Our Little Mermaid Halle Bailey has been making waves in 2023, thanks to headline-worthy moves like landing a role in the forthcoming The Color Purple, dropping summer heat by way of her first solo single, "Angel," and of course, starring as the iconic Ariel in this year's Rob Marshall-helmed reimagining of The Little Mermaid. But what has also been getting media attention is her relationship with her longtime love, rapper and YouTuber DDG.
Though they tend to keep their relationship relatively low-key, they have experienced a bit of heat over the last year. Due to some of DDG's questionable antics during Halle's press run for The Little Mermaid, fans endorsed a "dump him" campaign where they voiced their opinion that the rising star was out of his league and that her boyfriend was jealous of her success.
Halle Bailey and DDG Complete Relationship Timeline
Public attention and rumors are par for the course in the world of entertainment, but they seem to handle it with grace, focusing on their happiness and individual growth. In fact, after hearing the feedback, Halle graciously thanked everyone for trying to look out for her but ultimately felt that she knew what was best for her when it came to her relationship.
Since then, DDG, 26, and Halle, 23, have made many public appearances (as well as in vlogs by way of DDG's YouTube channel) maintaining a united front and have seemingly bounced back from the early hiccups of their relationship journey.
Halle Bailey and DDG Relationship Timeline:
From their red carpet debut to some of their most talked-about moments to becoming first-time parents to their baby Halo, here's Halle Bailey and DDG's complete relationship timeline.
January 2022: Halle and DDG attend Usher's Las Vegas residency.
DDG/Instagram
DDG and Halle spark dating rumors after being spotted together enjoying Usher's Las Vegas residency in January 2022.
February 2022: Halle and DDG have dinner together in Malibu.
On Febuary 7, the then-21-year-old Halle was photographed with DDG leaving dinner at Nobu.
March 2022: DDG makes things Instagram official and confirms his relationship with Halle.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, DDG took to Instagram to give a birthday shoutout to the Ungodly Hour singer. Professing his love, he wrote, "Happy Birthday to the beautifulest, the flyest, the sweetest ❤️. Love you forever 🥺💎."
March 2022: Halle posts a cute TikTok of singing lessons with DDG.
@hallebailey Visit TikTok to discover videos!
It's giving wholesome. In a viral moment, Halle showed the world a glimpse of DDG's softer side as they playfully engaged in "singing lessons."
April 2022: Halle and DDG are spotted together at a Coachella party.
About a month after making things Instagram official, the pair were spotted together boo'd up at a Coachella party.
June 2022: Halle Bailey and DDG make their red carpet couple debut.
Momodu Mansaray/WireImage
For their red carpet debut as a couple, Halle and DDG made things an all-black affair at the 2022 BET Awards red carpet. At the awards show, Halle told Extra, "I have my boo with me today."
She also revealed their excitement and anticipation for her sister Chloe's performance that night. "We’re so excited. We’re gonna have so much fun just supporting Chloe. It’ll be great!"
July 2022: DDG tells DJ Akademiks how Halle inspires and motivates him to be better.
In a July interview with the media personality, DDG revealed:
"I honestly get inspired by my girl. She honestly motivated me to be better and work harder and get to certain levels. I look up to her in a sense 'cause it's, like, I never been around nobody that really . . . 'cause I feel like I'm always the motivator, I'm the inspirer."
"It's like I'm in a different mode now where I'm getting inspired by somebody. I feel like it's healthy in that way for me 'cause it's like a weight off my shoulders. It's like, 'Okay, I need to work harder.' It's challenging in a good way. It just makes me want to go harder versus feeling overwhelmed or some shit."
September 2022: Halle stars as the leading lady in DDG's "If I Want You" video.
Are you really dating if you don't appear in at least one of your rapper boyfriend's videos as a leading lady? Halle flexed her acting chops, served face, and provided her famously angelic vocals in DDG's "If I Want You." The heat was palpable.
September 2022: Halle and DDG attend Paris Fashion Week.
Marc Piasecki/Getty Images For Roger Vivier
The pair were spotted attending the Roger Vivier Press day for Paris Fashion Week.
October 2022: Halle and DDG step out for the Wearable Art Gala event.
Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Wearable Art Gala
Halle and DDG were all smiles as they dazzled at the 5th Annual WACO Wearable Art Gala red carpet together.
October 2022: DDG says he's 'very proud' of Halle and her success.
