Miracle Watts and her boyfriend, P-Valley star Tyler Lepley, recently announced that they were expecting their first child together. The excited parents took to social media to share the good news, and their fans couldn’t have been happier.
Miracle Watts announced that she was pregnant in an Instagram video captioned “A LOVE STORY.” In the video, she and Lepley reenacted a passionate scene from the popular film The Notebook.
The news surprised fans, who flooded the comments with congratulations and well wishes. And as part of the celebration, the couple threw a Cowboy-themed baby shower, complete with haystacks and ‘watering hole’ signs.
But the venue wasn’t the only thing decorated. The expectant mother kicked off the party in a black leather vest and matching bell bottoms. And Lepley donned a white Prada button-down, black jeans and black Cowboy boots.
In an interview with HipHollywood, Lepley gushed over his girlfriend, calling their relationship “organic” and a weight off his shoulders. “We had vibes for a while before we made it official,” he said.
When asked why he made it official with Miracle Watts, he responded, “We sat down and really talked about what’s going to work for us versus what doesn’t work for us.”
He added that their dynamic “feels like we’re in flow. It’s more effortless as opposed to the opposite.”
Lepley may have heart eyes for his girlfriend, but now that the couple is expecting, fans have their eyes on him, too. Here are five interesting facts about Lepley, the P-Valley star and soon-to-be father.
Tyler Lepley is part of television history.
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The Haves and the Have Nots is the first scripted television series to air on OWN. Created by Tyler Perry, the TV show is an adaptation of his popular play of the same name.
But even though the play amassed a large fanbase, many credit the television series for helping the network gain notoriety. And because Lepley starred in the soap opera, it became part of his claim to fame, as well.
Lepley starred as Benjamin “Benny” Young, the resilient oldest child of the Young family. The series earned nearly 3 million viewers across eight seasons, and it was the highest-rated program on the network.
He was bullied as a child.
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Lepley is a rich and famous actor today, but he wasn’t always so popular. In an interview with HipHollywood, he talked about how he was teased as a biracial child growing up on the outskirts of Philadelphia.
He said that the experience taught him how to have passion, even though he can seem intimidating.
“I’m very passionate. Sometimes it can come off as a mean streak. But you know what, I think it comes from — I was a bullied kid growing up,” he said. “I developed this tendency to stick up for myself. And I think because I was unable to articulate my feelings growing up, it, like, blew up one day. So it’s like that passion is inside of me.”
Quarantine taught him patience.
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In an interview with xoNecole, Lepley discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and what he learned during quarantine.
When Los Angeles lifted its quarantine restrictions, Lepley remembered being excited to get back in the gym. But when cases started to rise back up, the city shut down again.
Lepley recalled feeling frustrated at the disruption.
“I think what I’ve learned about myself is just how patient I can be,” he told xoNecole. “To still be able to understand the opportunities that are at hand. To still knock down what it is I’m here to do, and just find a different way to do it, takes patience to do that. So it’s like yeah, we’re forced here but it’s almost like doing the time, and not letting the time do you.”
He just fell into acting.
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Lepley is a skilled, young talent, having acted in hit television shows such as 90210, The Haves and the Have Nots, P-Valley, Harlem and more. But Lepley didn’t always want to act. In fact, when he moved to Los Angeles from his hometown of Philadelphia, he worked as a personal trainer.
But one day, Lepley met a talent scout who invited him to audition for a small role in a movie.
“It was a real small role, small movie. But through that experience, I was intrigued,” he explained during an interview with Essence. “So, at that point, that’s when I chose to apply myself.”
He went on to play a small role in the hit film Baggage Claim starring actress Paula Patton. And his acting career has been looking up ever since.
He formed a close bond with his "Harlem" co-stars.
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Harlem is an Amazon Prime TV series that follows a group of young, Black women as they navigate their growing pains while living in New York. Lepley plays Ian, the ex-boyfriend of one of the main characters, Camille, who is played by Meagan Good.
But even though he plays an ex-boyfriend on screen, he said he has a great relationship with his co-stars when the cameras are off.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Lepley discussed the show and what it’s like to work with so much feminine energy.
“I tell them often that they’re like the sisters that I’ve always needed; that I’ve always wanted, for sure,” he told Screen Rant. “As great as we work together on set, as well as we gel on set, the energy is like that even more off set.”
