Tenisha Warner, widow of actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, opens up about being a single mom amid lawsuit over estate

One year after actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner drowned in Costa Rica at the age of 54 while on vacation with his family, his widow, Tenisha Warner, has filed a lawsuit against his mother, Pamela Warner, in her capacity as successor trustee of the Warner family trust.

The suit seeks to recover at least $1.2 million from that family trust and alleges, in part, that Malcolm-Jamal Warner — known for playing Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” — did not “purchase and maintain a term life insurance policy on his life in the amount of $1 million” or on Tenisha Warner’s life, as allegedly stipulated in their premarital agreement.

Tenisha Warner sat down for an exclusive interview with “CBS Mornings” before the lawsuit was made public on Monday, the one-year anniversary of Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s death. In it, she spoke mainly about her grief and how she is handling being a single mom now.

“Right now, everybody, like all of his family members and, who have lost him, they are grieving,” Tenisha Warner said. “You know, it’s been the biggest loss for all of us.”

“The emotional capacity that I have can be very limited sometimes, you know? And so, I have to, for myself, decide, what do I have to give right now in this moment? And whatever I have to give, the first person to get that is my daughter,” she said. “And then the second is myself.”

In a statement provided by her spokesperson after the lawsuit was filed, Tenisha Warner said: “For the last year, I have attempted to privately settle my beloved husband’s complicated estate and honor his last wishes. Malcolm had every intention to provide for our 9-year-old daughter and me. He was close to finalizing a new estate plan to replace the stale plan created in 1996 when he was 26 years old, 20 years before we met and well before we gave birth to our beautiful daughter. Sadly, He was unable to do so before we lost him.”

“CBS Mornings” has reached out to Pamela Warner’s attorneys for comment, but has not heard back.

In a statement posted Monday night on Instagram, Pamela Warner wrote, “As I look back, I have no regrets. Perhaps a little more time. Perhaps one more chance to cook his favorite meals, have one last conversation, one last good deep belly laugh, the kind that produces those tears of pure joy, one last kiss, one last hug.”

“During my year-long journey, I have discovered how cruel, evil, and greedy a human can be,” she added. “I have also discovered the depth of love, care, concern, and support that humans are capable of.”

See more of Tenisha Warner’s interview Thursday on “CBS Mornings.”