LGBTQ Couples Going Strong This Pride Month
June is a super stacked month that celebrates not only Black music and Juneteenth, but Pride. As such, it’s the perfect time to shine a light on LGBTQ+ celebs thriving not only in the industry but in their loving queer coupledoms.
From Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts to RuPaul and George Lebar, these celebs prove love wins every time.
Niecy Nash & Jessica Betts
On August 29, 2020, Nash quietly married Chicago-bred singer Jessica Betts in a backyard California ceremony. The matrimony-dom may have shocked Nash fans as the 52-year-old Claws star has been married twice before – to men.
The Dahmer actress was married twice before her relationship with Jessica, enjoying a 13-year marriage to ordained minister Don Nash, with whom she shares three kids.
Her most recent divorce from Jay Tucker (m. 2011-2019) was just eight months prior to her engagement to Betts, but when you know, you know.
Although Niecy has kept her professional name, she has officially taken Jessica’s last name. Nash explains that this relationship wasn’t a “coming out” but an important representation of living your truth.
In a super sexy ESSENCE cover story (the first same-sex couple to grace the cover), she shared those sentiments.
“We always lead with our truth,” says Niecy. “Wherever it lands, we know it’s as it should be because there is no failure in the truth.”
“The least of my attraction is gender,”
“What I was and am still attracted to is Jessica’s soul. She was the most beautiful soul I had ever met in my life. Now that I’ve experienced it, I can’t imagine going through life without it.”
Da Brat & Jesseca “Judy” Dupart
In February 2020, fans began speculating that rapper Da Brat and entrepreneur Jesseca “Judy” Dupart were a couple, and their loving relationship and engagement were confirmed on March 26th when Judy surprised her bae with matching Bentleys for her birthday. Both women took to social media to share their joy, which sparked heart-eye goo across the internet.
Mind you, this was the first time EVER the So So Def rapper had been open about any relationship and she openly shared that she’s “never experienced this feeling” before.
If you grew up in the 90s, you know that Da Brat’s sexual orientation was an enigma to most, though fans had their speculations.
In a coming-out cover story with Variety, Da Brat later revealed her hesitancy to come out stemmed from her relationship with her church-going grandmother, and not wanting to bring on embarrassment.
It didn’t take long for the Growing Up Hip Hop star to go full-on PDA, joining her bountiful boo on reality TV on the series “Brat Loves Judy”.
Fans watched their budding love blossom until eventually witnessing their extravagant matrimony-dom which took place on February 22, 2022.
Fast forward one-year post-nuptials and more congratulations are in order as they’re expecting a baby via an “eager entrepreneur” from a cryobank.
“I never thought I was going to have kids,” said Brat. “I just thought it wasn’t in the cards for me. I’ve had a great career, a full life. I felt like because I didn’t get pregnant earlier on, then it just wasn’t going to happen for me.”
“I started looking at life so differently,” said Da Brat. “I was like, I want a little me with you. Something special from the both of us that we can share and raise and love unconditionally.”
As previously reported, the couple was under fire amid controversy over the race of the non-black sperm donor, which Judy quickly shut down.
“Our baby was created with a HEALTHY baby first mindset once we learned all the things, was a hard decision and of course, we didn’t want to add any other stigmas or anything to our child but we had SEVERELY limited options,” she wrote. “Thanks to all the people supporting us on our journey and I truly hope this brings Awareness to more black men to donate.”
Now, the couple excitedly awaits the arrival of their precious baby bundle!
See more queer celeb love stories on the flip!
Byron Perkins & James “JD” Dunn
In October 2022, Hampton University’s defensive cornerback Byron Perkins made a decision to live in his truth, sharing for the first time he’d found love on the field, becoming the first openly gay HBCU football player.
“…I’m going to make a change and stop running away from myself. I’m gay…Yes, this is who I am, this is who I’ve been, and this is who I’m going to be. Simply put, I am who I am…,” he wrote to his Twitter followers along with the post.
