Trai Byers and Grace Gealey play family on-screen in Empire, but they are reportedly hooking up in real life. According to TMZ, Trai [who plays Andre Lyons] and Grace [who plays Anika Calhoun or Boo Boo Kitty] are dating, even though they are clearly conscious about people finding out.
TMZ acquired a video showing Trai Byers and Grace Gealey attending a wedding together, and although they were clearly affectionate with each other, they still made an effort to hide from the media.
Empire has been blowing up over the past few months, and obviously the stars have been getting more attention as a result. Trai Byers and Grace Gealey, especially, have become breakout stars due to the show, and of course, them hooking up or dating in any capacity is going to get attention. They’re still relatively low-key enough that they can pass without too much attention, but if they got noticed at a friend’s wedding, then there’s no doubt that they’ll get noticed on the streets and by the media.
Granted, some Empire fans might not be happy about this pairing, i.e. they might be ‘shipping’ Trai Byers with someone else, or they might be ‘shipping’ Grace with someone else. The characters on the show are incredibly complex, and I don’t think anybody could guess that Anika Calhoun would end up falling for Andre Lyons in real life.
What do you guys think about Boo Boo Kitty and Andre Lyons dating in real life? Do you think their relationship will last, especially with them faking sibling-ship on the show? Or are they good enough actors that they’re able to separate the two, and just deal with their personal lives as they come?
What do you say? Let us know your thoughts on this new coupling, and of Empire, in the comments below.
