

Love is beautiful and social media is a wonderful way to showcase and spread it. However, many times it's the content with a bit of controversy or drama tied to it that gets all the double taps. But as my father once told me, "It's fine to seek drama in your art and interests, but love should make you happy and feel peace." When he said that, it stuck with me. For a long time, I think I sought out excitement in my relationships and that can lead to a lot of unhappiness or unhealthy situations.
Now, I'm working to see things differently. In fact, when I think about a few of my favorite celebrity couples, I realize they're kind of lowkey. While their names ring bells professionally, their personal lives seem somewhat normal and peaceful. They're just unproblematic, in love, and successful, and I think it's OK to say, "That's goals."
Check out these Black celebrity couples that keep the intimate details of their relationship to themselves but still made our list of faves.
Sabrina Dhowre and Idris Elba
I still remember when the news dropped that actor and musician Idris Elba was married. It was like Black women around the world were a little heartbroken. But that changed when we got introduced to his wife, TV host, model, and former Miss Vancouver, Sabrina Dhowre Elba.
On an episode of The Sip, Sabrina mentioned the couple met in a jazz bar where she chatted with the Luther star in plans of connecting him with a friend. But apparently, Mr. Elba read the situation wrong because he was very much into her. So after Sabrina got her friend's approval, they continued talking and the magic happened.
Clearly, that worked out, because years later they're still going strong. And although the pair seems to value their privacy, when they do share, it puts us in our feelings and makes it super hard to be a hater. Sabrina told The Sip:
"Early on Idris told me, 'Do not read what people say, the internet is a toxic place.' I took that on, and I started living for myself and not feeling like I have to justify my relationship. It's not for other people."
"I know what we have is amazing and I cherish it," she continued. "But at the same time we're trying to get used to exploring it openly and that's one of the reasons we started our podcast, Coupledom."
Tia Mowry and Cory Hardrict
Tia Mowry is one of those celebrities we've admired for decades. Her work on timeless classics like Sister, Sister, and The Game have entertained and inspired so many, so it always feels good to support celebrities who not only share positivity through their work but through their personal lives as well. And one way she and her husband, actor Cory Hardrict, do that is through their beautiful display of love and marriage.
When reflecting on how they met, The Chi actor told Global Grind, "I was waiting at a bus stop after I shot my first film. She and her sister drove by, they saw me waiting, and asked to give me a ride. I was so embarrassed."
He continued, "But, they gave me a ride and we have been friends ever since." Today, they are both successful actors and very much in love after 13 years of marriage.
Eudoxie and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges
As an Atlanta transplant, I have to start this by saying we don't give Ludacris enough credit for a lot of things. But one area I think definitely isn't discussed enough is his happy marriage to the influencer, author, and philanthropist Eudoxie. The couple met in 2008 at "Luda Day Weekend," an annual celebrity celebration focused on service. They quickly developed a friendship. Fast-forward to six years later: they tied the knot in a baecation ceremony at a secret location.
Since that time, the rapper has gained dual citizenship in Gabon, showing a true interest in his wife's heritage.
About a year ago, the couple has shared a major hardship. Eudoxie wrote an emotional Instagram post, which read:
"I had a miscarriage and needed to have surgery. It was very easy to complain and self-pity but I refused to let the enemy win. I stayed faithful and prayed up. I spent hours focusing on the many ways the Lord has blessed me. How could I complain when God has blessed me with the opportunity to already experience motherhood? I'm sharing this with you all to remind you to live in gratitude."
She continued, " Thank you God for your favor over my life. Thank you for my beautiful family and friends who have been so supportive. Thank you for another year!" The couple has recently welcomed their second child together and is excited about the launch of Karma's World, a children's series created by Ludricis, dedicated to his oldest daughter Karma, now streaming on Netflix.
Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin
Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin were very open about their courtship and their decision to be celibate before getting married. However, more recently, they've kept their marriage details pretty close to the chest. When they do share with us, it seems pretty clear that these two are very much in love.
In their book The Wait, the couple shared that they met years ago but reconnected on the set of the 2011 film, Jumping the Broom.
On Oprah's Super Soul SundayMeagan reflected on meeting DeVon saying, "I remember thinking, wow, that's the kind of guy I wish I could marry. I thought he was out of my league because of how amazing he was."
DeVon expressed that he thought she was too much of a celebrity and out of his league as well. But thanks to their commitment to each other and their faith they ended up together a little over a year later.
Keith Powers and Ryan Destiny
Both of these actors have a loyal following of admirers so it was quite a story when these two hit the scene together. I mean when they drop a picture, it only takes a few seconds for the post to be full of comments and emojis. The actors told Teen Vogue that they met at the mag's 2015 party. As soon as Keith Powers saw Ryan Destiny, he walked over and introduced himself, sparking a beautiful friendship. Then, thanks to social media and a genuine bond, the relationship grew from there.
Powers told Teen Vogue, "I realized I was in love when I knew my life would be extremely affected negatively if Ryan wasn't in it."
"Loving someone is a very natural feeling that just happens," he added. "You can't just wake up and say, 'I love this person.' You feel it. You realize like, 'Wow, this person is a piece of me,' and regardless, you don't ever want that person out of your life."
Still, we don't see the couple in the mix too much. And the reason why may surprise you. In an interview with The Jed Foundation, Keith revealed his battles with anxiety and depression and that he can sometimes become uncomfortable with the attention that his relationship receives. He recalled a dark time, adding, "People speaking on my relationship and having opinions on it really hurt me. I'd have mornings where I'd literally dread the fact that I had to get up for the day. The anxiety of getting on social media was really getting to me."
Featured image via Getty Images/Gregg DeGuire
Kirby Carroll grew up in VA but now calls Atlanta, GA home. She has a passion for creating content and helping brands grow through storytelling and public relations. When not immersed in work, you can find her sipping a mimosa at brunch or bingeing a new TV drama on Netflix. Keep up with her on social media at @askKirbyCarroll.
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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These 5 Simple Words Changed My Dating Life & Made It Easier To Let Go Of The Wrong Men
Dating in 2025 often feels like meandering through an obscure tropical jungle: It can be beautiful, exciting, and daunting, yet nebulous when you’re in the thick of it. When we can’t see the forest for the trees, we often turn to our closest friends, doting family, and even nosy co-workers for advice. While others can undoubtedly imbue a much-needed fresh perspective, some of the best advice you’re searching for already lies within you.
My dating life has been a whirlwind to put it mildly, and each time I’d heard a questionable response or witnessed an eyebrow-raising action from a potential beau, I’d overanalyze for hours despite the illuminating tug in my spirit or pit of my stomach churning. And then I’d hold a conference call with my trusted friends just to convince myself of an alternative scenario, even though I’d already been supernaturally tipped off that he was not in alignment with me.
Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
As the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Ouch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
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