‘The Color Purple’ star Fantasia Barrino says her husband is the first person who ever called her ‘beautiful’ and ‘a queen.’ Here’s a timeline of their relationship.
Kendall Taylor and Fantasia Barrino in 2018. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Fantasia Barrino can’t help but gush about her husband, Kendall Taylor.
Barrino, 39, shared details about her relationship during an interview with People this month.
“My husband’s been in the trenches with me,” Barrino told the outlet. “He came into my life and was the first person that ever called me beautiful and a queen every day, even when I felt like I didn’t look good or my hair was all over my head.”
Barrino stars as Celie in “The Color Purple,” which hit theatres on Christmas Day to rave reviews. She told People that Taylor’s support has been invaluable.
“It means a lot to share this moment with him. He’s invested so much into my life and I feel like he’s my soulmate,” she said.
Barrino and Taylor have been together for eight years. Here’s a timeline of their relationship.
Barrino and Taylor got married three weeks after meeting at a bar in 2015.
Fantasia Barrino and Kendall Taylor in November 2015. Paras Griffin/BET
Barrino shared details about how she and Taylor met during a July 2019 interview on The Breakfast Club. Barrino said they were both at a rooftop bar in North Carolina and “talked all night long.”
Fantasia added that she had a small list of things she looked for in a partner, including a man who loved her, her two children, and God.
“All the things that were on my list, he was,” Barrino said of Taylor.
Barrino and Taylor tied the knot in a courthouse wedding just three weeks after meeting.
Barrino later shared wedding photos to her Instagram page in a now-deleted post in July 2015.
According to People, Barrino had a wedding ceremony on a yacht in July 2015. She praised her husband in the caption of an Instagram post at the time.
“This Man … God made him just for Me and me Just For Him,” the post read. “Be Happy with me you guys cause I’ve been thru SOOOOO much. Some stuff was my wrong decisions but all I ever really wanted was this … Real Love. This Man and this smile is real.”
In July 2017, Barrino and Taylor took a trip to St. Lucia during their anniversary month.
Barrino chronicled the couple’s trip to the Caribbean island in July 2017 in a series of Instagram posts.
“I Do Love You,” Barrino wrote in one post’s caption.
Taylor shared a touching tribute to Barrino in July 2019 for their wedding anniversary.
Taylor shared photos from the couple’s yacht wedding on his Instagram to celebrate his and Barrino’s fifth anniversary.
“Today makes 5yrs and we have now found our own rhythm that’s in sync with the beat of our hearts!” he wrote.”We got married only knowing each other by the Spirit, and while both sporting a pair of broken wings we held hands and jumped off the cliff.”
He added: “You trusted me to lead when no path was visible and I promised you a breathtaking view that I felt you always deserved. May your butterflies continue to disrupt any moment of complacency and my security inspire you to continue to free-fall for many years to come.”
Taylor accompanied Barrino to the 2019 Grammy Awards that October.
Fantasia and Kendall Taylor at the 2019 Grammy Awards. David Crotty/Getty Images
The couple were all smiles when they posed on the red carpet for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards that October. That year, Barrino collaborated with Yolanda Adams and Andra Day in a tribute for Aretha Franklin.
On Instagram, Taylor shared photos of Barrino alongside a caption with the words “exquisite” and “elegance.”
The couple welcomed a daughter named Keziah Taylor in May 2021.
Barrino and Taylor announced the birth of their daughter in May 2021 with an Instagram post.
‘The Elephant is the animal I chose to surround @keziahlondontaylor with because it represents patience, strength, power and remembrance,” she wrote, tagging her daughter’s Instagram account. “Just a few of the qualities that her presence has brought into our lives and this world.”
That same day, Taylor made an Instagram post dedicated to Barrino and their daughter.
“To observe my Queen @tasiasword bring my little Angel @keziahlondontaylor into this world elevated my understanding and sense of pride, respect and admiration for black women,” he wrote.
Barrino has two older children from a previous relationship: Dallas Xavier and Zion Quari, according to People. The outlet reported that Taylor has a son from a previous relationship.
Barrino and Taylor published a relationship book in April 2022.
Kendall Taylor and Fantasia Barrino in 2018. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
That April, the couple published “No Crowns in the Castle: Building a Strong Relationship and a Harmonious Life.” A description of the book said Barrino and Taylor discuss “what a Godly marriage looks like and encourage readers with faith-forward and Biblical relationship advice.”
Taylor was the first person to tell Barrino she scored a Golden Globe nomination for her work in “The Color Purple” in December 2023.
Fantasia Barrino and Kendall Taylor in 2018. Variety/Getty Images
The 2024 Golden Globe nominations were announced this December when Barrino learned she was in competition for the Best performance by a female actor in a motion picture award.
Barrino told People that she learned about the accomplishment from her husband during a phone call.
“My husband picked up and it sounded like a bunch of screaming, The first thing I thought was that something [bad] had happened, so I immediately hung up to prepare myself,” Barrino told the outlet. “I called back like, ‘Babe, you have to tell me what’s wrong,’ and he’s like ‘Tasia, you just got nominated for a Golden Globe!’ I literally started crying. Like, the ugly cry.”
In a separate interview, Barrino recalled watching “The Color Purple” with Taylor, saying, “my husband went with me and he ended up grabbing my shoulders and whispering in my ear, ‘I’m going to have to catch myself. I’m about to cry.'”
