Sitcom Star on Her Plans Amid Divorce: ‘Throwing Myself Into Work and Trying to Make People Laugh’

For some, divorce is a driving factor for their success. Just ask Fortune Feimster. Feimster and her estranged wife, Jacquelyn “Jax” Smith, announced their split in a joint statement on June 2.

Opening up about her ongoing divorce in an exclusive with PEOPLE, the actress spoke about how work is keeping her busy. She’s appeared in sitcoms, including The Mindy Project and Kenan.

“I’m all right. It’s life. These things happen and [I’m] just looking towards a new chapter and throwing myself into work and trying to make people laugh,” she said. “That’s where I get joy.”

In their divorce announcement, they shared it wasn’t an easy choice. “Together, we have made the difficult decision to end our marriage,” the statement began, noting that they’d already been separated “for a little bit” dealing with “tough health situations” in their families.

“While we are sad to see this chapter of our lives come to a close, we wish each other nothing but the best as we move forward,” the statement continued. “We’ve had 10 years together, and there’s so much to celebrate about that and so much we will look back on fondly.”

Feimster and Smith met at a Chicago Pride event in 2015. They got engaged in January 2018, and married in October 2020.

While dealing with the end of her marriage, Feimster has also been grappling with her mother, Ginger, being diagnosed with a “rare and very aggressive” form of cancer. She revealed the health update in an Instagram post on May 18, noting that her mom has Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) bile duct cancer after doctors found a mass “the size of a small orange” on her liver.

The cancer is currently at stage 2, and her mother will undergo chemotherapy as treatment. She will also undergo immunotherapy. Unfortunately, the cancer is not curable.