(15 May 2018) TARAJI P. HENSON: IT WAS LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT WITH FIANCE KELVIN HAYDEN
Taraji P. Henson was all smiles Monday (14 MAY 2018) on the red carpet, basking in the glow of her recent engagement.
The "Empire" star got engaged to former NFL cornerback Kelvin Hayden on Mother's Day.
"I knew he was gonna pop the question because he all but told me himself. I just didn't know when. That surprised me. He just did it," said Henson, as she attended an annual event in New York where Fox promotes its new TV lineup to advertisers.
The actress said she was introduced to Hayden by her makeup artist three years ago -- and it was love at first sight.
"She was like, 'You need to go out. You need to meet somebody. You're too fly. You're too amazing.' I was like, 'I don't know.' She's like, 'You're not gonna meet him at home. You need to go out.'"
The makeup artist arranged a party full of eligible bachelors for Henson to mingle with.
"I remember I was like, 'You better show me the pictures of some of these guys because I don't want to embarrass you and I feel weird doing this anyway but I'm gonna do it," she recalled.
"She kept showing me his picture and it was like a close-up and I remember I zoomed into his eyes and I was like, I felt a spark. And I was like, 'Wow, something about his eyes are so gentle.' And you know how they say you can fall in love at first sight from a picture? That's exactly what happened so when we got to the actual event, I met everybody, I shook all the other guy's hands and I literally was looking for him and when he walked up to where I was it was like people parted like the red sea, a light came on, I heard angels and he reached out to shake my hand and we danced and we talked and we were hanging out every day since," she laughed.
Henson says her "Empire" co-stars are thrilled with the news.
"Jussie came down to my room and screamed and did backflips. Terrence said some amazing things about my fiance today in interviews because he's known him since we started dating and he's just happy. They're all really happy for me," she said.
Howard says Hayden must be special for Henson to choose to be with him.
"Watching so many people try and court her and the integrity that she showed. She's always had a motto. I've never known any person that she's worked with that's ever been able to go on a date with her, you know, she's that secure about maintaining her integrity so for her to let Kelvin in I'm like, wow. That's a big move. That's a big move right there for her."
Fox and other broadcast networks are presenting their new schedules to advertisers in New York this week.
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