In xoNecole's Our First Year series, we take an in-depth look at love and relationships between couples with an emphasis on what their first year of marriage was like.
Sean and Kathlyn Dias are a creative match made in heaven---literally. Kathlyn, a content creator better known as Kathlyn Celeste by her more than 150,000 followers on Instagram alone, and Sean, a producer and creative director in his own right, have been married for eight years. The 27-year-old parents of two boys, Kayson and Avery, literally sow into one another's dreams, working together to keep the creatives juices going, the projects flowing, and the inspiration growing.
The Massachusetts-based couple find that being two creatives bound together by their Christian beliefs and foundation helps them both in their careers, parenting, and in everyday life.
"When we combine our ideas together, we come up with great things," Kathlyn revealed during our interview. "We love being able to do that. Our common goal is to grow and build something that is ours and reach people through creativity. If [my subscribers] are coming to my page for a hair tutorial or fashion, I want them to leave higher in their faith and encouraged."
Read on for insight on how Kathlyn and Sean made it through their first year of marriage:
Courtesy of Kathlyn and Sean
The One:
Kathlyn: I knew I wanted to be with him but I didn't want to make the choice based on just my feelings. I really had to seek God on that. I asked God to confirm, and one day, I opened my Bible to a random page. The scripture was Genesis 2:18, which [indicates that] God created woman for man as his helper. We had started dating February 18---so 2/18 just happened to be our anniversary date.
Sean: When we first started dating, she showed me love in ways I hadn't known before. My past relationships were very surface-level. I can recall being at work, and I'd leave for my shift to find little Post-It notes with song lyrics on them---something I think a guy would do for a girl---but she would do things like that. I was so caught by surprise. It was always the small details. I felt like she was somebody who was really interested in me. I never had that before. I had a lot of issues of hurt in the past---and she stuck through it with me. She wanted me to better myself, and she loved me through my flaws. Also, when dating, I noticed how nurturing she was toward her younger cousins. I saw a mother quality to her.
Courtesy of Kathlyn and Sean
"I knew I wanted to be with him but I didn't want to make the choice based on just my feelings. I really had to seek God on that."
Biggest Fears:
Kathyln: My biggest fear was divorce because no one in my immediate family had a lasting marriage. My grandmother didn't, a lot of my aunts, and my mom---I just grew up seeing her brokenhearted, one after the other. That worried me. I feared, 'Are we actually going to make it?' I knew I had to trust God and work at breaking those family [patterns] to have a healthy and long-lasting marriage.
Sean: We knew each other for so long, I had a fear of the unknown once we got married. I had unrealistic expectations of how life would be after marriage. When marriage came, there were so many things we had no idea about [that were different]. I wasn't entirely sure that the relationship would be the same.
Courtesy of Kathlyn and Sean
Overcoming Challenges:
Kathlyn: A big one for me was habits. He's very musically inclined, so in the beginning stages, he'd always be working on his music [projects]. So when it came down to me just wanting to cuddle, he'd be very focused on the music. He needed to be more understanding on my love language and how to balance spending time with me and doing what he is passionate about. I also had to take a step back and say it's not always about me. I had to give him his space to enjoy his music and his time.
Sean: I had to prioritize my time as well and realize that my wife is my priority. I needed to make that time and condition myself to being in that realm of, 'Music is cool, but my wife is my first priority. If I don't have her, what is music?' She's also a big communicator. For me, I'm the opposite---I can shut down and be to myself very easily---especially in times where I feel wronged. I'm used to walking away from things. It's part of what I saw growing up. I've learned that communication is needed. If you're both on the same page, you cannot lose. It's a necessity. I'm still learning and trying to open up with how I feel and part that is making sure I'm meeting her needs as well.
Courtesy of Kathlyn and Sean
"I've learned that communication is needed. If you're both on the same page, you cannot lose. It's a necessity."
Money Talks:
Kathlyn: [You have to] let one another know what you're spending on. We were trying to save up for a house, so we just knew we needed to be more cautious. It made sense that if he wants to buy something, he just lets me know [and vice versa.]
Sean: She's more financially conscious. I trust and know that since she oversees and manages [finances], she knows if we're saving the right amount of money. I have no problem at all. We [also] both help each other with our work. We're collaborating and making one another income. Whenever we get paid for something, we high-five and celebrate that. That's important as well.
Courtesy of Kathlyn and Sean
Love Lessons:
Kathlyn: I love doing life with you, and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.
Sean: She helps me grow and is truly my life partner. I'm still working on this every day, but when we put each other first, that's how the marriage flourishes.
For more on Kathlyn and Sean, follow them on Instagram @kathlynceleste and @crualxndr.
Want more Our First Year love stories? Check them out here.
Back then, she was talking about projects she had in the works and detailing her thoughts about the beauty of breakups in a 2021 cover story with AnOther Magazine. "I got married. I got divorced. Separations, breakups are sad but are beautiful things too. It's about the bittersweetness, that beginning and that end. It's so complex, that space, when you're in between heartbroken and mourning the loss of something and excited for what's ahead of you," she told the publication.
Little did she know what was ahead of her was her directorial debut in a film she co-wrote called Pussy Island. One of the thriller's stars would be actor Channing Tatum, whom she'd meet in 2021. And there would lie her new beginning. Rumors of the pair dating started to circulate after they were spotted riding a bike together in New York City in August 2021. Kravitz and Tatum (who was also previously married to longtime love Jenna Dewan) seemingly found love and maintained a relatively low profile during their budding relationship.
