Every day is a good day to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, but it’s Pride month, so we’re turning up the volume. If you take a trip down memory lane, marriages between same-sex couples only became legal in the U.S. in 2015. In the six-month time period before the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that made same-sex marriages legal, 7.9 percent of LGBTQ+ adults were in same-sex marriages. Once it became legal, that number rose to 9.6% based on aggregated data from 2020 Gallup polls. We love to see it!
While there are still many hurdles the community faces such as sexual violence, discrimination based on sexual orientation, and unequal healthcare, we’re happy LGBTQ+ women and men can get married legally and joyfully do so.
Here are few famous women and their partners who proudly love out loud.
01
Raven-Symone And Miranda Maday
That’s So Raven actress and social media manager Miranda Pearman-Maday got married in June 2020. For their nuptials, Miranda rocked a white Gucci jumpsuit and Raven had on all-black outfits they felt reflected their personalities. The lovers met for the first time at a gay bar in West Hollywood where Raven-Symone was hosting a karaoke night. However, their relationship seemingly started from a comment on an Instagram picture dating back to 2015/2016.
02
Niecy Nash And Jessica Betts
These beautiful humans graced our March/April cover and reminded the world that love is love. The Claws star and musician began dating after years of being friends. They got engaged in July 2020 and decided to make it left-hand official in August 2020. The two aren’t shy about publicly declaring their love and affection for one another.
In 2020, Nash told PEOPLE that she never saw Betts as someone she would date, but love did what it does and caught her by surprise.
“I loved her before I was in love with her because she is such a special human being. But we began to see each other in a way we never had before. Sometimes you get so broken by love, you run from it. But I’ve learned that you should always hold space for magic because it can happen at any time,” she said.
03
Brittney and Cherelle Griner
The spotlight has been on the Phoenix Mercury WNBA player Brittney Griner since the beginning of this year when she was detained in Russia. Unfortunately, she is still detained and can’t be home with her wife to celebrate Pride month, but we’re here to celebrate their love. The couple met while undergraduates at Baylor University but they didn’t start dating until years later.
In an Instagram post in June 2020, Brittney reminisced about how she met her sweetheart Cherelle.
“You tapped me on my shoulder and told me I took your milkshake (still up for debate lol) and I was immediately blown away at your beauty! You had no idea but I knew you were the one for me baby,” she wrote. “You stuck by my side at the lowest and at the highest.”
04
Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli
Orange Is the New Black’s Samira Wiley got hitched with her bae Lauren Morelli in 2017. The two met on set as Wiley acted as Poussey Washington in the Netflix TV series and Morelli was a lead writer on it. The Hollywood couple began dating in 2014 after Morelli divorced her husband. Their connection began as a friendship–Morelli came out and Wiley was her confidant during that time. Eventually, they went from friends to lovers.
“Lauren is the most lovely person, and [we were] able to have that relationship blossom from being scared of what was happening in her own marriage to being on the other side and [realizing], ‘Oh, this is more than this, we actually really love each other,'” Wiley told Cosmopolitan UK in March 2021
05
Kehlani and 070 Shake
This is another “friend turned lover” situation and one that fans were pleasantly surprised to see. Singer Kehlani and rapper 070 Shake made their relationship public this summer although it is rumored to have started in 2021. It got real to fans when Kehlani released the music video for her new song “Melt” in May. The two are sharing intimate moments and looking like two kids in love.
The Grammy-nominated singer also wished her boo a happy birthday via Instagram and shares that they’ve been friends for six years and lovers for one.
