Actress and Broadway star Anika Noni Rose secretly married fellow actor Jason Dirden in October.
The blushing bride and her handsome husband shared the news in a gorgeous spread in the latest issue of BRIDE Magazine. Rose shared images from their wedding on her Instagram. The post also talked about their whirlwind romance.
“The Music Issue is here, and actress, vocalist, and Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Disney’s Princess Tiana in The Princess and the Frog, is Bride’s latest cover star! 🎶 @anikaaroundtheworld and @jasondirden kept their relationship quiet for years—until now, neither have publicly announced that they were dating, let alone engaged or married!💍 Find all the details from their colorful wedding in Los Angeles and read all about their love story in our digital issue at the link in bio.”
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The 50-year-old veteran actress opened up about her gorgeous wedding. People Magazine reported that Anika and Jason wed in Los Angeles, and Fear Of The Walking Dead actor Colman Domingo officiated the ceremony. The couple also penned their vows to one another. Gbemi Okunlola designed Anika’s stunning wedding gown. She also incorporated her mom’s sleeves from her wedding dress into the bridesmaids’ bouquets.
Anika shared that the couple’s vows were identical.
“Without consulting each other, we ended up using the same phrase at the end of each [of our vows],” she told BRIDE Magazine. “We couldn’t have planned it better.”
Ironically, the newlyweds expressed that they hadn’t planned on marrying folks who worked in the industry.
The newlyweds met during the 2014 Broadway production of “A Raisin In The Sun.”
Speaking of their almost decade-long relationship, she said, “We have fun. We laugh a lot, which is really, really important. And we don’t talk so much about the business.”
Jason chimed in that the actors’ relationship was based on a beautiful friendship.
“This woman is so silly. She has a four-year-old child living inside of her that will never go away. She loves to prank people, and she has that kind of spontaneous silliness to her that allowed us both to release any type of armor or any type of defense mechanism and allowed us to really just be who we are with each other.”
He continued, “We created this friendship walking 60 blocks from rehearsal to the gym, just talking about life, ora bout anything really. It had nothing to do with the play that we were working on. There’s always been that kind of comfort and ease between us.”
In December 2021, Jason proposed to Anika. The 42-year-old actor revealed that because of their packed schedules– they only had two months to prepare for their lavish wedding.
Here are some more stunning images from their wedding.
“If there’s one thing you can expect from the wedding of a Tony Award-winning singer and her music-loving husband, it’s great music. 🎤And that’s exactly what @anikaaroundtheworld and@jasondirden’s ceremony and reception delivered. Check out all the details from their big day in The Music Issue at the link in bio.”
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Congratulations, Anika and Jason!
