Idris Elba and Sabrina Elba’s Relationship Timeline: It Was “Love At First Sight”

Credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock

Idris Elba and Sabrina Elba’s Relationship Timeline: It Was “Love At First Sight”

Meant to be! Idris Elba famously swore he would never marry again then all of a sudden, the actor instantly fell head over heels for his future wife Sabrina Elba (née Dhowre). “It was love at first sight," the Dark Tower star said while appearing on The View in 2019. "I went out on my only day off, true story. It was a Sunday night. I went to this party, and there she was. The rest is history." In 2017, Idris was in Vancouver filming the dramatic movie, The Mountain Between Us, alongside Kate Winslet. On the actor’s day off, he went to a jazz bar and laid eyes on the former Miss Vancouver for the first time. “Falling in love while making a movie about falling in love is pretty special,” Idris admitted in an interview with People in 2017. Before meeting the model, the Luther star shared he had no interest in walking down the aisle again. Idris previously wed Hanne “Kim” Norgaard in 1999, and the two share a daughter, Isan. They split in 2003. The SAG Award winner also married Sonya Nicole Hamlin in 2006, but the pair called it quits after less than a year together. “Am I ever gonna get remarried? I don’t think so,” the Beast star told Essence in 2017. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Marriage is an institution of sorts. And I’ve done it. It’s not for everybody.” [jwplayer magrWZeh-zhNYySv2] One year later, the Golden Globe winner got down on one knee at a screening of his film, Yardie, in February 2018. A guest at the special event captured the moment and shared it on social media. In 2019, the pair tied the knot in a gorgeous ceremony in Morocco. The couple’s nuptials took a modern spin on an African wedding and the spectacle spanned over three days. “My family is from east Africa and Idris’ is from west Africa, so we thought it would be fun to meet somewhere in between,” Sabrina shared in an interview with British Vogue. After their wedding, the couple continued to strengthen their bond and partner on different projects like their lifestyle brand S’able and “Coupledom” podcast series. Sabrina also lends her support to her husband while he pursues his passions in the music industry. Keep reading to see Idris and Sabrina’s complete relationship timeline:

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2017

The Wire actor met the former beauty queen at a party in Vancouver while filming a movie.

Later that year, the pair made their first red carpet appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of Idris’ film Molly’s Game.

The twosome went on to attend the premiere of The Mountain Between Us, the film that brought them together.

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2018

The Emmy-nominated actor popped the question to Sabrina at the Rio Cinema in London.

The movie theater confirmed the news, tweeting, "Another @riocinema first! Still 5 days to Valentine's Day but @idriselba went down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend live on stage this morning before a preview of his film #Yardie," along with a selfie of Idris.

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2019

In April 2019, the couple were married in Morocco and had a three-day celebration for the special occasion.

“I think getting married to my beautiful wife was the best thing to happen to me in 2019," Idris shared at the New York City premiere for Cats. "We had our entire families there, so that was just incredible."

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2020

At the start of the pandemic, the Goodwill Ambassadors both tested positive for COVID-19 and quarantined together.

“At one point, Idris really thought that this could be the end," Sabrina recalled in an interview with Grazia UK. "He has asthma. He is older. It was really scary."

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2021

After celebrating their second anniversary, the couple decided to launch their lifestyle brand, S’able Labs, and a podcast series called "Coupledom."

Credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock

2022

In February 2022, the Hobbs and Shaw star revealed he wanted to “lean away” from acting to focus on pursuing music. Idris released his song “Biggest” under the moniker “Driis” in late September and featured his wife in the music video.