While promoting his album, It's Not Me, It's You, DDG gushed to PEOPLE about his happiness for his girlfriend Halle's career.
"I'm very proud of her. And I'm just happy to see it. I feel like sometimes I'm even more excited than anybody else. Just seeing it and seeing everything that she dreamed of coming to life, it's really dope."
November 2022: Halle says she's 'been a fan' of DDG in a cover story with ESSENCE.
Halle opened up about knowing who her rapper boyfriend was before actually meeting him in a cover story with ESSENCE. “I’ve been a fan of his for years. I grew up being on YouTube and would always see the young Black creators and was constantly inspired by them. He was one of them.”
She shared with the mag that she was familiar with his music as early as 2015, but that they didn't connect until he slid in her DMs. "But then I saw that he was dropping music, and I really gravitated toward this one song. Coincidentally he messaged me — and the rest is history."
November 2022: DDG gushes about Halle's influence on his life.
During a November interview with The Breakfast Club, DDG told the hosts:
“I’ve never been with nobody that’s like really motivated me like [Halle] do. I’m seeing different shit. I ain’t really been around this type of shit before, so it’s like, she’s bringing me around shit that I ain’t really—you know what I’m saying? ‘Oh, this is crazy. This is dope.’ You know what I mean? This is somebody that’s really like … I was my own person before her, but in a way, put me on to different shit. That’s dope because I’m usually the one putting motherfuckers on.”
When the subject of marriage entered the chat, DDG admitted he could "eventually" see himself proposing to Halle.
December 2022: DDG and Halle hit the 'Avatar 2' blue carpet.
Frazer Harrison/WireImage
The couple carpet appearances keep racking as DDG and Halle stepped out together to support the James Cameron sequel, Avatar 2: The Way Of Water.
January 2023: DDG and Halle attend the Grand Reveal Weekend for Atlantis The Royal.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal
Halle Bailey and DDG showed support to the Queen by attending a private event for the Atlantis The Royal opening together in Dubai. The opening marked Beyoncé's return to the stage after a four-year hiatus.
January 2023: Halle and DDG tweet their love for each other out loud.
😎 i love you more https://t.co/kbhQ9zpKvZ
— DDG (@PontiacMadeDDG) February 1, 2023
High on love, Halle tweeted in late January, "i love my man ngl." DDG responded to her tweet, "i love you more."
February 2023: Rumors of a Halle Bailey and DDG breakup spark.
Fans picked up on DDG no longer following Halle on Instagram and wiping any and all traces of her from his account. This plus the "Hold Up" rapper posting a cryptic tweet that read, "all these girls the same … ain’t no wayy" had fans speculating that there was trouble in paradise and that the relationship was over.
But DDG responded to breakup claims and shut them down by saying that the internet was "gullible." He also told fans not to take his tweets "serious."
February 2023: DDG and Halle shut down cheating rumors involving Rubi Rose.
Rumors swirled after DDG's ex Rubi Rose made a messy comment towards Halle that spiraled into her sharing alleged receipts that DDG was trying to spin the block despite being involved with Halle. Both Halle and DDG denied the rumors, however.
Halle shared in a tweet that the "devil is working" and implored fans not to feed "into the lies, especially from a third party."
March 2023: Halle and DDG hit the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party following breakup rumors.
John Shearer/WireImage
After the slight relationship hiccups that came with the start of 2023, Halle and DDG showed that they were solid in their relationship while attending the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones.
April 2023: Halle opens up about experiencing "deep love" with DDG to 'British Vogue.'
In a cover story with Britsh Vogue, Halle revealed that the love she shares with DDG is a "deep love" and one that she never experienced outside of her family. She shared:
"Experiencing deep love for the first time in my life is something I feel has opened a whole new world for me creatively. What it feels like to love someone other than your family, like somebody you may not have known two years ago but now they're the center of your world."
"I like all of the scary feelings that come with that. I like the suspense, the not knowing what's going to happen, and I feel like that's what I'm supposed to be going through in womanhood."
In the same interview, she also referred to their relationship as "deeply sacred." Whew.
May 2023: Halle says loving DDG is a "transformative experience."
In an exclusive with PEOPLE, Halle touched on experiencing young love through DDG. "I think the best thing about young love is that you're able to continue to find yourself through this journey of loving somebody else. And you're discovering new parts of yourself and maybe things that you didn't notice before about your heart," she revealed to the outlet about her young romance with her boyfriend.
