Actor Jermelle Simon and content creator Obio Jones have opened up about their relationship in a new interview.
Simon, 36, who appears on the Netflix show The Upshaws, publicly came out last year. Shortly after, he revealed he was in a relationship with Jones, 32.
The men, who recently became engaged and moved in together, sat down with the Black Love podcast.
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Jones says that he slipped into Simon’s DMs after he saw him on The Upshaws. He watched the episode when Simon’s character came out as gay.
“I was in a season of my life where I needed a friend,” says Jones. “So I think that’s kind of what started it because our energy wasn’t immediately romantic. It was very, like, conversational.”
Simon says he’d come across Jones’ content online before his future fiancé reached out to him. He was impressed by how confident he appeared.
“I think just me being gay and kind of battling with that and seeing someone who was just really comfortable and really confident and flat-out, just a cool person, I was just really inspired. But I mean, I obviously thought he was really gorgeous. And then he DM’d me and I was like lowkey, I was kind of nervous because I’m like ‘how am I going to play this?’.”
Friends before lovers
The two struck up a genuine, fun and supportive friendship. In fact, they remained friends for a few years before acknowledging they’d developed deeper feelings for one another.
“I had just come out the closet a year prior,” recalls Jones. “He (Simon) wasn’t fully out of it yet And so I think both of us just found safety in each other. We just found this sense of, like, I can be the most parts of myself in this.”
Simon praises the effort Jones makes to support him. This includes things like going out for a birthday dinner and Jones arranging beforehand for the waiter to sing ‘Happy Birthday’.
Simon says he recently had an ADHD diagnosis after struggling with symptoms for some time. He talked to Jones about it and Jones recalled learning a little about ADHD at college. He said a common symptom is someone opening cabinet doors but not closing them. This is something Simon does.
“He [Jones] was like ‘I’m just so sorry that you have so many competing thoughts.’ And he was really like he meant it. I could tell he really felt so, so bad that I was going through this. And I remember just crying because I had never felt seen. Seen in that way where I’m like ‘Oh he really gets me and he’s really determined to get me even more and learn me’.”
“I went to his house the next day and he is very clean,” says Simon. “Like, his home is immaculate. You’re scared to move when you walk in there. And I walk in the kitchen and every single cabinet door was open. And I was just so like, ‘Wait, what?’ Because for him, that is not what happens in his home. I felt so cared for and considered and, like, understood.”
Watch the video below.
Love yourself
In a second part, the men talked about their past relationships and what they like best about each other.
Simon praises Jones’ patience, his height, and his sense of humor. He likes the fact Jones can be quick to joke about difficult situations.
Jones also has a message for other Black queer people.
“I really want you guys to know that you can be loved on,” he says, before turning to Simon and saying to him, “Maybe this is a note to you that you’re an example of being loved on.”
“I think that people want love so bad they’re willing to settle for things that aren’t it,” Jones continues. “And I really want you to wait and be patient and love on yourself. We [Jones and Simon] often talk about how I saved my own life. He saved his own life and then we found each other. I don’t require him to save my life. He doesn’t require me to save his life. I saved my life before I met him. And I really want people to save their own lives like don’t wait for somebody
else to do it for you.”
Watch.
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