Taraji P. Henson Confirms She's Been Dating Kelvin Hayden for 2 Years

During an interview on Essence's podcast "Yes Girl," the Empire verified her relationship status with the athlete

By Elyse Dupre Dec 15, 2017 4:39 PMTags

After two years of speculation, Taraji P. Henson confirmed she's dating Kelvin Hayden.

The Empire star verified the relationship status during an episode of Essence's podcast "Yes, Girl!." After hearing Henson briefly mention "my man" at the top of the interview, the hosts revisited the topic and asked her about her rumored beau.

"I'm very happy. Everything is coming together," the Proud Mary star said before spilling the tea. "I'm happy in my personal life."

The Hidden Figures actress then broke out singing, "Finally! It has happened to me,"—quoting CeCe Peniston's song "Finally."

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

"It was all over The Shade Room anyway," she said, referencing pictures the media outlet posted on Instagram back in 2015 of her and the former football player holding hands in Miami.

While Henson claimed she isn't the type to share details of her personal life, she did confirm the couple's relationship timeline.

"I'm not the type to blast my personal business. But, you know, I think that's important for people to know. I'm happy. I'm very very happy. I just am," she said. "And you know, we've been together for two years. No one would really know that because I don't really blast my info like that. But I'm very happy."

She also talked about staying grounded in the industry and surrounding herself with "real love" earlier in the interview.

"I don't really put a lot on what I do because, you know, people love you when you're in the limelight. But what happens when the lights go off?" she said. "So, those people care about me no matter what, and those are the people I keep close to me. So, I never buy into the hype. They love you when you hot, and they love you when you not, you know? So, I never buy into that fake love. I got so much real love around me that I'm not confused."

In addition to confirming her relationship status on the podcast, she hinted at the love connection on Instagram when she posted a picture of her dog sitting in her man's hood.

Big #KBall with Lil squirt #KBall watching daddy brush his teeth! ????????

A post shared by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on

Besides talking about her relationship status, Henson talked about her friends and her award-winning acting career. The actress won a Golden Globe in 2016 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series (Drama) for her character Cookie on Empire. She was also nominated for an Oscar in 2008 in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category for her role as Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Visit Essence.com to hear the full interview.