"I feel like things change when love gets more involved in your life. I have definitely discovered more within myself as a woman. …It's a really cool thing to go through, but a transformative experience."
July 2023: DDG releases "Famous" and fans believe he is dissing Halle.
It could be life imitating art, or art imitating life, but DDG's song "Famous" seemed to talk about the highs and lows of being the boyfriend of a rising star. On the track, he rapped, "Filmin' a movie now you kissing dudes / You know I love you a lot / I don't give a fuck if that shit for promo / I don't wanna see this shit no more."
Fans took the song as a sneak diss to Halle and slammed the rapper for what they viewed as disrespect to Halle, spawning the backlash of him being called a "failed rapper" by supporters of the Chloe x Halle singer. DDG denied claims that "Famous" was anything more than a song, however. "It's just music y'all," he said in a video reposted by The Shade Room.
He went on to add, "It's the entertainment business. Relax, calm down, chill out. You know it is what it is. I'm used to getting hated on."
September 2023: Halle opens up about her first 'deep, real love' with DDG.
Halle sat down with Cosmopolitan as a part of her press run to support her film, The Little Mermaid. She told the outlet that she drew a lot of musical inspo from love and that she was experiencing love "for the first time, and it’s, like, ‘whoa’ in your brain. It’s just fireworks, a spark for creativity."
She continued, "You know, you have puppy love experiences, you think that’s love. But this is my first deep, deep, real love."
September 2023: Halle and DDG attend Milan Fashion Week.
Victor Boyko/Getty Images for Gucci
Halle and DDG were spotted cuddled up at the Gucci Ancora during Milan Fashion Week.
October 2023: DDG and Halle attend the Glamour Women of the Year Awards.
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Halle looked absolutely radiant as the pair stepped out in London for the Glamour Women of the Year Awards on October 17 where the actress was an honoree of the night. She received the award for Gen Z Game-Changer and, when accepting her award, shared her experience of navigating scrutiny over her choices and offered the crowd encouragement to live life on their own terms:
"It's been an adjustment to live my life under the scrutiny of that spotlight. But, in the age of social media, in some way, we all live under that same scrutiny. From what we wear to who we love to the things we care about – It’s all open to scrutiny. So, here’s my honest advice. Turn it off when you need to find inner peace. But also, live your life for you. Don’t waste time living it for social media.
"Everyone has an opinion but the only opinion that matters is your own – you already know deep down what’s right for you. For me, it works because I keep it simple. I put God first and then I try to make decisions that are best for me in that moment."
January 2024: Halle Bailey and DDG announce the birth of their son, Halo.
Though neither of the pair confirmed there was any truth to the pregnancy speculation surrounding their relationship in much of the latter half of 2023, Halle Bailey and DDG started 2024 with news of the birth of their son. DDG dropped the visual to his song "Darryl Freestyle" which included a lyric revealing he had become a dad as well as the child's name, Halo.
Not too soon after, Halle took to Instagram to share a selfie of DDG's hand, her hand, and baby Halo's tiny hand. In her caption, she wrote, "even though we're a few days into the new year, the greatest thing that 2023 could have done for me, was bring me my son.. welcome to the world my halo."
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Featured image by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
RELATED
So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
Then there were those who gave up their zip code altogether and found a permanent home in the skies. After years spent recruiting students for a university, Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare became a full-time travel influencer and founded her travel company, Shakespeare Agency. And she's not alone.
These stories mirror the experiences of women across the world. For millions, the pandemic induced a seismic shift in priorities and desires. Corporate careers that were once hailed as the ultimate “I made it” moment in one's career were pushed to the back burner as women quit their jobs in search of a more self-fulfilling purpose.
xoNecole spoke to these three Black women who used the pandemic as a springboard to make their wildest dreams a reality, the lessons they learned, and posed the question of whether they’ll ever return to cubicle life.
Answers have been edited for context and length.
xoNecole: How did the pandemic lead to you leaving the cubicle?
Randi: I was becoming stagnant. I was working in mortgage and banking but I felt like my personality was too big for that job! From there, I transitioned to radio but was laid off during the pandemic. That’s what made me go full throttle with entrepreneurship.
Gabrielle: I moved around a lot for work. Five times over a span of seven years. I knew I needed a break because I had experienced so much. So, I just quit one day. Effective immediately. I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just knew I needed a break and to just regroup.
