This weekend, we want to show up and show out in celebration of Black love, and to do that, we are looking at some of the cutest Black celeb love stories of all time. From Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee to the hottest couple on the block today, A$AP Rocky and Rihanna, here are some of our favorite Black love stories.
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Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King
Outside of being two of the most important figures in the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King are also a beautiful image of Black love rising in a world trying to push them down.
Introduced to each other by a mutual friend in 1952, it did not take long for the pair to tie the knot the following year, according to the wedding magazine Brides. They quickly became one of the greatest love stories in America as they shaped the civil rights movement and had four children together.
Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett
Hollywood royalty Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett have a love story that spans over two decades. They first met at Yale School of Drama in the 1980s but did not actually begin dating until they reconnected more than 10 years later in 1994, according to People. They shared their wedding vows in 1997, and as they say, the rest was history.
Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee
Married for 57 years, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee are another testament to the power of Black love while fighting for civil rights and pursuing their passions for acting together.
According to Backstage, they met in 1946 at the Martin Beck Theatre, now the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and Dee was less than impressed with her future beau. But with a strong foundation of friendship and a deep respect for one another, they soon fell head over heels and married in 1948.
Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts
Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts had a classic friends-to-lovers story. Connecting in 2015 over a shared passion for music and they soon fell in love. In fact, they fell so in love that they both planned on proposing to each other in 2020, according to the LGBTQ+ lifestyle magazine Diva.
In August of that same year, they were hitched and became the first same-sex couple to appear on the cover of Essence, per Diva.
Barack and Michelle Obama
As president and first lady of the United States, Barack and Michelle Obama put on a gorgeous and powerful display of Black love for the entire nation to see.
While Barack fell head over heels for Michelle when they met in 1989, she needed a little nudge to take the future first Black president of the U.S. a little more seriously, according to Elle. However, they married in 1992 and went on to change the course of American history.
Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson and his Broadway superstar wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, have been together for more than 40 years! They met as college students in Atlanta, and after choosing to be together, they made a pact to stick by each other no matter what, according to People.
In an interview with People, LaTanya said they believed it was the most revolutionary thing they could do: “We always said the most revolutionary thing that Black people could do was stay together, raise their children with the nucleus of having a father and a mother.”
Denzel and Pauletta Washington
Denzel and Pauletta Washington are another gorgeous couple who have been choosing each other for more than 40 years. First meeting at a Hollywood party in 1977, they bumped into each other again at a theater show, and it was in that moment that Cupid struck his arrow, according to the women’s lifestyle magazine Woman’s World.
The two married in 1983 and are now another addition to Hollywood’s romantic collection of Black love.
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna
A$AP Rocky and Rihanna are the latest celeb couple taking over our timelines. Although they have been friends since 2012, they lived separate lives and dated other people, only to come back to each other when the time was right, according to NBC News.
In 2020, they became official and have since shared three children: RZA, Riot and their youngest and only daughter, Rocki Irish Mayers. Not only do they make for a good-looking pair, but they are fly parents, too.
Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols
Though very private about their love life, Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols have been linked since 2013, after knowing each other for four years, according to Diva. They also share a son, Rebel, who was born in 2019.
LeBron and Savannah James
High school sweethearts LeBron and Savannah James are proof that young love does not just mean puppy love.
Meeting in 2002 at 16 years old, they quickly became enamored with one another and welcomed their first son, LeBron James Jr., in 2004. They had their second son, Bryce Maximus, in 2007 and became engaged in 2011 before jumping the broom in 2013, according to Business Insider.
Colman Domingo and Raúl Domingo
Colman Domingo and his husband, Raúl Domingo, shared a passing glance in front of a Walgreens but never got the chance to talk to each other. Not wanting to give up on the electricity he felt, Colman searched through the missed connections sections on Craigslist, and lo and behold, his future husband put up an ad looking for him too.
“Three days later, we had our first date. I was trying to be a good boy and go home. He said, ‘Can you stay over?’ I said, ‘Sure, but let’s just cuddle.’ At 4 o’clock in the morning, I said, ‘I think I love you and you’re about to change my life.’ We have been together for almost 19 years now,” Colman said in an interview with British talk show host Graham Norton.
Zendaya and Tom Holland
Meeting in 2016 on the set of “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Tom Holland and Zendaya saw their romance grow from a friends-to-lovers arc.
As castmates, their chemistry was always evident in interviews and on red carpets, but it was not until 2021, with an Instagram post that broke the internet, that they went official with their relationship and became the latest installment of the Marvel castmates-to-lovers storyline.
Keith Powers and Ryan Destiny
Keith Powers and Ryan Destiny first met at a Teen Vogue party in 2015 and immediately felt a connection. They dated for four years before going their separate ways in 2022, according to Teen Vogue.
An invisible string kept their hearts linked, and Powers and Destiny found their way back to each other in 2025. In that same year, Powers proposed, and now they are looking ahead to a wonderful future together, according to People.
Sterling K. Brown and Ryan Michelle Bathe
Sterling K. Brown and Ryan Michelle Bathe have never been ones to shy away from telling the world about their adorable love story. According to Elle, they met as students at Stanford University and were in an on-and-off relationship before officially calling it quits in 1998 after graduation.
However, after three years apart, Brown had an “epiphany” that Bathe was the love of his life and chased after her—literally—to tell her how he felt. Eventually, they eloped in 2006 and have been happily married ever since, per Elle.
Stephen Curry and Ayesha Curry
Another puppy love to marriage story, Stephen and Ayesha Curry met as teenagers at 14 and 15 years old, according to Cosmopolitan. Five years later, the soon-to-be lovebirds bumped into each other in Los Angeles as they both pursued their passions and went on their first date.
They tied the knot in 2011 and have been living in a world of love ever since, per Cosmopolitan.
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