Shortly after rumors of a romance between the collaborators swirled, an interview with WSJwas published where Kravitz was quoted saying about Tatum, "When you make things with people it's a very sacred space, and when you're compatible with somebody creatively it often opens up other channels, because you're kind of sharing all of yourself." She continued, "I'm really grateful that this movie has brought him into my life that way."
Fast forward to just last week, the couple announced that they were engaged after two years of dating. Kravitz, 34, and Tatum, 43, were spotted in matching Halloween costumes as Rosemary and Rosemary's "baby," respectively, and Kravitz was spotted sporting what looked like an engagement ring. Sources confirmed exclusively to PEOPLE that the couple is newly engaged, so big congrats are in order!
Channing Tatum and Zoë Kravitz are seen arriving at Kendall Jenner's Halloween party on October 28, 2023.MEGA/GC Images
On the heels of this exciting news, here's a look back at Zoë Kravitz's dating history and the "bittersweet" endings that led her to what might be her best beginning yet.
A Deep Dive Into Zoë Kravitz's Relationship History
Ben Foster (2007-2008)
Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
It is speculated that Kravitz and actor Ben Foster dated between the years 2007 and 2008, though neither actor has ever publicly confirmed the relationship. Despite being spotted together at different events both on and off the red carpet, whether they were an item or not was kept private. Nevertheless, Ben Foster, whom she co-starred with in the movie Birds of America, seems to be her earliest Hollywood relationship.
Michael Fassbender (2010-2011)
Dave Hogan/Getty Images
This relationship was never confirmed in the media, although the photos, which you can find through a simple Google search, can tell you that love was in the air for a time with these two. Kravitz and Michael Fassbender met in 2010 on the set of X-Men: First Class.
Their 12-year age difference might point to this being more casual than long-term, with Kravitz being 22 at the time of the fling and Fassbender being 34.
Penn Badgley (2011-2013)
Jamie McCarthy/WireImage
Yes, that Penn Badgley. Following his split from his Gossip Girl co-star Blake Lively, Badgley entered a relationship with Kravitz that lasted two years before losing its steam. For most of the relationship, Kravitz didn't speak much about the You star. He, however, was quoted referring to the love he shared with Kravitz as one that was "earth-shattering."
In a 2013 interview with Movie Line, he spoke of the way 22-year-old Kravitz changed him and inspired his portrayal of Jeff Buckley in Greetings From Tim Buckley, saying about their relationship, "At that time I was falling madly in love in a way that was changing me and opening me up." He added, "I was kind of going through what Jeff [Buckley] was going through emotionally in the movie in the sense that the worlds of music and love and women and art were opening up to me. Honestly, I needed it. It was like this cosmic intervention where, if you're going to play somebody like Jeff you've got to at least be in love, you know?"
"And being in love, real, true, earth-shattering love – even though it sounds hyperbolic I really was going through it — helped me be as good as I could be," Badgley continued about Kravitz and her influence on his performance.
The relationship reportedly came to an end in June 2013.
Karl Glusman (2016-2020)
Foc Kan/WireImage
Kravitz met actor Karl Glusman through a mutual friend in 2016 and began a relationship with him sometime after. By now, you might notice that the actress has a pattern of keeping things about her love life private, and her relationship with Glusman was no different. The Big Little Lies star quietly dated Glusman from 2016-2018 before announcing their engagement in October 2018 with Rolling Stone. It would later be revealed that she was proposed to in January 2018. She kept the news under wraps for so long by wearing her ring around her neck instead of on her finger.
The couple tied the knot in 2019 but would split 18 months later, with Kravitz filing for divorce. In a March 2022 interview with ELLE, she confirmed that there was no bad blood about their ending, even referring to her ex as an "incredible human being."
"It really is less about him and more about me learning how to ask myself questions about who I am and still learning who I am, and that being okay. That’s the journey I’m on right now," Kravitz explained to the mag.
Channing Tatum (2021-Present)
James Devaney/GC Images
The Magic Mike star and the Batman actress have been reportedly "inseparable" since his casting for the forthcoming film Pussy Island back in 2021. Though they crossed paths before in 2017 while voicing the animated characters in The Lego Batman Movie, Kravitz and Tatum (who were also in other relationships at the time) wouldn't connect until 2021, both divorced and happily single. A common thread between the pair seems to be a mixture of mutual admiration and creative compatibility.
Tatum sang Kravitz's praises for the work she was doing behind the camera for Pussy Island in a July 2022 interview with ET. "I'm in awe," he said of her directorial debut, adding that when he was at the helm for the 2022 film Dog as co-director he "barely survived" but that Kravitz was "killing it." He also said that with his role in her film being so different from others he has played in the past, it was nice to be directed by someone who "saw me."
He continued about Kravitz, "She's got a weird gift for that. She sees right through a lot of people's stuff and really, just who they are to her is really simple. She's one of the more intentional people I've ever met in my life."
Kravitz also gushed about Tatum in a GQ cover interview in 2022, calling the actor "a wonderful human." She told the mag, "He makes me laugh and we both really love art and talking about art and the exploration of why we do what we do. We love to watch a film and break it down and talk about it and challenge each other."
Additionally, the 34-year-old Kimi actress recalled for the mag how much of a saving grace Tatum was for her on the set of their film. She said, "Whether it was making me tea or pouring me a drink or going to whip someone into shape or whatever — he really was my protector and it was really wonderful and sweet."
"I think if you can do something like that together, it's a good test. And we came out even stronger," she added.
Congratulations once again to the happy couple!
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Featured image by James Devaney/GC Images
