Had you asked Gabourey Sidibe even seven years ago to describe her love life, precious would not have been one of the first words to spring to mind.
“I think I always, always wanted there to be a partner in my life,” she explained to Brides in 2022, “[but] I didn’t know what he was going to look like or what he was going to be like at all.”
Or if he even existed, to be fully real.
Admitting she’d struggled to envision a future with previous romantic partners, she added, “I couldn’t imagine dating someone I actually liked.”
Then she swiped right on talent agent Brandon Frankel—the first and only time she said yes to a potential suitor on Raya—and enjoyed a marathon seven-plus hour first date.
“I’m really happy to have been wrong about where I saw my life going, partnership-wise,” she summed up, acknowledging that Frankel “is an incredible, incredible partner.”
And, yet, even after experiencing their overwhelming chemistry on that first outing, the 41-year-old still had to force herself to lean into love.
“I have a real fight or flight personality,” she explained to Brides. “I was kind of dodgy and scared quite a lot in the very beginning of our relationship.”
But at some point during the lockdown period of the pandemic, “I just started trusting him,” said Sidibe. “I really realized that like, this guy’s not going to disappear, you know? And my big fear was that, if I loved him, he would just poof and disappear. So, I was playing my cards very close to my chest.”
Frankel, meanwhile, was putting them all on the table.
Three months after they met in March 2019, she took him to visit a tarot card reader in New Orleans “who told him he’d be married soon with kids,” Sidibe detailed in a March 2025 Instagram post. “I thought ‘Uh oh’, because I knew that his future was also mine. I just KNEW it. I worried that I wasn’t actually grown up enough to be a wife and mother. He wasn’t nervous at all.”
Two months after that bold and ultimately spot-on prediction, Frankel tattooed a small g on his ring finger. Roughly a year after that, he began designing the actress’ dream round brilliant diamond and a thoughtful at-home proposal complete with rose petals, balloons and their two cats.
On March 12, 2021, they secretly wed.
And having marked “fall in love” and “get married” off the checklist, the natural next step involved a baby carriage. A double stroller, actually.
“We thought it was time to give our cats some responsibility so we’re giving them each a baby to take care of!” Sidibe captioned her February 2024 Instagram announcement. “Double the babies, double the cats, double the fun!!”
Admittedly, life with daughter Maya (named for Mexico’s Mayan Riviera, where they enjoyed a babymoon) and son Cooper (“Brandon always wanted to name a son Cooper, so we can call him ‘Coop,'” Sidibe explained) has been quite the enjoyable ride.
“They’re just like little cartoons,” Sidibe told E! News in an exclusive interview ahead of the April premiere of her Lifetime flick Give Me Back My Daughter. “They just started walking and toddling around and they’re so funny. They’re like, learning words. And they’re just so smart. I’m so obsessed with them. I really am.”
At that point, the 13-month-old toddlers had been walking for a bit, “but now they’re really confident about it,” she added. “My daughter is running back and forth now. It’s really, really sweet.”
And it appears the two are sprinting toward a bright future.
While Maya has perfected the art of waving and blowing kisses, “My son sings,” Sidibe revealed to E!. “It’s the nuttiest thing you’ve ever seen—a baby that young, doing vocal scales.”
The siblings have been in perfect harmony practically since birth.
“My daughter noticed my son at 2 months, and at 3 months, they started holding hands every time they were near each other,” Sidibe detailed. “And so their bond started really, really quickly, which is really, really beautiful to watch.”
Not to say the two are carbon copies. While they share a “goofy” personality, she noted, and love “high-fiving themselves in the mirror,” said Sidibe, “My son is like a chaotic cannonball, and my daughter is much more methodical. She stands up, she gets her balance, and then she takes a walk. But my son launches himself, like, dives everywhere.”
It’s a trait he may have picked up from Dad.
Frankel, Sidibe recognized in her 2025 anniversary post, “has been running full speed towards me, everyday since we met in March of 2019 and if I had realized sooner what a wonderful husband he would turn out to be, I would’ve stood still and let him catch me sooner.”
Because on the days they’re living out the “for worse” portion of their vows, he’s “holding me down,” Sidibe recognized. And on the best days, “he’s lifting me up.”
Which is why if she could go back and do it all over, she’d speed up the process.
“When we meet again, in our next life, let’s have kids in our twenties,” she joked in her Instagram post, “so that our knees don’t hurt when we play with them.”
Because, truthfully, Frankel’s unending devotion to their family can leave her feeing just a bit weak in that area.
“He steps up for every single thing,” Sidibe gushed to E!. “There’s nothing too crazy for him to do.”
And as the mom of toddler-age twins, she knows crazy.
“Sometimes being a parent, things get crazy,” she continued. “Sometimes you have to suck snot out of your baby’s nose with your mouth. It’s gross. Nobody Instagrams that.”
But she’s certainly taking some mental snapshots.
“I’m so impressed with him, not just as a father, but as a man and a husband,” Sidibe told E!. “And every day, he just gets better.”
The proof, it’s in the highlights she does share with her 2.1 million Instagram followers. Check out the scenes from their, dare we say, precious, life together.
