Don Cheadle is a married man. If you’re saying to yourself, ‘hasn’t he been a married man?,’ you’ll be surprised to know that the answer is no. He and longtime partner Bridgid Coulter just made it official after almost three decades together.
The Oscar-nominated actor and producer wasn’t the one who broke the news, though. During a visit to Ellen, where good friend and comedian Wanda Sykes was guest hosting and revealed the matrimonial info. When the interview began, Wanda told Don she owed him an apology because when he told her that he and Bridgid tied the knot early this year, she didn’t have the reaction he was expecting.
“You text me at the top of the year I guess and you told me that you just got married and I was like, ‘Aw damn! The pandemic done got to Don and Bridgid,'” she joked. “I was like, ‘what the hell happened man?’ I think I just text something back like ‘Hey if you’re happy, I’m happy for you.'”
“I was like ‘huh?'” Cheadle responded. “‘What does that mean Wanda?'”
She joked that the star “went Hollywood,” noting that her confusion came from the fact that she didn’t know he and Bridgid weren’t already husband and wife.
“Yeah. That’s understandable given that we’d been together 28 years before we got married,” he said. “I hold you blameless.”
It's unclear how and when Cheadle and Coulter met, but in the years since, they starred in the 1997 film Rosewood together. They also have two children, daughters Imani and Ayana. Coulter has appeared on classic '90s sitcoms like Martin and A Different World early in her career, and had roles in a number of Cheadle's projects, including House of Lies and most recently, Black Monday. But she's also a designer working in textiles, with a self-titled brand that has appeared in the Los Angeles Times as well as Better Homes and Gardens. She's also behind the co-working space for Black women entrepreneurs called Blackbird House in L.A. She has been a constant presence on the red carpet with him, and now, she's officially his wife.
Celebrate the good news by checking out photos of the couple from their many years together below.