LaKeith Stanfield and his love Kasmere Trice announced on Wednesday that they had gotten married.
The 31-year-old Haunted Mansion actor and the 29-year-old model also shared that they had welcomed their first child together to People.
So far, the newlyweds are not revealing either the sex or name of the baby.
LaKeith and Kasmere shared their jubilant engagement news on Instagram back in late December, which coincided with his former girlfriend Taylor Hurd revealing that he had fathered a daughter with her, which she claimed he was attempting to conceal.
‘There’s life before being a parent, and then there’s life being a parent. It completely changes,’ the Atlanta star mused.
Making it official: LaKeith Stanfield, 31, and his fiancée Kasmere Trice, 29, revealed they had gotten married and also welcomed their first child together on Wednesday to People; seen in March in West Hollywood
Sweet: The lovebirds got engaged in late December of 2022, just before Kasmere’s birthday while on an island vacation
In addition to his daughter with Hurd, LaKeith also has a second daughter from another previous relationship, with both being under seven, according to the publication.
The acclaimed actor’s privacy about his personal life and his family continued when it came to tying the knot, so he and Kasmere wed in secret and kept their new child under wraps until sharing the news now.
‘We decided early on we wanted to protect our baby as much as we can for as long as possible,’ Kasmere said.
Her new husbanded added of their philosophy: ‘Being in the public eye can be something that’s amazing, but it can also be something that is very hard on you. There needs to be things that exist that are sacred and not for consumption for everybody.’
However, they decided to speak up about their family now to have a sense of control over the publicity.
‘We want to be the ones to tell our story. We’re bringing our family forward so we may inspire others,’ LaKeith continued.
The two met while LaKeith was visiting Canada to work on a project.
‘We were just feeling each other out, like maybe this will be a cool friend,’ he recalled. ‘As love does, it just smacked us out of nowhere. I’m working on my music, writing and writing, and then this person who I was seemingly writing about pops up in my life. It was strange.’
Although he was apparently anxious about getting back into dating, he decided to take a chance on Kasmere.
‘I released myself to the love,’ he said sweetly.
By December, just before Kasmere’s birthday, he popped the question while they were vacationing on an island, and he noted that he was by her side when she gave birth, though he didn’t specify when their child was born.
‘All I ever tried to do in those crazy moments, like when she was in labor, was be a support system. That and figure out how many ice chips I needed to give her,’ he said.
New life: ‘There’s life before being a parent, and then there’s life being a parent. It completely changes,’ LaKieth said. He also has two daughters under seven from previous relationships
Meet cute: He met Kasmere, a model, while working in Canada. Despite being anxious about starting a new relationship, he went for it. ‘I released myself to the love,’ he said; seen in October 2022 in NYC
She wasn’t at all concerned about raising a child with him, though, as she said she had already seen ‘the father in [him] before I was even having our baby.’
Although LaKeith is usually tight-lipped about his other two daughters, he gushed that they were ‘so fun and so smart.’
However, he found it difficult to raise children from multiple relationships while in the public eye.
‘Sometimes, when things can get difficult, you have to remember that what’s most important is the child, and that we’re pushing ourselves to grow, so we can reflect back to them the good things,’ he said.
But he added that things were going smashingly for the new family so far.
‘We’ve manifested this beautiful family,’ he said. ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with her.’
LaKeith is one of the most acclaimed rising stars in Hollywood today.
His big breakout role came in 2012 with the acclaimed indie drama Short Term 12, after he previously appeared in the short film of the same name that preceded it.
He played the troubled resident of a mental health institution. The film also helped launch the careers of its leads Brie Larson and John Gallagher Jr., and future stars Kaitlyn Dever and Rami Malek also got important early boosts from it.
He followed that with roles in acclaimed films including Selma, Dope, Straight Outta Compton and Get Out.
He took on a lead role in the controversial satire Sorry To Bother You, and he had supporting parts in the critical and commercial successes Uncut Gems and Knives Out.
Even though he’s already an in-demand actor in films, Stanfield has also managed to carve out a niche for himself in television, where he stars with Donald Glover and Brian Tyree Henry in the hit FX series Atlanta.
Impressive: Stanfield has starred in acclaimed films including Short Term 12, Selma, Get Out, Sorry To Bother You, Uncut Gems, Knives Out, and Donald Glover’s Atlanta series (pictured, with Glover and Brian Tyree Henry)
Comedy: Stanfield’s next film is the upcoming Disney movie Haunted Mansion, inspired by the spooky attraction of the same name; seen with (L–R) Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish and Owen Wilson
Stanfield’s next film is the upcoming Disney movie Haunted Mansion, inspired by the spooky attraction of the same name.
However, he hasn’t been able to publicize the film due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which forced him and the rest of the cast, which led Disney to populate the premiere with its costumed characters from Disneyland instead of stars in a last-ditch effort to save the event.
Although publicity for the big-budget film is on hold, LaKeith shared that he’s happy to have some downtime to focus on his music project Htiekal (which is just his first name spelled backward).
‘It’s an opportunity for me to be expressive in a way that I’m not always able to,’ he said of the synth-soul musical identity.
