Normani reflects on meeting her new beau, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, thanks to Ciara and Russell Wilson playing Cupid.
Normani is opening up about her relationship with her boyfriend, DK Metcalf, and how Ciara and her NFL player husband, Russell Wilson, orchestrated their first meeting. During a chat with Ebro Darden for The Ebro Show on Apple Music 1 about the release of her long-awaited debut album, Dopamine, the singer shared how the mother of four's determination to have her meet the NFL wide receiver led to her new romance.
"He's such a light for me, especially just like in my lowest points," the singer tells Darden of her beau. "He popped up today -- didn't even know he was coming. But I needed that."
When asked how she and the 26-year-old Seattle Seahawks player met, Normani explains that Ciara and Wilson introduced the two. Wilson played for the Seahawks from 2012 to 2022, before he was traded to the Denver Broncos. Wilson was released from the Broncos in early March and confirmed reports that he'll join the Pittsburgh Steelers later that same month.
Ciara and Wilson have been married since 2016 and the pair shares three children, as well as Ciara's son, Future Zahir, from a previous relationship.
"It's like, if you could trust [any] couple, that would be the couple," Normani quips. "[At] multiple occasions [Ciara] was like, 'Hey, I know this guy.'"
While the singer admits that Metcalf had expressed interest in her "for a while," she hadn't been in the right mindset to pursue a relationship. But when she was ready and "an opportunity presented itself," she took the leap of faith.
"Doja had something with ELLE, she was being honored. I went to that. I went to another one of my friend's release parties. Then C[iara], she kept texting me. She had an alcohol brand that she was releasing, but she was really adamant about me coming. Very adamant," Normani recalls of the set up for her and Metcalf's first meeting.
The 28-year-old singer says that she had every intention to "stop by," she had a feeling that Ciara was angling for something more due to her adamance. "I just knew it was something else because she was just very adamant," she quips. "When I was on the way, she was like, 'Oh yeah, your boy's going to be there.' I said, 'OK, I see. I see what she was trying to do here.' They did the same to him once he was already there. They was playing Cupid. But it worked."
Normani shares that Metcalf has also heard Dopamine, which was released on June 14. "He's inspired a few of the records," the singer tells Darden, bashfully.
Watch Normani's chat with Ebro Darden in the video below.
After Normani and her Fifth Harmony group members -- originally comprised of Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane, Camila Cabello, and Ally Brooke -- announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus to "purse solo endeavors" back in March 2018, the singer's solo career has consisted of sporadically released singles over the last several years, although most drops have been met with much acclaim.
Since she first announced Dopamine, she's opened up about how a double cancer diagnosis led to her putting her career on the back burner.
In June 2023, she revealed that her father, Derrick Hamilton, was diagnosed with prostate cancer one year after her mother, Andrea Hamilton, battled cancer for a second time.
In an interview with Who What Wear, Normani shared that when her mother told her the news, the first thing she did was recognize for herself, "F**k all of this. This is bigger than the music. It's bigger than what I'm trying to accomplish. This is life or death. All I wanted to do was be there for them."
The singer said that her parents' cancer diagnoses forced her to think about her own purpose as an artist, allowing her to gain perspective on how she wanted to move forward in the future. "Honestly, music got them through the cancer treatments. I remember being on FaceTime with my mom while she was undergoing chemo and her asking me, 'How's the studio today? How's the music coming?'" she told the outlet. "As hard as it was for me to not be with them as much as I wanted to, ultimately, pushing through made the circumstances of the last few years feel a bit lighter for my parents."
"It was in those moments with my parents that made me realize that I have an opportunity to make an impact in this lifetime," she added. "I know everything I've been through isn't in vain. There's always something that God wants me to see in the season. It's all in service of making me better for all that he actually has in store for me."
All said, the long journey has been worth it for leading Normani to Dopamine, an album she said "feels like liberation" and a "season of freedom."
And four people are as excited as Normani's fans to see that impact come to fruition: her Fifth Harmony girls.
On Saturday, Normani shared a post to Instagram in which she celebrated the album's drop and shared her gratitude for those who have supported her musical journey.
In the comment section of her post, the singer's peers congratulated her on the release, including Lauren Jauregui and Camila Cabello.
"Congraaaaats bby girlllll." Jauregui wrote, to which Normani responded, "Ily v much mama."
Cabello commented, "putting out a project is vulnerable and hard and you are doing it beautifully ! congratulations on your first album and many more to come !!!!!!!! 🚀🩵"
"Thank you so much for this," Normani wrote in response. "This seriously means a lot and so v proud of you. You're next, let's goooo."
Dopamine was released everywhere music is available to stream on June 14.
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