Kevin Hart is no stranger to laughter. What hasn’t always been so funny is his love life with cheating scandals, a messy divorce, and controversy at every corner. While his marriage to Eniko Parrish has had its ups and downs, they’ve been able to keep their love afloat.
Here’s the truth about Kevin Hart’s messy dating history and how he found love with Eniko.
Meeting Torrei Hart
Kevin and Torrei met while attending community college in Philadelphia. They had a class together, but Torrei told NecoleBitchie they never spoke inside the classroom. One day, Kevin was in the cafeteria just standing on one of the tables. Torrei said, “I guess he was standing on the table because he’s short- so he’s gotta make his presence known.”
She walked over to him and thought he was hilarious. When Kevin got off the table, Torrei told him “Yo, you are so funny. Why aren’t you doing comedy?”
What she didn’t know was Kevin was already doing comedy on the side. He invited her to one of his shows, and she and a girlfriend attended the event. Kevin bought her a drink and some chicken wings and asked her to hold his cellphone. Torrei said that was a turning point for her. Because Kevin trusted her with his phone, she knew things were about to get serious. From that moment on, they were always together.
An informal proposal
After four months of dating, Kevin wanted to move in with her. Torrei put her foot down and told him she wasn’t going to be shacking up. So Kevin went to a jeweler, came back with a ring, and told her, “Alright, well we are together now. And you’re my fiancée.”
Torrei said it wasn’t a formal proposal. He pretty much handed her the ring and said, “You belong to me.” Because she was so young, she said she just rolled with it. She put the ring on her finger and said, “Let’s do it!”
According to Refinery 29, they eventually dropped out of school to pursue their Hollywood dreams. Kevin worked a job making $5 dollars an hour while pursuing his comedy career. Torrei told Essence she would sit and help him write jokes. They bonded over their love of comedy, and in 2003, they got married.
Putting her dreams on hold
Torrei had dreams of being in the entertainment industry as an actress, a producer, or a standup comedian, but she put her career on the backburner as Kevin went full-throttle. His career really took off in 2004 when he starred in the film Soul Plane. He gained national recognition and the comedy tours, movie roles, and TV appearances started rolling in.
Growing apart
Torrei gave birth to their daughter Heaven in 2005, followed by their son Hendrix in 2007. But things weren’t going well at home. She told Inside Edition, “He starts to get fame and I’m feeling a little left behind. We grew apart.”
Kevin even told Ebony magazine he went through a lying period where he would lie about everything. Kevin also told Chelsea Handler that because he tied the knot at the age of 22, he was too young to understand the definition of marriage. He said, “I wasn’t ready for it, so I take responsibility.”
Like a true comedian, he made light of their marital issues and downplayed his infidelities. Kevin justified stepping out on Torrei by saying the cheating occurred when he was in the prime of his life.
Kevin was spotted out with random women. However, during a stand-up special at Madison Square Garden, he said cheating wasn’t the problem in his marriage. He added, “Lying about cheating was the problem.”
His friend spills the tea
Things came to a head one drunken night when he went out with friends, including his buddy Harry Ratchford, and came stumbling back home at 4 a.m. Torrei felt something was going on, and to prove he wasn’t cheating, he called Harry so he could vouch for him. Unfortunately for Kevin, Harry was too wasted to lie for him.
In his stand-up routine, Kevin said he had Harry on speakerphone when Harry admitted that before going home to Torrei, Kevin was “with that b***h with the fat a*s.” Harry also made another comment about Kevin hooking up with white women.
Shady dating timeline
Kevin reportedly met Eniko Parrish sometime in 2009 and, according to Us Weekly, they started dating soon after. The timeline is a bit shady because Torrei and Kevin were still legally married. Kevin and Torrei separated in February 2010, and in January 2011, after Bossip claimed he was spotted out with a “redbone,” Kevin filed for divorce. Even though Torrei held him down during the start of his career, Kevin asked that she receive no spousal support.
According to TMZ, Kevin was worth approximately $9 million at the time but only had to pay Torrei a lump settlement of $175,000 and close to $20,000 per month in child support for their two children. She also received an Escalade and some jewelry. Their divorce was finalized in 2013.
Was Eniko Kevin Hart’s mistress?
Kevin was finally free to show off his new boo, and for the next several years, Torrei would accuse Eniko of being Kevin’s mistress and wrecking their marriage. In 2014, Kevin hopped on his Twitter to come to Eniko’s defense. He wrote, “My woman has nothing to do with my past marriage problems in any way shape or form.”
