After failed relationships with her baby daddy, William Lamar Johnson, and basketball player Lamar Odom, Taraji P. Henson found love again when she met NFL Super Bowl champion Kelvin Hayden. But there are a few reasons why some people think this is the wrong relationship for the Empire star.
Here’s why we’re worried about Taraji’s relationship.
How they met
Taraji told Conan that her makeup artist was tired of her being single. So she decided to throw a party and invite a bunch of eligible bachelors. Prior to the party, the makeup artist showed Taraji pictures of all the men who would be attending. One of the guys was Kelvin, and after seeing his beautiful picture and sultry eyes, Taraji was instantly interested.
The night of the party, she went looking for Kelvin. And despite him being 13 years younger than her, she said it was love at first sight.
Trouble from the start
They first went public when they were spotted getting cozy in 2015, but just a few months later, there was trouble in paradise. An insider told The Shade Room in December 2015 that Kelvin had been in a rocky yet happy relationship with her friend for a year.
He reportedly asked the woman to move to Chicago to be with him and he even took her on vacation in early December. A week after they got home from their trip, the source stated Kelvin started pulling a disappearing act, and this was allegedly during the time he met Taraji.
More cheating allegations
Soon after The Shade Room’s bombshell report, another source contacted the website (via Bossip) and said a second woman named Brittany had allegedly been involved with Kelvin for the past eight years.
It appeared that the rumors were too much for the couple to handle. By 2016, it was presumed they had taken a break when Taraji told Marie Claire magazine she was having trouble finding the right guy due to her career. The actress said, “I would love to [be in a relationship] but he has to see how I move and deal with it, because I don’t have time to explain.”
Happier than ever
In December 2017, Taraji told Essence’s Yes, Girl! Podcast that she had been in a relationship with the former football player for the past two years. She also didn’t care that their romance was blasted all over The Shade Room. She said, “I think that it’s important for people to know that I’m happy. I’m very, very happy.”
We were happy for her, too, especially since Kelvin was making an effort to make things right. That Christmas, he surprised her with the cutest dog, whom she named K-ball, according to her Instagram.
A surprise proposal
On Mother’s Day 2018, Kelvin took Taraji out to dinner and surprised her with a Cartier bracelet. Then, he got done on one knee and proposed, and Taraji said yes!
According to Marie Claire, the beautiful 3.5-carat classic solitaire is worth an estimated seventy to eighty thousand dollars.
All they needed to do next was to set a wedding date and start planning, but their journey to the altar has been bumpy.
A delayed wedding
Taraji told Jimmy Kimmel that she and her fiancé were supposed to get married in the summer of 2018. But six months after getting engaged, she decided to put their wedding on hold.
She told the talk show host she felt too much pressure to set a date and she was getting a little overwhelmed.
When January 2019 rolled around, Taraji said she still hadn’t set a wedding date, though she hoped they would tie the knot sometime in the summer of that year. So what was the reason for the delay? She told People magazine that she was so busy going through scripts, but Kelvin was being very patient while she focused on her career.
Some people are convinced that their wedding keeps getting pushed back because of relationship issues. But others believe the summer of 2019 will be the year Taraji becomes Mrs. Kelvin Hayden.
She told Extra (via Rolling Out) she was taking the summer off to, quote, “be normal.” She said she was going to take a few vacations, including a girl’s trip. Then she added, “Me and my fiancé have to do something.”
What’s next for the couple?
Will wedding bells finally be ringing? We’ll have to wait and see. For now, Taraji is more in love than ever. She and her son from a previous relationship have blended in wonderfully with Kelvin and his two children from previous relationships.
We wish them the best, but we can’t be the only ones worried about this romance.
What are your thoughts on Taraji’s relationship? Leave your answer down below!