Jussie Smollett and Jabari Redd have been romantically linked since at least 2023 after starring together in the film “The Lost Holiday.”
Jussie Smollett is headed down the aisle!
On Friday, the 43-year-old actor revealed in an Instagram post that he proposed to his boyfriend, actor Jabari Redd, who promptly accepted.
“I’ll be spending my birthday with my Fiancé… He said YES. 💍,” Smollett, who also celebrated his 43rd birthday on Saturday, June 21, wrote in the caption of the post that contained a series of frame-by-frame photos from the big moment.
In the first slide, Smollett gets down on one knee on a street corner by a restaurant as he presents an open ring box to Redd. More images reveal Redd’s shock, excitement, and as he’s moved to tears when accepting the proposal. The fifth image shows Smollett grinning from ear to ear as Redd cries tears of joy.
“Screaming with tears of joy! My whole heart loves both of you @jussiesmollett. Welcome to the family @jabariredd. ❤️❤️,” Smollett’s younger sister, actress Jurnee Smollett, wrote in the comments.
His other sister, Jazz Smollett, added, “😝🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾I was WAITINGGGGGG!!!!!!😩😩🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤭🤭🤭🤭 congratulations you 2‼️‼️ I pray blessings cover you as you’ve covered each other 🥹🥹🥹🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾😘😘😘😘😘.”
While Smollett and Redd have mostly kept their relationship out of the public eye, they have been romantically linked since at least 2023. The two star together as a married couple alongside Vivica Fox in Smollett’s second directorial feature, 2024’s “The Lost Holiday.”
The news arrives just one month after Smollett settled a lawsuit in Chicago stemming from an alleged hoax attack in 2019. At the time, Smollett claimed to have been attacked in a potential hate crime. Eventually, prosecutors and authorities began to suspect the attack was a staged hoax or a publicity stunt. In May, Smollett agreed to donate $50,000 to Building Brighter Futures Center for the Arts to finally close the chapter he claims “left a stain on his character.”
“Over six years ago, after it was reported I had been jumped, City officials in Chicago set out to convince the public that I willfully set an assault against myself. This false narrative has left a stain on my character that will not soon disappear,” the “Empire” star wrote in a statement on Instagram. “The officials wanted my money and wanted my confessions for something I did not do. Today it should be clear, they have received neither.”
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Originally sourced via trusted media partner. https://thegrio.com/2025/06/23/jussie-smollett-is-engaged-to-boyfriend-jabari-redd/