Lisa-Gaye: I was working in recruiting at a university and my dream job just kind of fell into my lap! But, I never got to fully enjoy it before the world shut down in March [2020] and I was laid off. On top of that, I was stuck in Miami because Jamaica had closed its borders due to the pandemic before I was able to return.
Randi O
xoN: Tell us about your journey after leaving Corporate America.
Randi: I do it all now! I have a podcast, I’m an on-air talent, I act, and I own a public relations company that focuses on social media engagement. It’s all from my network. When you go out and start a business, you can’t just say, “Okay I’m done with Corporate America,” and “Let me do my own thing.” If you don’t build community, if you don’t build a network it's going to be very hard to sustain.
Gabrielle: I realized in New York, there was not a lot to do for Black lesbians and queer folks. We don’t really have dedicated bars and spaces so I started doing events and it took off. I started focusing on my brand, Raw Honey. I opened a co-working space, and I was able to host an NYC Pride event in front of 100,000 people. I hit the ground running with Raw Honey. My events were all women coming to find community and come together with other lesbians and queer folks. I found my purpose in that.
Lisa-Gaye: After being laid off, I wrote out all of my passions and that’s how I came up with [my company] Shakespeare Agency. It was all of the things that I loved to do under one umbrella. The pandemic pulled that out of me. I had a very large social media following, so I pitched to hotels that I would feature them on my blog and social media. This reignited my passion for travel. I took the rest of the year to refocus my brand to focus solely on being a content creator within the travel space.
Gabrielle
xoN: What have you learned about yourself during your time as an entrepreneur?
Randi: [I learned] the importance of my network and community that I created. When I was laid off I was still keeping those relationships with people that I used to work with. So it was easy for me to transition into social media management and I didn’t have to start from scratch.
Gabrielle: The biggest thing I learned about myself was my own personal identity as a Black lesbian and how much I had assimilated into straight and corporate culture and not being myself. Now, I feel comfortable and confident being my authentic self. Now, I'm not sacrificing anything else for my career. I have a full life. I have friends. I have a social life. And when you are happy and have a full quality of life, I feel like [I] can have more longevity in my career.
Lisa-Gaye: [I'm doing] the best that I've ever done. The discipline that I’m building within myself. Nobody is saying, ‘Oh you have to be at work at this time.’ There’s no boss saying, ‘Why are you late?’ But, if I’m laying in bed at 10 a.m. then it's me saying [to myself], 'Okay, Lisa, get up, it's time for you to start working!’ That’s all on me.
xoNecole: What mistakes do you want to help people avoid when leaving Corporate America?
Randi: You have to learn about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship. You have a fast season and a slow season and I started to learn that when you're self-employed the latter season hits hard. Don't get caught up on the lows, just keep going and don't stop. I’m glad I did.
Gabrielle: I think everyone should quit their job and just figure it out for a second. You will discover so much about yourself when you take a second to just focus on you. Your skill set will always be there. You can’t be afraid of what will happen when you bet on yourself.
Lisa-Gaye: When it comes to being an influencer the field is saturated and a lot of people suffer from imposter syndrome. There is nothing wrong with being an imposter but find out how to make it yours, how to make it better. If you go to the store, you see 10 million different brands of bread! But you are choosing the brand that you like because you like that particular flavor.
So be an imposter, but be the best imposter of yourself and add your own flair, your own flavor. Make the better bread. The bread that you want.
Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare
xoNecole: Will you ever return to your 9 to 5?
Randi: I wouldn’t go back to Corporate America. But I don’t mind working under someone. A lot of people try to get into this business saying, “I can't work under anyone.” That’s not necessarily the reason to start a business because you're always going to answer to somebody. Clients, brands, there’s always someone else involved.
Gabrielle: I went back! I really needed a break and I gave myself that. But, I realized I’m a corporate girl, [and] I enjoy the work that I do. I’m good at it and I really missed that side of myself. I have different sides of me and my whole identity is not Raw Honey or my queerness. A big side of me is business and that’s why I love having my career. Now I feel like my best self.
Lisa-Gaye: I really don’t. For right now, I love working for myself. It's gratifying, it's challenging, it's exciting. It’s a big deal for me to say I own my own business. That I am my own boss, and I'm a Black woman doing it.
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Featured image courtesy of Lisa-Gaye Shakespeare
Originally published on February 6, 2023