Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert are the first ones to admit that life has its ups and downs — but luckily, they have each other.
The former R&B singer and NBA player are back on the small screen with their new show We Got Love Teyana & Iman, airing on E! this summer. The goal has always been to show the genuine truth of their relationship. “We’re here to inspire couples,” Teyana told Essence in 2019. “People see the glitz and glamour. That’s 10% [of it.] They don’t really get to see that 90% of the blood, sweat and tears.”
Speaking on The Wendy Williams Show in March 2018, Teyana remembers the first time she met Iman. “I actually played very, very hard to get,” she told host Wendy Williams. “I did not like him at first because when I first met him, he had just gotten drafted. He was young, he was doing a lot. I was at a party. He was drunk and had his shirt off. It was just too much going on, baby.”
Teyana continued: “At this time, I wasn’t like a really big heel girl so I’m sitting at the top of the bar with my dress and heels. And he comes up on me. He’s like, ‘You need me in your life.’ And I was like, ‘Excuse me?’ Drunk with no shirt on, just got drafted. It was too much for me.”
That said, the two “wound up eventually becoming friends.” The turning point in their friendship was when the dancer and choreographer supported Iman through a tough time in his career. “We were only friends … He was injured and I cleared my whole day to make sure he was okay,” she said. Both Teyana and Iman had recently gone through breakups, and she surprised him with an Edible Arrangements that “had a ‘get well’ teddy bear and everything.”
Teyana and Iman made their first public appearance as a couple at the BET Hip Hop Awards in September 2014.
Then in September 2015, the pro athlete announced on Instagram that he and Teyana were expecting a baby together.
“I couldn’t be more happy than to share my first child with the woman I intended to have my family with. Iman Taylor Shumpert Jr is expected to enter this world ‘1.16.16’,” he captioned a sonogram picture. “I love you @teyanataylor thank you for your sacrifice in starting our very own family!”
In November 2015, Teyana and Iman threw a royal-themed baby shower for their daughter, and amid the celebration, Iman surprised Teyana with a ruby engagement ring. She tearfully said yes in front of their family and friends.
“I am his Ruby Woo... ❤️ I'm still speechless. I love you baby. 😢😍,” she wrote on Instagram. “Thank You @imanshumpert for putting the color back in my life! I love you so much 🌹,” Teyana later added alongside a close-up picture of the sparkler.
On December 16, 2015, Teyana and Iman welcomed a daughter named Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr, who is affectionally known as Junie. The story goes that Teyana’s water broke while she was at home on the toilet. Although Iman tried to get her downstairs to the car to go to the hospital, she wasn't able to, and instead she laid down on the floor. Iman then helped Teyana deliver Junie in a matter of minutes. Afterward, he tied a pair of red Dr. Dre headphones around the umbilical cord until the ambulance got to them.
Less than a year later, on October 1, 2016, Iman and Teyana officially became husband and wife. Not many details are known about their actual wedding event, but before throwing their big bash, the duo paid tribute to one of their greatest moments together.
“We got married in the bathroom where our baby was born. We just wanted it for good luck before we did the big wedding,” Teyana told Wendy. According to Teyana, they were supposed to get married earlier that year, but their conflicting schedules kept pushing back their special day. “It wasn’t like inside the bathroom. We had cute double doors. It was in the front. It still looked cute,” she added.
Their family grew once again with the arrival of their second daughter, Rue Rose Shumpert, on September 6, 2020. Teyana announced the exciting news in her June 2020 music video for her song “Wake Up Love,” which featured Iman and Junie. Rue was also born in a bathroom, becoming part of the unique family tradition.
“Not in a million years would you be able to tell me we’d deliver both of our daughters in a bathroom without the assistance of a hospital!” Iman wrote on Instagram. “A healthy child. A little sister. Another daughter. Black love wins....again. Welcome babygirl...we love you! 🌹 @babyruerose.”
As the years go by, Teyana and Iman find more reasons to love each other. In a 2017 GQ interview, the mother of two shared that no matter what's going on in their lives, they are inseparable.
"What has made us strong is we have put [in] a lot of years and a lot of love ... At this point, nobody can really break us apart."
