Karamo and Jussie Smollett caught smooching in new photos: “I’ve met my equal”

“I do believe this is going to be my husband,” Karamo recently said of his new celebrity boyfriend.

Mark Mark
Jul 2, 2026 - 20:00
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Karamo Brown and Jussie Smollett
Karamo Brown and Jussie Smollett (Photos: Shutterstock)

All the signs point toward the fact that Karamo Brown and Jussie Smollett are indeed now an item.

As we reported on Tuesday, TMZ was the first to show photos of the men enjoying a day out together in Los Angeles on Monday. It said they were spotted enjoying lunch with Karamo’s mom and hiking in Runyon Canyon.

The couple must have hot-footed over to the West Coast after spending time in New York. Jussie performed at Harlem Pride’s “17 Shades of Pride” event on Saturday. Karamo also attended and watched Jussie perform from beside the stage.

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New paparazzi photos have also caught Karamo and Jussie in what appears to be a passionate embrace. The images were captured at LAX airport on Tuesday. Swipe through them below.

“Deep in love”

Neither man has explicitly confirmed that they’re dating each other.

However, Karamo was a guest on a new episode of the ‘Reality with the King’ podcast from Carlos King. It’s unclear when it was recorded. However, Karamo confirmed he was dating “a celebrity”, without naming them.

Asked if he believed he’d found “the one”, Karamo added, “I know it. I’m 100 percent sure. I could get emotional. I’ve met my equal. And it’s powerful when you meet someone who you feel 100 percent safe with, you feel 100 percent secure with, who you can just trust with your heart, because you know they are just a great human being, and they get everything. It’s special. It’s pretty amazing.”

“That’s the reason why we’re taking it slow and — not taking it slow, we are deep in love — but why we are not public yet, because we don’t want comments,” Karamo added. “We are protecting the love we have, because I do believe this is going to be my husband. I believe this is going to be my forever person. I feel it every single day.”

Whew!

“We don’t have any arguments. Everything is just easy,” he continued. “And not saying that we don’t have discussions, but everything is just easy. We just get each other. It’s constant laughter … constant love. It’s just constant everything.”

Smollett recently split from fiancé

News of the relationship has come as something of a surprise. Just over a year ago, Jussie revealed he’d popped the question to his partner, actor Jabari Redd, and they’d become engaged. It’s not clear when they began dating, but Jussie first appeared on Jabari’s Instagram in 2022. News that Jussie and Jabari had split only emerged one month ago.

The Daily Mail reports that Jussie was spotted by paparazzi enjoying lunch with a friend in Los Angeles yesterday. As he got into a waiting car, Jussie was asked about his relationship with Karamo but replied with a cryptic, “It’s all love”, before closing the door.

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