Karamo Brown and Jussie Smollett have confirmed rumours that they’re dating after pictures of the couple being affectionate emerged.
Smollett rose to fame on the FOX series Empire before hitting headlines around the world after he was charged with faking a hate crime, while Brown is best known for his role in Netflix show Queer Eye. The charges against Smollett were later dropped.
Both have experienced the trappings of fame, with Smollett being effectively black-listed from Hollywood in recent years while Brown recently quit Queer Eye and laid the blame at the feet of his “toxic” co-stars.
It seems the new couple have found solace with each other, however, after being spotted together on an outing in Los Angeles on Monday.
In one sweet photo, Smollett reached over and caressed Brown’s chin while the pair were on a stroll.
According to TMZ, the loved-up duo later enjoyed lunch with Brown’s mum before running errands and enjoying a romantic hike through Runyon Canyon.
A day later, they were spotted in an even more intimate sighting, kissing in public at Los Angeles airport:
On a recent podcast, Brown didn’t mention Smollett by name but did tease that he had been “dating a celebrity” and that he believed that he was “going to be my forever person”.
“I could get emotional. I’ve met my equal,” Brown revealed on Reality With The King.
“And it’s powerful when you meet someone who you feel 100 per cent safe with, you feel 100 per cent secure with, who you can just trust with your heart, because you know they are just a great human being, and they get everything. It’s special. It’s pretty amazing. ... We’re not taking it slow, we are deep in love. But [that’s the reason] why we are not public yet, because we don’t want comments. We are protecting the love we have, because I do believe this is going to be my husband. I believe this is going to be my forever person. I feel it every single day.”
Brown went on to gush that he and his new love truly enjoy each other’s company, and that things have been so “easy” between them since they began dating.
“We don’t have any arguments. Everything is just easy,” he said. “And not saying that we don’t have discussions but everything is just easy. We just get each other. It’s constant laughter. It’s constant love. It’s just constant everything.”
“It’s not like we’re hiding. We go out, we do whatever. We’re together, we hold hands everywhere,” Brown said. “It’s just that once the public gets involved … I just want to protect what I’m doing.”
Meanwhile, Brown has been in the headlines over the last few weeks after his feud with his former Queer Eye co-stars came to an ugly head.
In an interview last month, the reality star spoke to People about the final straw that led to his bombshell decision not to do press with his fellow cast members in January.
Brown shared that his mother had overheard Jonathan van Ness, Antoni Porowski and Tan France trash-talking him on set.
Brown recalled his mother telling him so with “tears in her eyes” as she repeated, “I thought they were your friends.”
