The Untold Truth Of Tyra Banks' Boyfriend
With a new gig as the host of the 14th season of Dancing With the Stars, Tyra Banks is back to gracing our screens with her stunning attire and awe-inspiring smize. However, we're not the only one putting a smize on her face. When the cameras are off, the iconic model cozies up with her boyfriend, Louis Bélanger-Martin.
The couple reportedly began dating in August 2018, but it would not be until August and September 2019 that they would begin to be spotted together in public in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. Bélanger-Martin's identity remained concealed until October 2019, when Page Six first reported the two being spotted grabbing dinner at A-list spot Hutong.
Since their initial sighting, Banks and Bélanger-Martin made some serious moves in taking their relationship to the next step. An insider told Page Six that the couple is already living together, but Bélanger-Martin moves around often for "business reasons." Read on to find out everything you need to know about Tyra Banks' new beau.
Tyra Banks' new man is a businessman
Tyra Banks and her newest muse, Louis Bélanger-Martin, are both booked and busy. While Banks is focused on Dancing With the Stars and her theme park ModelLand, her boo has business ventures of his own. Bélanger-Martin is a Canadian businessman who has held a number of high positions at several different companies, according to Elle. He's the co-founder and partner of Groupe W, a private investment firm in Montreal, per his LinkedIn. His previous positions include vice chairman at Global Eagle, a company that specializes in in-flight entertainment, and CEO and COO of Advanced Inflight Alliance AG.
When it comes to entrepreneurship, Bélanger-Martin and Banks have something in common: they both attended Harvard Business School within a year apart from one another, per Elle. According to HuffPost, Banks attended Harvard Business School in 2012 as part of an Owner/President Management extension program. Per his LinkedIn resume, Bélanger-Martin attended in 2013 as a participant of an Executive Education Program. While it is unclear whether Bélanger-Martin and Banks will be partnering on Banks' ModelLand venture, he is already showing his support by having the ModelLand logo as his LinkedIn cover photo.
Louis Bélanger-Martin and Tyra Banks both have sons
In addition to sharing common business interests, both Tyra Banks and Louis Bélanger-Martin got out of serious relationships prior to meeting each other, and both have sons of their own.
The high-powered CEO shares a son with his ex-wife, Valérie Martin Scraire. An insider told Page Six that Bélanger-Martin travels quite a bit in order to spend time with his son. "Louis also spends some time with his own child in England and around the world for business," the source said.
Banks also shares a young son, York Banks Asla, with her former boyfriend, Norwegian photographer Erik Asla. Page Six's insider says that Bélanger-Martin also spends a good amount of time with York: "Tyra's child has his own room at Louis [and] Valerie's house in Magog and Tyra moved some of her stuff — clothes, jewelry — there too."
Although Banks' son spends time at Bélanger-Martin and Scraire's England apartment, Scraire and Banks have not had direct contact with one another. According to Page Six, Bélanger-Martin's ex "does not want to."
A spokesperson for Banks, who left out details about Banks and Bélanger-Martin's relationship, clarified the situation to the outlet: "[Scraire and Bélanger-Martin] are divorced, they have an amicable relationship and [are] harmoniously co-parenting their child."
Tyra Banks addressed rumors of engagement
Even though this seems to be Tyra Banks' first major relationship since her 2017 split from Erik Asla, Banks is not looking to marry her current man at the moment. The America's Next Top Model host shut down rumors after the Daily Mail reported she is allegedly engaged to Louis Bélanger-Martin. The outlet managed to catch a few snapshots of Banks and Bélanger-Martin strolling down Santa Monica in August 2020. In the photos, Banks is sporting a massive stone on that finger.
Banks denied the rumors of her engagement in an interview with Tamron Hall, stating that it's "just a ring." The ring, Banks says, is just a crab-shaped ring. "It's shaped like a crab... and it's an opal, not a diamond," she explained. "It is not a crab opal engagement ring. It is just a ring."
Banks told Us Weekly that she is currently focused on raising her son and giving him lessons on beauty and body positivity. "I'm trying to teach him [positive] messages because I'm his first role model when it comes to beauty and accepting different types of women, so we practice that a lot at home," she said.
There are no congratulations in order yet, but Banks definitely seems happy with her new man.