Jussie Smollett has stepped into his 43rd birthday as a newly engaged man.
On Friday (June 20), the former Empire actor posted a series of pictures of himself on Instagram surprising his boyfriend, Jabari Reed, with an engagement ring.
The first photo shows Smollett proposing on bended knee, followed by shots of Reed reacting emotionally and the couple embracing.
"I’ll be spending my birthday with my Fiancé… He said YES. [ring emoji]" Smollett captioned the post.
Celebrating the news were Smollett's siblings Jurnee and Jazz, while Taraji P. Henson, who played the actor's mother on Empire, commented, "MY BABIES [three hearts and three prayer hands emojis].
It's unconfirmed when Smollett and Reed began dating, although they were costars in 2024 drama The Lost Holliday, which Smollett directed.
The actor has slowly begun to rebuild his career over the past five years after allegedly staging a homophobic attack in Chicago. In January 2019, Smollett claimed that he'd been a victim of assault by two men, who hurled racist and homophobic insults and hurled bleach on him.
It was later alleged that Smollett paid two brothers, Abimbola "Bola" and Olabinjo "Ola" Osundairo, $3,500 each to plot the hoax, although the actor has denied any wrongdoing.
Last November, Smollett's hate crime conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court over a violation of rights, with the actor later agreeing to pay $50,000 to a Chicago charity.
