Inside Queen Latifah's Relationship With Eboni Nichols
There's no denying Queen Latifah has had an impressive career. She's been a Grammy-winning rapper, an Oscar-winning actor, a jazz and R&B singer, a producer, and a talk show host, per Biography. Her star has been shining brightly for over three decades. But the 52-year-old's personal life couldn't be further from the spotlight. In 2007, she told People, "My private life is my private life. Whomever I might be with, I don't feel the need to share it. I don't think I ever will."
For years, the media has speculated about her sexual orientation. In a 2008 interview with The New York Times, she said that while being a very vocal advocate for LGBTQ rights, she felt her sexuality was her own business, stating, "I don't have a problem discussing the topic of somebody being gay, but I do have a problem discussing my personal life ... I don't care if people think I'm gay or not. Assume whatever you want. You do it anyway."
Her relationship with Eboni Nichols was rumored for years before she seemingly confirmed it during her acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021 at the BET Awards when she thanked "Eboni, my love." While not much is known about their relationship, some glimpses have been confirmed over the years.
Eboni Nichols is a dancer
While not too much is known about Eboni Nichols' personal life, her career has been chronicled in great detail. According to her agency, LA Bloc, Nichols grew up in Southern California and attended Chapman University in Orange, California where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre and Dance. After college she became a professional backup dancer, working for some big names, including Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, and Usher. She also danced for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Nichols's reel shows an impressive choreography resume. Just to name a few, she's choreographed dance numbers for a host of movies and TV shows including "Jane the Virgin," "Blades of Glory," "Girls Trip," "Office Christmas Party," "Night School," "Cougar Town," and commercials for Crocs, Apple, and Covergirl, which starred Queen Latifah. In 2019, she became a member of the Television Academy and currently serves as Co-Governor of the Choreography Peer Group, per Emmys.com. Her IMDb page demonstrates that she is still a very active choreographer in the film industry, working on the 2021 film "The United States vs. Billie Holiday" and the 2022 film "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile."
They reportedly met on 'Dancing with the Stars'
Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols reportedly met behind the scenes on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2009, according to several outlets including The Sun and Yahoo! This is certainly possible considering "Dancing with the Stars" is listed as one of Nichols' achievements on her agency page. Though Latifah was never a contestant on the show, she did make a guest performance more than once, including one episode in 2009 that featured a choreographed dance number as she sang "Ease on Down the Road." Whether or not they struck up any sort of romance then is unclear. They did, however, join forces once again in 2011 when the choreographer worked on Queen Latifah's Covergirl campaign, per Nichols's professional reel.
They clearly got to know each other in a professional setting before they started dating, and it seems likely it was a gradual turn to romance considering it wasn't until 2013 that they allegedly made their relationship official — though they stayed extremely private about it.
Queen Latifah confirmed the relationship at the BET Awards in 2021
Because Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols attended several events together throughout the years and were occasionally photographed together by the paparazzi, including one time even showing them kissing, their romance was rumored for years. Latifah, however, never confirmed it publicly and details of her personal life are noticeably absent from the "Chicago" star's Instagram.
But when Latifah received the honor of The Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards, she shouted out her partner and the child they have together at the end of her acceptance speech. "I thank you so much for all of you, the fans, for supporting every crazy-a** thing I've done through the years. And thank you for making 'Equalizer' number 1. Eboni, my love. Rebel, my love. Peace. Happy Pride!" she said. Many fans took this to be an official coming out. If it can be considered a public coming out, it was a subtle and quiet one suited to the couple's hushed private life.
The couple has a child together
In 2016, Queen Latifah told the press she was ready to be a mother. According to E! News, the "U.N.I.T.Y." singer admitted, "I'm a little bit of a procrastinator ... I had some things to deal with. I had to get a lot of partying out of my system early in life for about 40 years. You know what I'm saying. I'm good now. I think I'm ready." In 2019, it seemed like her hope for a child came to fruition. Eboni Nichols was photographed by the paparazzi sporting a baby bump and rumors began to swirl that the alleged couple was going to have a child together, per Radar Online.
In 2019, an exclusive source allegedly told Radar Online, "Latifah has never been so full of life ... Eboni and the baby have given Latifah something very special to live for." But little else was learned about the possible addition to their family until Latifah's BET Awards acceptance speech when she said, "Rebel, my love." The child's name was previously unknown. In October 2022, The Daily Mail reported that the star was seen for the first time in public with her 3-year-old son.
They're seen out and about together every now and then
Though Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols probably won't be giving exclusive interviews about their relationship any time soon, they do appear at public events together every now and then. In 2015, they were seen taking an intimate walk in New York City together. In 2019, the couple was spotted and photographed at the U.S. Open where they watched a match between Serena Williams and Elina Svitolina, per Radar Online.
In April 2022, they made another rare public appearance when they showed up at the Broadway premiere of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical "Strange Loop" at the Lyceum Theatre. They were photographed together after they had taken their seats and as they pulled down their protective face masks for the camera, they were beaming with smiles. One conclusion that can be gathered from all of the photos from their outings: they seem super happy and thriving as a couple.