Lena Waithe Reveals She Secretly Married Her Longtime Love

Lena Waithe and longtime love Alana Mayo secretly got married! Watch the Masters of None star talk about their wedding on The Ellen DeGeneres Show with guest host John Legend here.

By emily belfiore Nov 15, 2019 1:59 PMTags
Lena Waith, Alana Mayo, 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards, ArrivalsFrazer Harrison/Getty Images

Wedding bells are ringing for Lena Waithe!

On Friday, the Emmy winner revealed that she secretly married her longtime love Alana Mayo during her visit on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Sitting down with guest host John Legend, Lena opened up to the newly-crowned Sexiest Man Alive about their decision to keep their wedding private.

"We snuck and did it, you know," she told the "All Of Me" singer, showing off her wedding ring. "We didn't make any announcements or a big…We went to San Francisco. We went to the courthouse. Got married right in front of [late gay rights activist and politician] Harvey Milk's bust. [It was] her idea, as all good things are. And she was just driving and she saw the courthouse and she said, ‘We should get married there.' And I said, ‘Cool, I'm down."

Reflecting on the significance that San Francisco City Hall and Milk's monument represent to the LGBTQ+ community, Lena said that the importance of the moment did not go unnoticed.  

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"It was a humbling day, you know, to marry someone so amazing," she continued. "But also to really appreciate all the work that so many people have put in for us to be able to do that…Everybody should be able to do that."

Switching gears, John asked Lena how it feels to be a part of the Emmy winners club following her historic win at the 2017 Emmys. She was the first black woman to win the Award for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series on Master of None. In fact, the "Thanksgiving" episode she wrote was partially based on her personal coming out experience to her mother.

"To me, I really wanted to honor that moment," Lena began. "Because I know so many amazing women of color, particularly black women, have written episodes that are worthy of winning an Emmy…Aziz Ansari, he really gave me the floor and was like, ‘Tell your story.' And I had no idea that the episode would take on the life that it's taken."

Back in 2017, Lena talked about what her nomination meant to her on the 69th Annual Emmys red carpet with E!'s Jason Kennedy. "No matter what happens tonight, a door has been opened," she said before winning her award. "And so many other women of color that are funny and have great jokes and stories will be able to walk through it. So, I may be the first but it is my responsibility to make sure that I'm not the last."