Who Is NCIS: New Orleans Star Shalita Grant's Girlfriend?
On "NCIS: New Orleans," the Tony-nominated actor Shalita Grant played one half of the fan-favorite pairing that never pursued a full-fledged relationship. Her character, Special Agent Sonja Percy, was never supposed to fall for her co-worker Christopher LaSalle (Lucas Black). However, sparks flew whenever Grant and Black shot scenes together, and the writers couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease a potential romance between their characters.
"Everyone was like, 'It's weird, their chemistry. They have a lot of chemistry,'" Grant recalled during a 2017 "BUILD Series" interview. "So it just kind of came out of just the two actors just playing off each other." Grant revealed that she enjoyed working with Black and told People that they even became workout buddies. "If I'm like, 'I need coffee!' He'll be like, 'No you don't, do push-ups!' And we'll do push-ups together," she said. But this off-screen camaraderie was not enough to make her want to stick around on the show after four seasons and she left in 2018. During a 2020 interview with the Los Angeles Times, she accused some unnamed people of creating a toxic work environment.
The same year she exited the show, Grant married commercial director Sabrina Skau, per People. Their relationship didn't last, but the "You" star didn't have to wait long to find a new love and a fulfilling new acting role.
Shalita Grant suffered a makeup mishap right before her girlfriend saw her face for the first time
During an April interview with The Advocate, Shalita Grant told the story of how she met her current girlfriend, former MMA champ Jessica Aguilar. A mutual friend introduced them, but they were unable to meet up right away because Aguilar was in Florida and Grant was in Los Angeles. "I put on some mascara because I was like, 'What if this turns into a FaceTime?'" Grant said of their first phone call. And things were off to a great start, as Aguilar made her laugh so hard that Grant had to wipe tears from her eyes — and apparently her mascara wasn't waterproof. Of course, Aguilar unintentionally FaceTimed her soon afterwards. "I had mascara all over my face and I was like, Really?!" Grant added. Weeks later, she got another chance to put her best face forward when she met Aguilar in person.
Aguilar is a real trailblazer in the world of mixed martial arts. She started fighting before women were given the same headlining opportunities as men, per ABC7, and she's an outspoken LGBTQ advocate. Her sexual orientation made attending her former Catholic school a painful experience. "Sometimes the priest would say people who are gay are going to hell," she told OutSmart. "I figured I was going to hell, because that's the way I felt. I eventually realized that what I was hearing was so wrong, because I'm not a bad person."
Shalita Grant and Jessica Aguilar are going into business together
Jessica Aguilar has 20 wins to her name, and she gushed to The Advocate about her girlfriend also being at the top of her game. "It's nice to be around my partner and know that she's another badass woman in her field," she said. "She's at the peak of her career and this is her time." One role Shalita Grant is particularly proud of is that of an ambitious lawyer in the dark comedy "Search Party." Grant told the Los Angeles Times that the love her character received was "the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last three years."
However, Grant is more than an actor — she's also a savvy businesswoman. She has her own hair care line called Four Naturals, and she and Aguilar are getting into the real estate business. During an October 1 interview with PopSugar, Grant said that she and Aguilar started renovating the professional fighter's home in Houston with plans to sell it, then they jetted off to Puebla, Mexico. "Jess and I are here in Mexico, we beat the heat, but we're also here because we're looking for new property," she stated. "That's what we want to do next is renovate vacation homes in Mexico."
The couple has another important goal. "I just want to inspire the next generation to be themselves, to love, and not be afraid of anything — just to go after greatness," Aguilar told The Advocate.