Nikki Blonsky and Hailey Jo Jenson eloped on Oct. 21, 2023.
Hairspray star Nikki Blonksy is married!
The 35-year-old actor, best known for her role as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 movie musical Hairspray, revealed to Out magazine that she and her partner, Hailey Jo Jenson, are officially married.
The couple, who announced their engagement in September 2022 after going public as a couple in June of that year, eloped on Oct. 21, 2023. Speaking to the outlet, Blonsky and Jenson, who uses they/them pronouns, shared their joy and the details of their relationship and marriage.
Reflecting on their journey, Jenson recounted how they first connected through a TikTok LIVE session, where Blonsky was randomly adding people. Jenson, a longtime fan, eagerly seized the chance to speak with Blonsky and later sent a message via Cameo to ensure Blonsky would remember them.
"I saw Nikki in 2007, and I had a crush on her ever since," Jenson shares.
"There was something about them and their presence and just their smile. It was electric," Blonsky recalls of that first interaction.
Their first in-person meeting in California solidified their bond. Blonsky remembers vividly: "They turned around and I just saw their face right in front of me for the first time, and I said, 'This is the person I’m going to marry for sure.'"
Jenson describes the moment as surreal, saying, "It was like this moment where I just was looking at something and nothing else existed. It was just like, 'Oh my God.'"
The couple proposed to each other on the same day. Blonsky, while visiting New York, got an engagement ring and received blessings from Jenson’s parents. The proposal itself was intimate and genuine, occurring during a quiet moment at home.
"We were laying in bed crying with each other, talking about how much we loved each other," Jenson says. "We pulled out rings and started screaming."
The couple chose to elope in a private ceremony, emphasizing the special, personal nature of the event. "That was the main thing, all I knew was that I wanted to marry Hailey. As long as Hailey showed up, we were good to go," Blonsky says.
To commemorate their union, they got matching ring tattoos.
Blonsky and Jenson decided now was the right time to share their marriage news, wanting to be able to refer to each other as spouses openly.
"With Pride Month coming up, I always want to encourage people to live their truth and live their best life, and everybody deserves love," Blonsky says.
Reflecting on her Hairspray role, Blonsky notes, "Tracy was such a gift, but it wasn’t real for me at the end of the day. Once I allowed myself to explore something that had been trying to get out for so many years, I saw that you can have a woman-loving-woman relationship, and it can be the greatest thing in the world."
Blonsky came out during Pride Month in 2020. The Hairspray star shared the news on TikTok, posting a video of herself lip syncing to Diana Ross' iconic 1980 song, "I'm Coming Out."
Blonsky jams out to the song in her video, shaking and shimmying across her yard.
"Hi, it's Nikki Blonsky from the movie I'm Gay! #pride #imcomingout #hairspray," she wrote alongside the TikTok. The caption referenced her meme, in which she frequently introduces herself as "Nikki Blonsky from the movie Hairspray." Blonsky was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2008 for her performance in the film adaptation of the musical.
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