Little is known about the relationship between Jayson Tatum and Ella Mai. Are they dating or merely friends who have been spotted out together? Below is a breakdown of everything there is to know about the two luminaries, and whether they are a couple.
Tatum and Mai were first rumored to be dating in October 2020. The media captured photos of the latter visiting the former’s home in Missouri. This transpired during the NBA’s offseason. It took place during the Winter because the 2019-2020 NBA campaign was truncated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and had to be finished in the NBA bubble later in the year.
Following their visitations to each other’s houses, the two kept their relationship under wraps. Publicly, seldom was known about the couple — whether they were seeing one another, let alone in communication. It wasn’t until the 2021 offseason that reports of them dating began burgeoning again.
This time, it was the internet deducing that the two had been spending time together. The 28-year-old R&B singer posted a TikTok video and the background looked oddly familiar. The wooden window bars, surrounded by a white background matched a room in Tatum’s house. Fans did their due diligence researching the similarities and concluded that Mai’s video was filmed in the four-time All-Star’s room.
Tatum and Mai make their first public appearance together
In July 2022, the star-studded couple made their first public appearance together. They attended Michael Rubin’s Fourth of July White Party in the Hamptons. The yearly event is a who’s who of celebrities. Therefore, for Tatum and Mai to come to the party together, lends to the belief that they’ve been a couple since 2020.
In the video above, the couple donned an all-white ensemble. This is a mandatory dress code for Rubin’s annual gathering.
Tatum and Mai were two of the many celebrities in attendance. Also there was Odell Beckham Jr., Drake, Kendall Jenner, Carmelo Anthony, James Harden, and more.
Both Jayson Tatum and Ella Mai are stars in their respective fields
What makes the coupling of Tatum and Mai so special is that both are deemed wunderkinds in their crafts, respectively. Tatum, 25, is a perennial All-NBA player. Despite only playing six seasons in the league, he’s led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals three times.
This season, the St. Louis native is firmly in the running for MVP. He is averaging 30.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists. All of these marks are career highs.
Mai, 28, is one of the preeminent artists in the music industry, specifically in the R&B genre. Before becoming a household name, the United Kingdom native was on the eleventh season of X Factor. While she didn’t win, her presence laid the groundwork for her illustrious career to come.
In 2018, Mai broke onto the scene. Her song “Boo’d Up,” off her self-titled debut album, debuted at five on the US Billboard Hot 100. Her robust voice rejuvenated the R&B sound, enthralling a new generation of fans. Proof of this came in 2019, when she was nominated for two Grammy awards, Song of the Year and Best R&B Song. She won for the latter. Furthermore, that same year, she also won Best R&B Artist at the Billboard Music Awards.
