It’s nearly impossible to scroll through Instagram most days without seeing a funny couple video or a heartwarming family photo courtesy of married vloggers Devale and Khadeen Ellis.
Their likability has helped their star rise fast. The former NFL player and professional makeup artist have nearly 600,000 collective followers, and together they have used their social media fame to elevate and promote what millennial marriage and parenthood really look like — all while raising three beautiful children (two of whom are under the age of two) and having a lot of fun.
Throughout their 15 years together, like any couple, they’ve had their share of ups and downs. But they take pride in knowing that they’ve always managed to keep it real and keep their unbreakable bond intact, a combination that’s become their secret to lasting love.
This is their story:
1. What made you decide to share your love with the ‘gram?
As artists, we want to share our life with the world through our art. Through creating, we realized how important our love was in molding us as individuals and as a couple over the years. Sharing our love story became paramount in explaining who we are as people.
2. What do your followers love most about your love story? What do you feel inspires them?
Our followers love that our love story is imperfect and withstanding. What inspires them the most is the transparency that exists between the two of us as well as the understanding that we are both making a choice to be here.
3. Is there anything you’ve decided together NOT to share? Why?
There are certain things we decide not to share because social media is just a snapshot of our lives. Some things deserve more than 60 seconds and a caption.
4. Share one of your most liked photos together and a funny story behind the photo!
The funny story behind this photo is that we were vlogging and started arguing about who lost the phone charger (typical married people stuff). The phone was about to die and we needed to finish the vlog so I said, “f*ck the vlog just take a pic before the phone dies so we can post something on IG.” I set the timer and Kay says, “I don’t feel like smiling with your dumbass.” I responded with, “I don’t feel like being married to your dumbass.” She says, “Well, you stuck dummy…” We were ice grilling each other when the timer started beeping. We both rolled our eyes, looked at the camera and this picture is what happened.
5. How did you meet and fall in love.
We met at a banquet on August 2nd when I was graduating high school. Khadeen was a freshman in college and hosting the banquet. We crossed paths many times as we attended the same elementary school, attended rival high schools and discovered we live 5 blocks away from each other. That evening we exchanged numbers but were unable to connect because Khadeen was traveling due to pageant obligations.
As a freshman at Hofstra, I considered Khadeen a loss and then out of nowhere I received a phone call from her that October. Her pageant director asked her to make an appearance at the Light The Night walk for Cancer the next day on campus. We finally connected and have been inseparable ever since. That spring, Khadeen transferred into Hofstra and our love story began.
6. What’s the glue that makes your love stick?
The glue that makes our love stick is an unyielding work ethic and a commitment to being friends first with a desire to see the other win in life….and we just find a way to laugh at EVERYTHING!
7. Pass on the love: Whose your IG couple crush and why?
We love Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert because they epitomize Millennial Marriage. They are both creatives with huge individual successes but continue to build as a family and not conform to societies ideas of how a married couple should move.
8. What do you believe is unique and most inspiring about your love story?
Time! We’ve grown from childhood through adulthood and we did it together. We’ve developed as a couple allowing each other to grow as individuals without judgment and learned to embrace change as a positive and a necessity in life.
9. If your love story was an Instagram caption, what would it be?
When you find someone to always have fun with you almost forget that life is happening. The lows never seem that low and the highs are that much higher. You can be deliberate with your choices, take over the world and laugh while doing it.