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ESSENCE.com reached out to the reps of both Marcille and Gross to confirm that the two had called off their summer wedding and they replied with this exclusive statement:
“Lance Gross and Eva Marcille have mutually decided to end their relationship. The split is completely amicable and both parties remain friends.”
Here, we revisit the happier days of their love.
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How did Gross know Eva was the one? “I knew the day I laid eyes on her because I just got that feeling,” said Gross, who said he fell in love with Marcille instantly.
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Gross explained: “She took full control of my heart and is the only woman that has ever made me feel that way—that’s how I knew she was special.”
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Gross got on bended knee and proposed to girlfriend Marcille in front of both of their families on Christmas Eve, 2008.
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Marcille and Gross met on the set of Tyler Perry’s television series “House of Payne.”
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In an interview following their engagement, Marcille gushed to ESSENCE.com: “To put it simply, he makes me a better me,” says Marcille. “I am now complete.”
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“He is more than I ever could have asked for in a best friend, a partner and lover,” Marcille said about her then fiancé.
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Gross decided against an opportunity to become a pro track and field athlete to pursue his dreams of acting.
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Eva changed her professional name from Eva Pigford to Eva Marcille because she wanted to stray from her modeling past and focus more on her budding acting career. Marcille is her middle name.
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The young couple graced many “Cutest Couple” lists throughout their time together.
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Marcille and Gross at Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” premiere on September 9, 2009 in Atlanta.
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The couple celebrated Eva’s 25th birthday celebration on October 31, 2009, in New York City. That will be a Halloween they both will not forget.
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The young couple posed on the red carpet for the 41st NAACP Image Awards on February 26, 2010. Eva looked stunning with her dark ’do and beige gown.
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Gross won big at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne.”
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On the exterior, one would never expect trouble in their relationship but the blogosphere has been chirping for a while now, claiming that their relationship was nearing an end.
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Gross once said Marcille was his everything.
“The way she is down for me is comparable to my mother and that’s very hard to come by,” said Gross.
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Surrounded by family and friends, Gross got on bended knee and presented Marcille with a 3.36 1895 Pave Cartier ring.
“I cried. It was totally unexpected. I’m still in shock,” Marcille told us. “I could not even sleep because I was afraid that I might wake up from the most beautiful dream ever.”
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Gross described her reaction to the ring.
“Eva asked me, ‘Baby, is this real? Baby, are you playing with me?’ Then she said, ‘Forever and always: Yes, Yes, Yes!’ And jumped up and hugged me crying and then she did her happy dance!”
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Gross wasn’t alone in his feelings of an instant connection.
“I’m proud to call Lance mine because I was in love with him before we ever met,” says Marcille, who first locked eyes with her fiancé at a film audition two years ago. “He’s my dream guy!”
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Gross once described as his world: “She’s everything I’ve dreamed of in a woman and so much more. My best friend, motivation and happiness. I can’t ask for anything more.”
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Gross tweeted today: “U can plan a pretty picnic but can’t predict the weather. —Outkast”
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Lance and Eva at the Badgley Mischka show during New York Fashion Week.
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Lance Gross lights up the red carpet.
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The couple took our breath away at last year’s NAACP Image award show.
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Lance and his co-stars at the “Our Family Wedding” premiere.
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America Ferrara plays Lance’s fiancee in “Our Family Wedding.”
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There is no reason known just yet for their split.
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Ironically, Gross compared his role on “Our Family Wedding” to his real-life relationship with Eva in an ESSENCE.com interview on March 12th.
“Working on this film was kind of like a practice run—a crazy practice run! [laughs] Our families get along great, so I get the feeling that our wedding will run a lot smoother than the one in the movie. Besides, I’m paying for it, so we can do whatever we want!”
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