The Truth About Anthony Mackie's Ex-Wife

Marvel star Anthony Mackie has wowed fans for years as flying superhero The Falcon (a.k.a. Sam Wilson), before being crowned the new Captain America following co-star Chris Evans' departure from the franchise. Now, Mackie is set to return to the MCU with the new Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, opposite Sebastian Stan on March 19, 2021.

In the past, Mackie has teased that he likes to believe his onscreen Marvel alter ego was secretly in love with his fellow Avenger, Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson), but what about his real-life romances? The actor has kept his love life under wraps throughout his fame. But it turns out that Mackie has only had one so-called "Falconette" in his life: childhood crush Sheletta Chapital. In 2014, Mackie revealed on The Queen Latifah Show that he's been in love with Chapital since the age of 7. "So I walk in, and I look, and I see this little girl with these ratty pigtails and skinny legs, and I was like, 'Wow!'" the actor said of their adorable meet-cute. He also jokingly said, "She used to beat me up for my lunch money in second grade."

It sounds like it was love at first sight! So, who is Sheletta Chapital, and why did her relationship with Anthony Mackie fizzle after close to three decades? Keep scrolling to find out!

After being "on-and-off since they were in grade school," Anthony Mackie reconnected with Sheletta Chapital in their shared New Orleans hometown while Mackie was in production on The Hurt Locker in 2008, according to Page Six. The couple reportedly rekindled their childhood romance at a Hurricane Katrina benefit rock concert, per Stars Offline. As the actor revealed on The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2015, "She put her number in my phone, and it's been dope ever since."

Mackie and Chapital secretly tied the knot in a "low-key and super relaxed" ceremony held in the Dominican Republic in December 2014, where Mackie was shooting the movie, Our Brand Is Crisis, Page Six reported the following June. The duo already shared two sons prior to getting married, and had another two children together, before quietly filing for divorce in 2017. Per TMZ, their amicable divorce was finalized two years later, and the former couple currently share joint custody of their four children. 

For her part, Chapital tends to keep a low profile and has very little social media presence. Her single tweet from April 2009 shared her discomfort during pregnancy: "Why don't we tell women that pregnancy lasts for 10 months, not 9! Yes, I'm still fat, uncomfortable and waiting for my son to arrive." As of this writing, she still shares Mackie's last name on Facebook. It seems like Mackie's true superpower is keeping his private life pretty much invisible!