The Truth About Jesse Williams' Relationship With Taylour Paige

Jesse Williams has had quite the relationship history. The "Grey's Anatomy" star first met his ex-wife Aryn Drake-Lee back in 2010 while he was working as a school teacher and she was a real estate broker, per Bustle. According to Page Six, after dating for a few years, the two decided to make it official and tie the knot in September 2012. During an interview with USA Today, Williams spoke highly about the role Drake-Lee played in his career. "She's stuck with me through thick and thick and thick and thin," he told the outlet. "We know each other in and out." 

However, it all changed in April 2017, when Williams filed for divorce from Drake-Lee after almost five years of marriage and 13 years together as a couple, per E! News. Their split took a turn for the worse as new details began to surface about their divorce proceedings and on-going custody battle for their two children. In addition, Williams became the face of cheating allegations after he was spotted with Minka Kelly just three months after separating from Drake-Lee, per People. 

The actor denied those claims and, after splitting with Kelly, Williams casually dated other ladies in the industry before becoming an official item with Taylour Paige. 

Jesse Williams and Taylour Paige have an interesting love story. The two first made their red carpet debut in May 2019 at the Ozwald Boateng Harlem runway show in New York City, per Extra. However, the couple officially met a year prior and that moment was a lot more magical. 

During a joint interview with GQ, Williams described the first time he locked eyes with Paige in September 2018 during his own Emmys party. According to his recollection, the "Hit the Floor" actor walked by him in a red dress while he was in the middle of a conversation with someone else and he was immediately drawn to her. "Everything got quiet," Williams said. "I stopped that conversation and said, 'I'll be right back.' I just zoomed in on her. The rest of the night, we were this close to each other, talking, laughing, dancing, and ended up together in conversation until six in the morning."

Williams relationship with Paige rang true to the saying "opposites attract" after the actor revealed their personalities couldn't be more different. "She's very feminine and into spiritual planes, astrology," he told the magazine. "I'm very practical, fact-based, and masculine." While Williams and Paige appeared to be inseparable, shortly after their interview with the outlet, everything suddenly changed.  

According to Radar, Jesse Williams and Taylour Paige reportedly called it quits in early 2021 after three years of dating. Fans started to speculate something was off when Williams failed to acknowledge the "Zola" actor for her first Film Independent Spirit Awards nomination. However, what seemed to really solidify the breakup was when they both deleted photos of them together on social media and unfollowed each other on Instagram. 

While it's unclear why the actors chose to part ways, it didn't take long for both to move on and find love again. Paige and musician Kane Ritchotte sparked dating rumors in June 2021 after he shared a photo of them hiking on Instagram. And, in October 2021, Ritchotte posted a video of the two cozied up flirting together, on which Paige commented, "love you kind kind man." 

According to another Radar article, the outlet reports Williams is currently dating his longtime pal Ciarra Pardo. Pardo has worked in the entertainment industry for years and played a huge role in elevating the careers of Jay-Z, Eminem, Usher, and The Killers, to name a few. She also has close ties to Rihanna after the two worked together for almost decade. The outlet further reports that the singer asked Pargo to be Chief Creative Officer for Fenty Corp, which is her current title.