Regina King Reacts to Ex-Boyfriend Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Death: 'Ride in Power'

The Watchmen actress took to her Instagram Stories to pay tribute to her former partner, just one day after news broke that the The Cosby Show star had died at age 54 from an accidental drowning while on vacation in Costa Rica.

"Some people leave a lasting imprint, not just for who they were but for the energy they carried," King wrote alongside a photo of Warner cruising on a motorcycle.

She added, "I'm sending prayers filled with love and understanding to your family and loved ones. Rest easy Malcolm-Jamal Warner."

King followed up with a second photo showing Warner standing tall on a motorcycle with one hand in the air, captioned simply: "Ride in power."

The two stars go back all the way to the '80s, when Warner was starring as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show and King was on the NBC sitcom 227. But it wasn't until 2011 that things turned romantic between the longtime friends.

At the time, King gushed to Essence about their shared history: "Malcolm and I have a lot in common. We've both been child actors and were also blessed to be raised by incredible mothers who instilled good values in us. Things are maturing nicely."

Warner echoed the love to BET, saying, "We like to protect what we have because it's very special and very precious… But I will say that it's a relationship that makes all the sense in the world."

Unfortunately, their love story didn't have a Hollywood ending, however, with the pair calling it quits in 2013 after two years together -- and according to reports at the time, the split wasn't exactly smooth.

King shut down those rumors, quelling online rumblings with a tweet that read: "Hey everybody PLEASE don’t believe everything you read. Me & MalcolmJamalWar are good. Life happens. Forward motion. Godspeed."

Years later, though, she hinted at lingering heartbreak from the breakup in a 2015 interview with Us Weekly, recalling, "Someone broke up with me on Valentine's. Yeah. I'm serious. Then he actually sent me flowers that said, 'I still love you,' and I threw the flowers in the trash, and he was upset that I threw them in the trash, and I was like, 'F--k you.'"

While she didn't name names, King said "people will 'know'" who she was referring to.

Before his relationship with King, Warner dated his late Cosby Show co-star Michelle Thomas, and later actress Karen Malina White. At the time of his passing, he was married and had a daughter, though he kept his family life very private.

In a podcast appearance just a few months before his death, Warner spoke lovingly about his wife, saying, "If something happened and we weren't together romantically, she would still be the person that I would want to raise a child with."

He also opened up about his legacy and how he wanted to be remembered, telling podcast host Melyssa Ford: "I will be able to leave this earth knowing and people knowing that I was a good person."

Reflecting on the influence of his father, Warner added, "[My dad] said to me often, 'You know people love you, and people [are] always talking about your career and your success and all of that, but what really makes me the most proud is that you are a good person.'"

Warner also expressed a desire for his Hollywood career to leave a lasting legacy. After starring on the iconic NBC sitcom, he went on to star in other major series like Reed Between the Lines and The Resident.

"I remember my mother said to me one time that, 'Mr. Cosby gave you immortality,' so I know on one lane there's legacy there," he said. "But then, because I've had this full life after that show, there's another lane of legacy that I get to leave."