Hard Launch
Gabourey Sidibe made her relationship with Brandon Frankel Instagram official in May 2019 with a selfie, just two months after they met on the dating app Raya. And as Brandon revealed three years later in Brides, their first date lasted “more than seven hours.”
Taking Their Romance to the Next Level
Brandon proposed to the Empire actress in November 2020, sharing their exciting news to his Instagram with a sweet message envisioning their next chapter together.
“I asked my best friend to marry me, and she said ‘YES’! So excited to spend the rest of my life with the most amazing, hilarious, beautiful, and inspiring woman I’ve ever know,” he wrote. “I couldn’t imagine a life without you. We make the best team, and we make everything fun and memorable.”
NSFW Glimpse at the Proposal
Wishing her Brandon a happy birthday one month after getting engaged, Gabourey shared a naughty photo—one that may have also been a peek at their proposal—with her followers. The picture featured Brandon’s proposal from a month earlier, kneeling on the bed naked with ballon’s spelling out “Will you marry me?” in a strategic location.
“You are the funniest, kindest, toughest, most protective man in the world,” she wrote on Instagram in December 2020. “You’re always down for all my hair brained schemes, from painting your nails, to earing rice noodle rose water ice cream, to ridiculous photo shoots like this 1!”
Take Note
The Precious star shared a note Brandon left for her, wishing her a good morning in an August 2022 Instagram post.
“Been working all week and coming home at 2am when @brandontour is asleep and then I’m still asleep when he gets up,” she shared with her followers. “We’re basically ships in the night but he still makes sure to love me real good even when we’re not physically in the same space.”
Gabourey joked, “Damn… he REALLY wants that PS5.”
A Private “I Do”
After being asked about their wedding plans for months and claiming to be planning for spring 2023 nuptials, the Oscar-nominated actress revealed in December 2022 that she and Brandon were already married.
“The thing about weddings is I don’t like them,” she explained on Live with Kelly and Ryan at the time. “Here’s an example of how much I don’t like them: I’m actually married. We got married over a year ago.”
Gabourey went on to explain that her and her husband privately tied the knot at their kitchen table four months after their engagement, but they were still planning to eventually have a ceremony.
And after she revealed the news, Brandon gushed about life as a newlywed.
“I can finally call her my WIFE publicly! Since @gabby3shabby finally spilled the beans today,” he wrote on Instagram. “So thankful to have found my forever person, my partner-in-crime, and the love of my life. Every day if the best day with you.”
Permanently Inked
In March 2023, Brandon surprised his wife with a new tattoo: her name on his upper thigh. He posted a video to Instagram of him getting “Gabourey” inked—as well as her very sweet response.
“Oh what did you do? Why did you do this,” she said, laughing. “Okay. Spelled correctly, good job.”
And he ensured people that the decision was solely his own.
“I love my wife so much I wanted to ink her name on me forever,” he wrote. “And she was very worried once I showed her what I did that y’all would think she made me do it. I assure you, I’m just crazy in love.”
A Growing Empire
Gabourey and Brandon announced they were expecting twins in February 2024 in a picture on Instagram with him placing a hand on her baby bump.
“I’m pregnant! We thought it was time to give our cats some responsibility so we’re giving them each a baby to take care of,” she captioned the reveal. “Double the babies, double the cats, double the fun!!”
Double Trouble
Four months after welcoming twins Maya and Cooper with her husband in April 2024, she gave her followers an update as to how they were navigating life with their newborns. Sharing a picture of the two babies lounging in their respective bouncer chairs while she read The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton to them, she captioned the August 2024 post, “Story Time.”
Holding Hands
Gabourey posted a sweet moment between the twins on her Instagram story, showing how strong their bond was at just 4 months old.
“They can’t touch their sensory books,” she captioned the August 2024 video, “because they’re too busy holding hands.”
Family Photo
The talent agent has no shortage of posts dedicated to his three favorite girls. In November 2024, Brandon posted a tribute for Gabourey and their twins as Cooper and Maya reached the 7-month-old milestone, giving them the title of the “loves” of his life.
“No matter how tough things get, or how crazy the world becomes, the way you all light up when you see me just warms my heart,” he wrote. “I love you all the most.”
Merry Christmas
Gabourey posted a video of her first Christmas with her and Brandon’s twins—who were 8 months old for the holiday—and gifted them with an activity table, puzzles and toys.
“First Frankel Family Christmas for The SidiBabies was a success,” she shared in her Dec. 26 post. “They really loved the boxes!”
And her husband couldn’t agree with more with their success, commenting, “We did it! We won the parent ‘Super Bowl’!”
Precious Memories
Celebrating her and Brandon’s sixth anniversary, Gabourey shared a precious tribute to her husband, sharing a series of photos together, reminiscing on their relationship.
“We met in late March [2019],” the Big C alum captioned the March 2025 carousel. “In June, he visited me in New Orleans and for fun, I took him to see a tarot card reader who told him he’d be married soon and with kids.”
“[Brandon] has been running full speed towards me everyday since we met,” she added. “If I had realized sooner what a wonderful husband he would turn out to be, I would’ve stood still and let him catch me sooner.”
