Fantasia Barrino has faced several ups and downs in her career and personal life, but her love for her husband, Kendall Taylor, has remained steadfast since their nuptials in 2015.
After meeting in a rooftop bar in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, the twosome instantly hit it off — and were married three weeks later.
“We talked all night long. Six o’clock in the morning we were still talking and I’m like, ‘Yo, what is it with you? I ain’t never met somebody quite like you,’” Barrino shared in a 2019 Breakfast Club interview. “I knew he was my dude. He was my boyfriend that night.”
Three weeks later, the couple took to the courthouse to make it official, and their wedding ceremony on a luxury yacht followed shortly after.
It was a decade earlier that Barrino rose to prominence after winning the third season of American Idol in 2004. Her first single debut, “I Believe,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She has since released seven albums and has racked up two Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy Award. Barrino also portrayed Celie Johnson in the Broadway musical The Color Purple — a role she reprised in the 2023 film adaptation.
Her success did not come without struggle, though. In 2008, financial issues led to the foreclosure of Barrino’s home. Two years later, the singer was hospitalized after overdosing on aspirin and sleep aids. Barrino persevered, and later credited her relationship with Taylor with helping her rediscover her inner strength.
“He treats me like a queen. He tells me I’m a queen every day. It’s not a day I don’t wake up to him saying, ‘Good morning, beautiful.’ I wasn’t quite used to it. It made me feel very, very uncomfortable in the beginning,” she told Elle in November 2023. “He has reminded me of who I was. I was broken. It wasn’t until I met my husband and I started becoming a woman that sat back and realized that everything I went through was necessary.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at Barrino and Taylor’s complete relationship timeline:
2015
Barrino and Taylor exchanged vows at a courthouse three weeks after meeting at a bar in North Carolina.
“He was like, ‘let’s do it.’ We went and got married at the courthouse. None of y’all knew. The world didn’t know,” Barrino told The Breakfast Club. “We didn’t make love til we married. That was one thing I wanted. I wanted somebody to see me for me not ‘Fantasia.’”
They held a wedding ceremony on a luxury yacht on July 19, with Barrino sharing pictures of the decked-out celebration on Instagram shortly after. “Be Happy with me you guys cause I’ve been thru SOOOOO much,” she wrote at the time. “Some stuff was my wrong decisions but all I ever really wanted was this.. Real Love. This Man and this smile is real… Later you guys bye bye for a while.. God did not forget about me….”
July 2017
The couple went on an anniversary trip to St. Lucia. In her Instagram captions, she called her partner “Mr. Taylor” and remarked, “I see things so Differently.”
On a black-and-white photo of the couple embracing, Barrino wrote, “I Do Love You ❤️ feeling fuzzy.”
February 2019
Taylor supported Barrino at the 2019 Grammy Awards, where Barrino performed a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin alongside Yolanda Adams and Andra Day.
July 2019
Taylor shared a sweet tribute to Barrino on Instagram for their fifth wedding anniversary.
“Today makes 5yrs and we have now found our own rhythm that’s in sync with the beat of our hearts! We got married only knowing each other by the Spirit, and while both sporting a pair of broken wings we held hands and jumped off the cliff,” he wrote. “You trusted me to lead when no path was visible and I promised you a breathtaking view that I felt you always deserved. May your butterflies continue to disrupt any moment of complacency and my security inspire you to continue to free-fall for many years to come.”
December 2021
Barrino and Taylor welcomed son Keziah, their first child together. Barrino also shares daughter Zion (born 2001) with her ex-boyfriend Brandel Shouse and son Dallas (born 2011) with Antwaun Cook.
April 2022
The couple released their relationship book, No Crowns in the Castle: Building a Strong Relationship and a Harmonious Life.
The book description reads, “A Grammy Award-winning singer and her husband share what a Godly marriage looks like and encourage readers with faith-forward and Biblical relationship advice.”
May 2023
Barrino spoke in support of Taylor’s non-profit organization, Salute 1st, a leadership and training academy that helps young men avoid a life of crime, drugs and violence.
“One young man said last night, thank you for caring that we wake up in the morning. You think, wow, they just want somebody to care. They ain’t bad, they ain’t wilding out, they just want somebody to listen,” she told WAFB Louisiana. “I’m watching my husband, my king, my best friend, my partner release help, release things out of these young men, so they can go off and be great.”
October 2023
Taylor praised his wife’s performance in the film adaptation of The Color Purple via Instagram.
“I’m thankful People will Finally get to witness one of your greatest bodies of work,” he wrote. “I’m thrilled that God will soon speak directly through your gift of Music. But above all, I’m Honored that I am able to experience the beautiful Process of your Evolution Black Queen!”
