Gabourey Sidibe is reveling in the protective nature of her husband, Brandon Frankel, and the way he fiercely defends her, both online and offline. While speaking with PEOPLE at the ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards on Thursday (Feb. 27), Sidibe shared how grateful she is for her husband’s unwavering support.
Recalling how Frankel “don’t play” about his wife, Sidibe agreed, “He don’t, and I deserve every bit of it, okay. If you step on my dress, he will be here.” The 41-year-old star went on to explain that Frankel’s protectiveness often extends beyond reasonable bounds.
“Like, he’s in a feud with a lot of things,” she admitted. “I have to be careful about telling him that somebody gave me an attitude because he’ll write them off forever. He’ll beef with his grandma about me. And I deserve it. And I love him so much and I would beef with a lot of people for him, too.”
Sidibe and Frankel’s love story began unexpectedly when they met on the exclusive dating app Raya. Just four months after their engagement in November 2020, the couple tied the knot in a private ceremony. By April 2024, they welcomed their twins, Cooper and Maya.
Reflecting on their journey, Sidibe admitted she never anticipated the connection would turn into what she now describes as “radical love.” “Our first date, literally for the first six dates, as we were leaving, I’d say, ‘Okay, goodbye forever,’” she confessed. “I never intended to see him again. And now he’s at the house.”
For Sidibe, the experience of being loved by Frankel has been transformative for her. “When you talk about radical love, what I realize was — and it’s going to sound selfish — but I realized that I liked who I was when I was with him. I liked the ways that I got to grow through loving him and being loved by him,” she explained.
The Precious actress continued, “I did not know that the person who I am today existed. And she only exists because of how much he loves me. Isn’t that crazy? I would have punched myself in the face 10 years ago.” Sidibe couldn’t help but express how proud she is of Frankel as well, saying, “My husband’s the guy, just that guy.”
As for their twins, Sidibe spoke on her plans for their first birthday party. “Them babies don’t know what’s going on, nothing,” she said with a chuckle. “They don’t know nothing ‘bout nothing. We’re not gonna throw a big party for the first birthday because, you know, it’s gonna be a normal day. We might give them cake, but also they’re so little they would throw up a cake, so we’ll take them out, probably get them a present. But we’ll really get into it for probably that third birthday.”
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