- Erivo and Waithe first met at the Met Gala
- Waithe is also an acclaimed actor and producer
- They tend to keep their relationship low key
Cynthia Erivo’s increased profile in the wake of Wicked has put her relationship with Lena Waithe in the spotlight.
Erivo’s gained plenty of new fans through her role as Elphaba in the Jon M. Chu-directed film – and they seme to love her and Waithe as a couple.
Read more: Cynthia Erivo talks ‘holding space’ viral moment
The pair have both been vocal about the need for LGBTQ+ representation in Hollywood. Waithe is decently well-known in her own right, working both as an actress and a writer. But where might you recognise her from, and how did she and Erivo meet?
Lena Waithe’s career
Waithe is an actor, producer and screenwriter. She has previously appeared in the likes of Master Of None and Westworld. Writing wise, she worked on Queen & Slim and The Chi. She also voiced Disney’s first queer animated character, the cyclops police officer Specter, in the 2020 film Onward.
In 2017, she became the first African-American woman to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. She helmed the Thanksgiving episode of Master Of None, based loosely on her experience coming out to her mother.
She also fronts the podcast Legacy Talk, where she interviews Black actors and creators about big milestones in their lives.
How did Waithe and Erivo meet?
Waithe and Erivo first met at the Met Gala in 2018. However, their relationship didn’t become romantic for a few years as Waithe was engaged to someone else.
Waithe recalled their meeting in a 2020 interview with Variety. “I had seen her in The Color Purple twice, I remember seeing her on TV when Oprah talked about doing it and her being on the screen, I remember [thinking], ‘Who is this tiny person with a British accent?’ We’ve just been vibing ever since.”
Waithe married content executive Alana Mayo in 2019 but they separated after only two months of marriage. Her relationship was Erivo wasn’t officially confirmed till 2024 but it is believed they have been together for longer.
Their appearance at the Grammys ignited rumours that they were engaged, but a source confirmed to People that the ring on Erivo’s finger wasn’t an engagement ring.
Then again, should they get engaged, we may never know. Last year, Erivo said in an interview with Vanity Fair that she’s “very tight-lipped with my relationships, ’cause I don’t think that my relationship is for anyone else but for me.”
“I spend so much of my life sharing everything — whether it’s my work or my soul or my life in speeches. I think I give enough of myself that I’m allowed to keep something for me.
“And who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind at some point. But, I think it’s okay. It’s enough for people to know that I’m a queer person who could have relationships with men or women or neither.”
