Remember back in late 2020 when Michael B. Jordan was lamenting how hard it can be to find your person?
Asked how a man worthy of the Sexiest Man Alive title, and Super Bowl LV's steamiest commercial, could still be single, he ventured it had to do with his fairly exacting standards. A sense of humor is a must, he told People, and a person who's understanding of how all-consuming his career can be "because [an actor's] life is not conducive to a relationship—it's really not." Plus, "somebody that's nurturing," he continued. "I've got a list. That's probably why my ass is still single."
And even if he were to find someone who ticked off every box, he wasn't entirely certain he'd be sure this was it.
"Having people who are married around me, a running theme is 'You know when you know,'" he noted. "And it's one of the most frustrating things to hear as somebody who's single. I kind of thought I knew four or five times, and that didn't really work out too well for me."
Perhaps the sixth time will prove to be the charm.
Because not long after he proclaimed "I want children. I want a wife," the actor went public with a new romance, perhaps one he'd been mulling over during that very 2020 chat. His eyes were still smoldering on newsstands across America when he and model Lori Harvey turned up in Atlanta where her famous stepfather Steve Harvey and mom Marjorie Harvey happen to own a sprawling $15 million manse.
The very personification of a family man, having lived with his parents in an L.A. home he purchased well into his late twenties, Jordan easily charmed the Naked Wardrobe collaborator's family. Or, at least Mom, anyway.
"I still got my eye on him," Steve initially joked on his iHeartRadio morning show. "I mean I like I him, but like I say to all of them, 'I might like you. I might approve of you, but I've got a thumb-sized section of my heart filled with nothing but pure hatred for you.' Just in case I need it."
Though it's unlikely the Family Feud host will ever need to "click a switch and I'd hate your ass," as he put it, he acknowledged that the SAG Award winner is a "nice guy." Or, as he begrudgingly admitted to Jimmy Kimmel last February, "This kid—I like him."
The type of partner you want to bring home to Mom and Dad, Jordan credits his New Jersey upbringing with sister Jamila and younger brother Khalid for every bit of success that's followed.
"My mom and dad sacrificed so much to provide for my sister, brother and me," he explained to People. "I'm just grateful. Honestly it's like they all have had such an impact on me and who I am and how I approach each day. Without that, a lot of things about me just wouldn't be the same. So it all comes back to that foundation. I'm really thankful for that."
Not content with film stardom, his breakout role in 2013's Fruitvale Station leading to his chiseled body of work in 2015's Creed and his turn as Black Panther's ruthless villain, Jordan launched his own production company in 2016.
Leading the charge for increased diversity, Outlier Society was the first to adopt an inclusion rider and, on the heels of Jordan's popular Alexa commercial, inked a movie and television deal with Amazon to, per the announcement, "produce and acquire elevated films showcasing diverse, bold filmmakers and talent."
At just 34, Jordan's already got his eyes trained on his next act, telling People that in 10 years he hopes "to be maybe directing a little more, acting less, producing a lot more." Overall, he continued, "Just growing, whatever the next evolution of me is. Hopefully a family by then, I'm going to throw that in the universe."
That starts with finding his person. As he's mentioned, he's spent enough time figuring out what didn't work in his life to become a bit better adept at recognizing what might. And like him, Harvey has been in more than a few close-but-no-cigar situations.
An equestrian and aspiring Olympian before she began walking Dolce & Gabbana runways and serving as makeup icon Pat McGrath's muse, Harvey announced her engagement to Dutch soccer player Memphis Depay in 2017. She's also been linked to both Justin Combs and his dad Sean Combs (the latter of whom vacationed in Italy with Harvey and her parents back in 2019), plus Trey Songz and, most recently, Future, the duo splitting in summer 2020.
A little more than a year in, her romance with Jordan (or "Baby daddy" as she referred to him in a New Year's Eve post) already represents a big first for the usually reticent actor, who's far more comfortable baring his chiseled abs than his relationship history.
"I could meet you, right now, boom, right here. Me and you sitting here chilling, whatever. Meal, whatever. Somebody could be over there, see this. And all of a sudden, you're my girl now," he posed to writer Allison P. Davis in a chat for his December 2018 GQ profile. "So then they're going to talk about you, they're going to find out who you are. They're gonna find out what your Instagram is, they're going to find us in that. And all the fan club and everybody else is going to find out who you are, and now you and I are forever associated with one another. So now, how do you go anywhere normal, chill, just getting to know somebody that you just met, that you may not—may or may not—hit it off at all? That part of dating is tough."
And yet with Harvey he's gone full Instagram official status nearly right out the gate, the pair's matching Jan. 10, 2021 photos a sure sign that they consider their romance to be a real contender. Three days after those initial pics, the duo felt comfortable enough to truly come out of their shells, dropping the cutesy nicknames they've adopted for each other in the comments section of Harvey's birthday post.
And when the pair took the celebration to St. Bart's that weekend, they were sure to share a few steamy snaps with fans.
Being fully open about their coupling allowed Harvey to brag on her man as his Amazon commercial aired during the second half of the Super Bowl last February. "Congratulations on your Superbowl commercial baby," she wrote on her Instagram Stories, reposting a tweet about how the ad that saw Jordan transform into an especially attractive version of the brand's Alexa virtual assistant had been viewed on YouTube more than 50 million times.
He, in turn, gave the world a glimpse at his elaborate Valentine's Day plan—complete with a flower- and candlelight-filled private dinner at an aquarium and quite the extravagant present. And, yes, she bragged about his choice on the 'gram, dubbing it "the best gift ever." Here's hoping he finds a way to top that when celebrating her 25th birthday Jan. 13.
In the past, Harvey would have been a bit more reticent about sharing the trappings of her romantic life. "I think we're both very private people naturally," she explained to Bustle of her man. "So we just decide, if we take a picture or whatever it is, do you want to post this? Do we not?"
Before that would have generally been a no, she continued, but "I think just as I've gotten older and interests change, I think this was something that I just decided to be a little bit more public with because it's a more serious relationship."
Believe it or not, that may just be music to Dad's ears. "He is one of the nicest guys, man... I just can't find nothin' wrong with him," he admitted to Ellen DeGeneres in March. "Between me and you, I'm hoping this lasts 'cause this is a really, really good guy, man."
(A version of this story originally published on Feb. 9, 2021 at 8 a.m. PT)