No matter what role he's playing, you can always expect Billy Porter to deliver something iconic. Though he began as a stage actor, the Grammy winner soared to mainstream success due to his work in Pose and exemplary fashion sense. As his presence has increased in the limelight, so has his candor about his personal life.
In 2017, the 52-year-old told People that he and husband Adam Porter-Smith's conservative upbringings in Pittsburgh and near Dallas made it difficult to even imagine ever getting married.
“We both grew up in households where who we are is labeled an ‘abomination,'" Porter told the magazine. "The thought of marriage, there was no context for it — there was no dreaming about it because there was no context to dream; it was unspoken and very clear that the sanctity of marriage was not for us."
"So to see that come around, to see that tide turned, it still takes my breath away; I’m still trying to find the words to describe it. I didn’t think I needed it," Porter said. "I lived with this idea that it just wasn’t for us. So when we went to get our marriage license the other day, the act of that was so powerful in a way that crept up on the both of us, and it just grounded that moment."
"I finally found — we finally found — the thing that has been so elusive, and I’m so excited to share that."
Though audiences have a pretty decent idea of who Porter is, not much is known of his husband of nearly five years. Here's what we do know:
They first met in 2009
Though married for nearly five years, the two have known each other for more than a decade.
According to People, Porter and Porter-Smith met at a dinner party in February 2009.
"I was cruisin' him as he walked up the street, and he stopped, and he was with us!" the Emmy winner said to the outlet before joking, "I was like, 'Oh, well, I’ll be sittin' next to this handsome specimen tonight!'"
After dating for seven months, the pair split in 2010, but remained in contact. Turns out, absence does make the heart grow fonder, and Porter quickly realized Porter-Smith was the one that got away.
“I remember saying to my therapist, ‘Now I know what love looks like, and it just walked out the door,'” says Porter. “I didn’t know what it looked like before, and it was after that that I realized: ‘Oh, s**t, that’s the one that got away! But now that I know what it looks like, the next time it shows up, I will be ready.’ I didn’t realize it was gonna show up as the same person — but I’m grateful that it did!”
Porter-Smith is a successful businessman
Porter may be the thespian in the union, but his better half holds his own as an entrepreneur. Per his LinkedIn page, Porter-Smith co-owned luxury eyewear brand Native Ken from September 2016 until December 2018. Currently, he is creative director of The Smith Society.
Other past stints include work with Chanel and Dita Eyewear.
Porter-Smith planned their wedding in 10 days
Porter and Porter-Smith didn't even wait three weeks to get hitched after their engagement, with the latter telling People he planned the nuptials in roughly two weeks.
However, there's a heartwarming reason behind their decision to hurry the planning. Per Porter, they wanted to tie the know while Barack Obama was still president and before the Donald Trump administration took over in 2017.
“We were discussing, and Billy had actually brought up to me that it’s important for us to get married [while Barack] Obama is still president and before January 20," Smith said. “So we sat down and figured out when we could make it work before the 20th."
"This is an extension of our activist side. It’s still important to show the world what our love looks like; it’s important for us to take that stand,” Porter added. "I think about when I grew up and when I came out in the ’80s: As a black gay man, there were no examples to validate my existence. So I vowed at that age to try to be that for the generations behind me if I had the chance."
On Jan. 14, 2017, 16 days after getting engaged, the two officially became husband and husband at the penthouse of their good friends in New York's Chelsea district, according to Playbill.
This is Porter-Smith's second marriage
The site didn't reveal how long or to whom Porter-Smith was previously married to, but PopSugar reports Porter-Smith had been married before and the union ended in divorce.
A power couple on screen and off screen, Porter and Porter-Smith are the true definition of #RelationshipGoals.
