

In a Nightline interview in February, 2006, she talked about her relationship without getting into specifics. She said “I think people have been pretty good… they understand and they’re pretty respectful.” She also said of the media coverage that “It was a little crazy being on the front page of the paper, and I had photographers outside my house for a day or two, but, it wasn’t so bad.”

In June, 2006 Nixon again spoke in general terms about her personal life, saying “My private life is private. But I have nothing to hide. So what I will say is that I am very happy.”

Then in September of 2006 she did discuss her partner and described the way she fell for her in matter-of-fact terms. She said in an interview with New York Magazine that “I never felt like there was an unconscious part of me around that woke up or that came out of the closet; there wasn’t a struggle, there wasn’t an attempt to suppress. I met this woman, I fell in love with her, and I’m a public figure.”

And recently Nixon, 41, talked about her partner glowingly and about how much she loves her. She mentioned how they both work together in their household and called their relationship “fantastic”:

The SATC star told reporters, “I’m in a fantastic relationship,” she continued, “We shop and cook and raise children…We both pitch in.” Much like in SATC, Cynthia and her partner raise her two kids Samantha, 11, and Charles, 6, in Brooklyn. (Note by Celebitchy: Charles is 5 according to Wikipedia.)

“I’m in love with her because she’s her. If she were a man, would I be in love with her? I don’t know.”

[From OK! Magazine]

I like how she describes their relationship. It’s like something that was once sensationalized as some big scandal is really just two people raising children together like many families do. In her NY Magazine interview, Nixon said of the media coverage that “if someone is chasing you, stop running. And then they’ll stop chasing you.”

Nixon handled the press extremely well in that she spoke in general terms that covered the major points while making it clear that she considered her relationship a non-issue. She didn’t get into too many details. And now it’s time to say what she’s wanted to all along, that she loves her partner and that it’s the little things that make their relationship special.

Nixon’s partner is a bigger woman and many people were like “oh, she’s not hot.” I think in her statements she’s making it clear why she loves her, and that it’s much deeper than looks and yet is as average as any relationship.

Nixon next stars in the Sex and The City movie, which opens in the US on May 30, 2008.

Thanks to Wikipedia for some details.

Cynthia Nixon, Christine Marinoni, and Cynthia’s children Charles and Samantha are shown at a fundraiser at Central Park Zoo on 6/12/06, thanks to WENN.