It’s no secret that Lena Waithe is a big sneaker head.
When the sneaker collector proposed to her fiancée, Alano Mayo, in 2017, instead of a ring, Waithe got another kind of wearable gift — sneakers!
The Emmy award-winning actress and The Chi creator revealed in the latest episode of Complex’s Sneaker Shopping that when she proposed to Mayo wover the 2017 Thanksgiving holiday in Tokyo, she got a pair of kicks instead.
“We were in Tokyo. We got engaged in Tokyo on Thanksgiving. That holiday has a very special place in my heart. But she said like, ‘Lena, I want to get you a ring.’ And it was like uhh that’s not really my vibe but of course, I was in Tokyo and I wanted to go shopping for sneakers so while we were out shopping, there was a particular brand that is only available in Tokyo and they don’t sell anymore in the states. She was like, ‘I want to give you these pair of sneakers.’ And I was like ok, cool! They are my engagement sneakers and I only wear them on special occasions.”
According to Complex, the super rare sneaker is the Etonic, Akeem the Dream. The shoe hasn’t dropped in the U.S. since 2015 after debuting in 1984 by NBA Hall of Famer and former Houston Rockets star, Hakeem Olajuwon.
What a perfect gift for Lena!