Byron Perkins, the first openly gay HBCU football player, celebrates Pride with his boyfriend on social media. pic.twitter.com/8JrABn7TSK
— The G-Listed (@theglisted) June 2, 2023
This Pride month, he’s celebrating by breaking barriers on and off the field with his boo JD Dunn by his side.
RuPaul & George Lebar
While famed drag queen and pop culture icon RuPaul is most known for his exuberant energy and attitude on TV, he’s also a married man!
RuPaul Andre Charles met Australian author George Lebar in 1994 at the Limelight nightclub in NYC and the pair officially tied the knot in 2017.
Lebar is the author of two LGBTQ fiction novels – Six Inches Away and Pillow Talk.
He’s currently living a more low-key lifestyle as a rancher, managing 60,000 acres of land in Wyoming and South Dakota. While his husband runs an Emmy-winning empire of glamorous reality tv series, Lebar stays off the grid. As they say, it seems that opposites do attract!
In a 2017 interview with Entertainment Tonight, RuPaul explained that the 2016 presidential election spurred him and LeBar to marry after two decades.
“We are devoted to each other,” he added. “We don’t stand on ceremony. We thought we don’t have to get married. But then, in light of what’s happening currently in the world today, what’s happening in Washington, we thought, you know what? Let’s do it. Let’s just do it, because there’s too much at stake with our businesses . . . so, that’s why we did it.”
The lovely couple live together in a Los Angeles home for two.
Wanda & Alex Sykes
One of our favorite queens of comedy is representing Black queer women this Pride month, still happily married to her wife Alex Sykes.
Wanda openly jokes about how her references to their marriage in her standup used to make Alex uneasy, but she tells her to “imagine I’m standing up there with two big bags of money.” That would certainly help the jokes go down a bit easier!
Alex Sykes, whose maiden name is Alex Niedbalski, hails from France. The pair met on a ferry when Alex was in the luxury career of kitchen countertop sales. Yes, a kitchen makeover may have sparked the flames of their love!
Sykes and Niedbalski tied the knot on October 25, 2008, walking down the aisle in matching custom wedding dresses.
Alex gave birth to the couple’s fraternal twins, Olivia Lou, and Lucas Claude, in 2009. The couple is raising their twins to speak both French and English – we love a bilingual family!
Jason Bolden & Adair Curtis
Celebrity stylist Jason Bolden and interior designer Adair Curtis wed in 2012, and recently welcomed their first child, son Arrow Fox, in May of 2021.
The two co-star on the Netflix series Styling Hollywood, a reality series that focuses on their design business JSN Studio.
“The greatest gift EVER!!!” Curtis penned in his post, “Your dads are already obsessed with you!!! Introducing Mr. Arrow Fox 5.24.21.”
Anthony Hemmingway and Steven Norfleet
Director Anthony Hemingway wed his dapper groom-to-be Steven Norfleet in a beautiful hillside ceremony in 2019.
The couple was celebrating Steven’s birthday in 2018 when Hemingway popped the question atop a luxurious yacht.
The director of series including The People Vs OJ Simpson and The Wire and the Chicago P.D. actor traveled in similar groups but didn’t meet until mingling after a church service at the Potter House at One LA on a lovely, 2014 Sunday morning.
“I was trying to be present in the conversation I was having, but I kept finding myself looking over and counting the seconds to get out of it,” Mr. Hemingway told The NY Times. “I had to figure out who this guy was my friend was talking to.”
“My experience as an African-American man is that we can have it the hardest with being comfortable and open with our sexuality,” Mr. Norfleet said. “But once we got together, I realized this is someone that I’m truly in love with, and I don’t want to hide it.”
Monifah & Terez Mychelle
Legendary R&B songstress Monifah and her girlfriend Terez Thorpe were actually the first couple to have a Black lesbian wedding on national television when they tied the knot on R&B Divas in 2014.
Terez Mychelle attended a concert Monifah was having and according to her, mainly came for the food. However, since hearing Monifah sing live, she fell quickly for the R&B diva and orchestrated an introduction through mutual friends. The pair became inseparable and wed in a beachside wedding in Honolulu. They recently marked nine years of marriage.
Who are your pride month celeb picks?
