Cynthia Erivo and her partner Lena Waithe first made their relationship public in 2022 after their close friendship turned into something more.

The Tony winner and the Master of none The star first met in 2018 and was last seen celebrating the release of Erivo’s role in Bad at the Los Angeles premiere on November 9 and the London premiere on November 18.

The Bad The press tour has brought a lot of attention to Erivo’s co-stars Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater, who went public with their romance in July 2023 after being on set together. The relationship led fans to speculate that Grande cheated on her ex-husband Dalton Gomez with Slater, who was also married to ex-wife Lilly Jay.

But while Grande’s relationship has received its fair share of public attention, Erivo’s relationship with Waithe has also come under scrutiny. Check out their relationship (and the rumors surrounding it) below!

When did Erivo and Waithe meet?

Erivo and Waithe first met at the 2018 Met Gala. Waithe was engaged to film director Alana Mayo at the time.

“I finally found my sister,” Erivo wrote on Instagram in May 2018 alongside a selfie of them at the Met Gala. “Lena, you are absolutely everything. You are perfection. What a meeting of minds, glad to have you in my life! Stuck like glue!!! SHINE QUEEN SHINE!!”

Waithe later reflected on their first meeting and the friendship they formed in a January 2020 interview Variety at the Palm Springs Film Festival, where she presented Erivo with an award.

“The first time I met her was at the Met Gala, where all the cool kids meet,” Waithe said. ‘I saw her come in The color purple twice, I remember seeing her on TV when Oprah (Winfrey) was talking about it and she was on the screen, I remember (thinking), ‘Who is this little person with a British accent?’ Since then we’ve just been vibrating.”

Later that month, Waithe and Mayo announced their separation, just two months after divorcing Queen and Slim The writer revealed that she secretly married Mayo after three years of dating in a private ceremony in San Francisco.

“After careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways,” they said in a statement People. “We have nothing but support for each other and ask that you respect our privacy during this time.”

When did Erivo and Waithe start dating?

In May 2022, Erivo seemingly made her relationship with Waithe public by posting a tribute on Instagram. “Today we celebrate a woman whose heart is bigger than the body it is in,” Erivo wrote in the caption. “Congratulations @lenawaithe I……. You know the rest! 💕💕”

A few months later, in June, their romance was then confirmed Page six photographers spotted them holding hands at the Alvin Ailey Spirit Gala.

However, the pair attended several events together back in January 2020, including Variety’s 2020 Creative Impact Awards, the 2021 BET Awards, and the 2022 Oscars.

When did Erivo come out?

While Waithe has had an open and public queer relationship in the past, Erivo comes out to fans as queer in a British Vogue interview in July 2022. “My best friends have known this about me for a long time,” she told the outlet. “I’m excited I I knew it when I was about fifteen, but didn’t know what to call it. I didn’t have the vocabulary for it. I knew I was attracted to both men and women. I felt attracted people. I would be in love with this or that person, but I didn’t know how to put it into words.

Soon she found the right words and found herself. “For me, it means taking a risk to claim the freedom to be fully yourself,” she said.

Waithe was accused of cheating on her ex-wife with Erivo

Although Erivo and Waithe didn’t make their relationship public until May 2022, some gossip sites speculated without evidence that these two were dating as early as January 2020, while Waithe was still married to Mayo.

In the weeks leading up to Waithe and Mayo’s breakup, Waithe and Erivo appeared together at the Palm Spring Film Festival and at a Golden Globes afterparty in January 2020. Later that month, after Waithe and Mayo announced their split, the accused a source of it Wait for cheating on celebrity tabloid site Boss.

“Even after they got married, Lena still bought designer gifts – Chanel, Gucci – for other women,” the source claimed. Erivo and Waithe have not addressed these rumors.

Are Erivo and Waithe still together?

Despite all the speculation surrounding their relationship, Erivo and Waithe seem to be doing well. At the Bad premiered on November 9, Waithe was present in support. Plus, she wore green, a sweet nod to Erivo’s character Elphaba.

On November 18, they attended the afterparty of the premiere in London together, Just Jared reports.

On Instagram, Waithe has also expressed her support throughout Bad press tour, reposting rave reviews Badcelebrity reactions to the musical, and Erivo’s Nov. 22 post reflecting on the experience.

Before you go, click here to see more co-star couples we’ll always wonder about.