Singer/actress Amber Riley brings the same emotional vulnerability to her art as she does her life—and we are all better for it. The former Glee star and Masked Singer winner opened up about her love life in her recent xoNecole digital cover story, revealing what it took to find the strength to end her engagement and, eventually, find love again.

Credit: Ally Green

Riley first met her ex-fiancé Desean Black, through an xoNecole #MCM post, which prompted her to slide into his DMs and make the first move. After going public as a couple and even appearing together on Netflix's Love That For Us series, Riley and Black decided to call off their engagement. Riley, for the most part, had been mum on the reason behind the split but shared exclusively with xoNecole what led to them ultimately parting ways.

"When it was good, it was good," she explains. "When it was bad, it was terrible, hunny. I had to get the fuck up out of there." Riley ultimately decided that she would do what was best for her, regardless of how invested folks might have been in the relationship. "I don't owe anybody a happily ever after," she continued. "You find happiness and enjoy it and work through it."

Fast forward to the present day, Riley is in a happy and seemingly thriving relationship with her new man. Riley revealed her new relationship on Valentine's Day 2023, saying, "I decided to post him on Valentine’s Day, partially because I was in the dog house. I got in trouble with him,” she says, half-joking before turning serious. “The breakup was never going to stop me from finding love. Or at least trying.

This time around is different. Riley seems intentional about keeping this relationship a tad more private. She says she is not hiding her boyfriend of eight months but rather being protective of him because he’s a father and isn’t interested in becoming a public figure.

Riley also shared about her healing journey and the fight that it's been to reach this level of happiness. “I think one of my superpowers is resilience because, at the end of the day, I’m going to kick, scream, cry, cuss, be mad and disappointed, but I’m going to get up and risk having to deal with it all again. It’s worth it for the happy moments."

Read the rest of Amber Riley's Spring/Summer 2023 Digital Cover here.

Featured image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

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