Erika Alexander, best known for her work as Maxine from the sitcom Living Single, is finally living single at 51 after her twenty-year marriage with ex-husband Tony Puryear concluded. 

Although their marriage ended in a divorce, Puryear is still an important person in Alexander's day-to-day. The two have even joined hands for a massive undertaking with an Afrofuturistic offering. 

Meet Erika Alexander's Husband of 20 Years

Fun fact: Puryear was the second guy Alexander ever dated.

The former flames said "I do" in front of a hundred and fifty guests on September 27, 1997, when the actress was 28 years of age. The ceremony was held outdoors, and the evening reception was held at Malibu's Stone Manor.

As per AmoMama, Alexander's ex-husband comes from a mixed ethnic background since his father was Black and his mother was White. The talented screenwriter hails from Bronx, New York, and attended Brown University. 

After getting his college degree, Puryear went on to work in advertising and making TV commercials before ultimately settling for a career in filmmaking. 

Puryear's extensive portfolio includes directing videos for global talents like LL Cool J, EPMD, and K-Solo. He has also written screenplays for Mel Gibson, Jerry Bruckheimer, Oliver Stone, and Will Smith.

Most notably, he is the first African-American to write scripts worth over a hundred million dollars, a record he set writing for Eraser.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Tony Puryear (@tony_puryear)

Erika Alexander on Her Relationship with Ex-Husband

Even after her separation from Puryear, Alexander admitted, on record, that he is a man she deeply admired and loved him. It was just that they simply did not get along in the marriage. 

We just realized that we were better apart than we were together. But, we will always, not only remain friends but creative collaborators.

She further expounded that the breakup was especially difficult because she was unaware of how much she had attached herself to the idea of being married. 

Erika Alexander Still Works with Her Ex-Husband

That being said, one of the couple's joint projects was a comic book series called Concrete Park, which was initially released in 2011. The road to publishing their work was a hard-fought one, though. 
 

Concrete Park wasn't your everyday sci-fi work of art. No. The series of graphic novels were built around the idea of deconstructing racial stereotypes. The series has carved out its own fanbase in the Afrofuturistic genre, which fits perfectly with the racial advocacy that Alexander is engrossed in alongside her artistic endeavors.

Needless to say, the talented creators ultimately made it work, and the franchise has been growing in recent years. Sadly, while their projects together were charting new waters, their marriage was down in the dumps. 

The couple ultimately called it quits on their marriage in 2017 after sharing 20 years of their lives with one another. Despite the longevity of their marriage, in Hollywood years at least, the couple has no children of their own. Apparently, neither of them wanted kids.

However, not much else is known about Alexander's marriage. Turns out, the Living Single star is well versed in keeping her life away from the public eye.