Don Cheadle Just Secretly Married His Partner of 28 Years

Congratulations are in order for Marvel alum Don Cheadle who reveals he recently married his partner of 28 years, Bridgid Coulter, in a secret ceremony. Cheadle shared the news on a recent episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, with Wanda Sykes as a stand-in host for the comedian. Sykes asked the Black Monday star about his private nuptials, admitting that she believed he and his now-wife had already been married for some time.

"You texted me at the top of the year, I guess, and you told me that you just got married," Sykes, 57, said. "And I was like, 'Oh, damn, the pandemic got to Don and Bridgid,'" she opened. "I was like, 'What the hell happened, man?' I think I just texted something back, like, 'Hey, if you're happy, I'm happy for you.' … I was like, 'Cheadle went Hollywood,'" she joked.

"Yeah, I mean, that's understandable," he said, mentioning that the couple had been together for more than 25 years before tying the knot. They share two kids: Ayana, 26, and Imani, 25. Cheadle expressed his confusion to Sykes' message at first, but once the Upshaws star explained her position, he came to see how she came to her conclusion. "I hold you blameless," he said. Cheadle didn't go into too much detail as to when or how the two decided to wed, but he still kept a smile as he showed his excitement. The couple has worked together on numerous occasions doing appearances on House of Lies, Rosewood and Black Monday together.

Sykes and Cheadle went on a brief stroll down memory lane as they jumped into other topics like their lip sync battle (in which he came out the victor) and the brief time Cheadle performed as a standup comic. "When i was in high school –– and you've probably performed there –– in Denver, Colorado, there's an open mic night. Me and my friend were driving by and, you know, knuckleheads we were like 'we could do that.'"

As the story goes, Cheadle and his friend came up with a quick act where they broke down the humor of a comic strip. They earned a warm reception from the crowd, prompting them to perform a second set. Things went downhill when Cheadle's parents paid him a visit. "It didn't go so well the next time. That was my last time doing stand-up," he said.