Torrei clapped back by telling TMZ, “Despite what Kevin has said, and the time frames he is trying to establish, she was his mistress and was one of the reasons that broke up my family.”
The public was on Torrei’s side, and Eniko was getting dragged left and right which angered Kevin. He ruffled a lot of feathers when he told Upscale Magazine black women were just hating on Eniko because of her “exotic looks.”
Despite all the hate, Kevin and Eniko’s relationship continued to blossom. In 2013, they took a couples trip with Ludacris, race car driver Marco Andretti and their partners. Kevin shared a photo of him and Eniko on his Instagram and referred to her as his rib. He also included the hashtag “LetThemHate.”
A well-timed proposal
In 2014, at Eniko’s 30th birthday party, Kevin got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. His proposal took place the same night Torrei was celebrating the premiere of her new reality show, Atlanta Exes. This led many people to side-eye Kevin’s timing. Was he trying to steal Torrei’s shine and take over the spotlight?
Either way, the future Mrs. Hart definitely wasn’t shy about showcasing her stunning rock all over social media, which online sources described as a 6-carat cushion-cut in a halo setting.
Their wedding took place in August 2016 in Santa Barbara, Calif. According to ABC News, the evening ceremony was attended by about 200 guests, including Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union.
Eniko wore a custom mermaid wedding dress, while Kevin wore a traditional black tux. His children were by his side during the ceremony. According to ABC News, they honeymooned on the sandy beaches of St. Barts.
After tying the knot, Kevin reflected on the lessons he learned from his first marriage and how things would be different with Eniko. He told Chelsea Handler he was more cautious about taking the plunge but decided to get married again because Eniko deserved it. He also opened up about the best part of marriage. He said, “You get to laugh every day. For no reason at all. You just laugh.”
Pregnancy & more drama
In 2017, they announced they were expecting a baby. Just months later, Eniko put her foot in her mouth in a seemingly innocent Instagram post. In the caption, she shared she and Kevin had been together for eight years, which reignited the rumors that she was his mistress when he was married to Torrei.
When a follower pointed out the overlapping of relationships, Eniko clapped back by saying, “They were separated living in separate homes. I was never a secret.”
She also added that Torrei started all the cheating allegations because “she wanted to play the victim and not own up to her wrongdoing as well.” Eniko also said that Torrei singled her out because her and Kevin’s relationship “stuck, despite knowing he was also involved with other women.”
You know Torrei wasn’t gonna let that slide. She commented, “We have made successful strides to become a loving co-parenting family, but you have now left it open for my character to be questioned. You, Kevin, and I know the truth.” After catching too much heat, Eniko deleted her posts.
Caught in the act
The grits really hit the fan when Kevin posted an Instagram video in September 2017 with a caption that read, “Sending so many apologies to my wife and kids.” In the video, he admitted he had made bad decisions and someone was trying to profit from it.
So what happened? A video was released of Kevin cheating on Eniko with a woman named Montia Sabbag. Kevin was being extorted for $10 million dollars over the video. If all that wasn’t bad enough, it was later discovered the person behind the extortion attempt was Kevin’s associate, Jonathan Todd Jackson. When the authorities got involved, Jonathan was locked up and held on $100,000 bail. The charges were later dropped.
Kevin and Eniko formed a united front, and a source told E! News Eniko accepted his apology and was focused on her pregnancy. She was going to stick it out and had no plans to file for divorce. The source added, “She believes Kevin is a good husband and always comes home to her.” Eniko gave birth to their son, Kenzo Kash Hart, in November 2017.
In Kevin’s 2019 comedy special, Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up, Eniko gave more insight into the cheating scandal. She said she was about seven or eight months pregnant when it all went down. She was eating breakfast when she opened her phone and checked her DM. She saw a message from an unknown person, and it included a snippet of the video of Kevin getting it in with the other woman.
She said she immediately lost it. She called him, and with tears streaming down her face, she kept asking him, “How the f**k did you let that happen?’”
Eniko was shattered by the public humiliation and they argued about it every single day. She said, “I kept questioning him, like, ‘If this is what you’re gonna do, I don’t want to be a part of that.’”
Moving forward
Thankfully, they were able to work things out. Eniko has stayed by his side and helped him make a full recovery after a September 2019 car accident. In March 2020, they made the announcement that Eniko is pregnant with a baby girl.
Congratulations to the Hart family, and we wish them all the best!
Let us know your thoughts on Kevin Hart’s messy dating history or drop us a comment on our YouTube channel.