Laverne Cox’s love life became daytime-TV fodder on Monday, June 8, when The View co-hosts pressed the Emmy-nominated actress about a headline-making relationship with a “blonde-haired, blue-eyed, MAGA Republican” NYPD officer. The exchange, led by conservative panelist Alyssa Farah Griffin, arrived just as Cox began the media blitz for her memoir Transcendent and immediately reignited debate over dating across deep political divides.
Griffin asked whether Cox felt blindsided by the backlash that followed her Instagram revelation last summer. Cox replied that she “didn’t plan to fall in love,” adding that the officer “treated me better than anyone I’d dated up to that point”—until his “politics and his unexamined life became clear.”
She explained that the couple initially kept their opposing views compartmentalized, but ultimately, “people show you who they are,” and staying together “betrayed” her own values.
“Fascism is not consistent with my values,” Cox told the table, stressing that she never adopted her ex’s politics, and that the failure to see eye-to-eye on fundamental issues contributed to their breakup. “I love him, but I love myself more.”
The actor also revealed new details about their meeting: they met on Tinder in 2020, he initially lied about his job, and their four-year relationship ended when ideological gaps became impossible to ignore.
However, she still has not revealed his name.
The renewed scrutiny traces back to last July, when Cox first mentioned the romance online while previewing Gurrl. The revelation drew sharp criticism from some LGBTQ supporters who viewed the MAGA label—and the NYPD badge—as incompatible with trans rights.
Before that, Cox’s public dating history included filmmaker Jono Freedrix (2016) and record-label CEO Kyle Draper (2017–2019).
The NYPD relationship began months after Draper and spanned the pandemic, with Cox confirming it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in early 2021 before quietly announcing a split on The Viall Files last spring.
