Colman Domingo has revealed the story behind how he met his husband – prepare to sob.
The 54 РРis married to Ra̼l Domingo (formerly Aktanov), having met in 2005 and tied the knot in 2014.
Their love story is far from ordinary, however, with fans convinced that it was fate in disguise.
Appearing on The Show on Friday (February 2), the actor took us all on a trip down memory lane with a goosebump-inducing tale.
‘It’s 2005 and you’re in Berkley, California and you’re going into a Walgreens which is like a Boots here,’ he began (thanks for the British translation, Colman).
‘So, I’m going in there, it’s a Sunday night. I live in New York, I’m just going there to get a facial mask for the night.
‘I’m walking in and I see someone walking out, has beautiful hair, lip piercing, beautiful, beautiful! I see this guy, we look at each other, and I’m like… Oh my God.
‘I’m on the phone and I come outside, he’s talking to this young woman and she seems to be angry about something.’
Colman proceeded to explain and gesticulate how his phone call with his friend was going while he was distracted by the disagreement the attractive gentleman was having with the woman.
Once Colman was off the phone, the pair walked off down the street, but the man was still ‘looking back’ at him.
‘I wave, but he just keeps going,’ he continued.
‘And then I’m just dumbfounded. I end up in a Blockbuster across the street and I decide to look at my watch, it was 8:03pm. I went back outside and I was like, “Is he here?”, I thought, “Maybe I’ll come back next Sunday and he’ll be here.”
‘I’m that kind of hopeless romantic. So, cut to three days later, I’m trying to buy a used computer.
‘I was scanning Craigslist. I thought, “Maybe I’ll place one of those Missed Cnnections ads, I wonder if they work?”, because I would read them on the subway.
‘I go to page 2 and as I’m reading, I see, “Saw you outside of Walgreens, Brooklyn.” He placed an ad for me, two hours before.’
Yes, this is a real story!
‘I jumped up, I was like, “Are you kidding me? That’s me!” He described me with my fohawk, it was 2005! And I was like… get out of here!
‘We met up three days later, we had our first date and I was trying to be a good boy and go home. He said, “Can you stay over?”, I said, “Sure, but let’s just cuddle.” We cuddled.
‘I thought he was asleep. Four o’clock in the morning, I couldn’t sleep and I said, “I think I love you and you’re about to change my life.”
‘We’ve been together for almost 19 years now.’
Naturally, the audience gasped, with fellow guest Dakota Johnson telling Colman: ‘You are, like, the most magical creature on the planet.’
It didn’t take long for the moment to go viral, with a video receiving over seven million views in a day.
Reacting to the story, social media users declared that ‘true romance’ really does exist.
X user Yvette_Aloe shared the clip alongside: ‘Just a reminder that your soul mate is someone who wants to be with you just as much as you want to be with them. Not this thing where you must decode a person’s feelings & interest in you. Your soul mate will choose you.’
User yungdeadthing wrote: ‘i am not even exaggerating when i say i’ve sent this clip to friends and my therapist because it helped me get out of an existential spiral i was in’.
‘Chills! Romcom level relationship’, wrote Caroline Renard.
‘This is a real soul connection… wow’, wrote celesitial.
Colman has never been shy about expressing his love for his husband publicly.
When Colman was named outstanding guest actor in a drama series for his role on Euphoria at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2022, he dedicated his award to his other half.
‘A lot of kindness brought me to this stage, people who love me, people who lift me up. Thank you to those people,’ Colman said in his speech.
Thank you to my darling Raúl, this is for you.’
Meanwhile, since the beginning, Raúl has supported Colman through the ups and downs of his career.
During the performer’s theatrical run in Jonestown in California, Raúl attended nearly every night with a bouquet of white roses.
‘I feel like I needed to understand everything that you are,’ he told Colman during a GQ interview.
The Graham Norton Show airs Fridays on BBC One and iPlayer.
