Janelle Monae Partner: Is the Singer Dating Anyone?

Getty Janelle Monae dating history

Janelle Monae is set to perform at the 2019 Grammys. The singer and songwriter is also up for a number of Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Given this massive success, many have wondered whether Monae is currently in a relationship. Is she dating anyone? Who has she dated in the past?

According to Bustle, Monae is currently single. The notoriously private entertainer has never been one for discussing her personal life, save for a 2018 Rolling Stone interview where she revealed that she was pansexual. “Being a queer black woman in America, someone who has been in relationships with both men and women – I consider myself to be a free-a*s motherf**ker”, she said. “I read about pansexuality and was like, ‘Oh, these are things that I identify with too.’ I’m open to learning more about who I am.”

Monae Identifies As Pansexual & Said That She’s Dated Both Men & Women In the Past

Monae has also spoken about wanting to support people who share her outlook. “I want young girls, young boys, nonbinary, gay, straight, queer people who are having a hard time dealing with their sexuality, dealing with feeling ostracized or bullied for just being their unique selves, to know that I see you,” she said.

While the singer has never confirmed a relationship to the public, there has been speculation regarding her ties to two other female celebrities: rapper MC Lyte and actress Tessa Thompson. According to Rumor Flix, Monae briefly dated MC Lyte in 2015. During this time the couple reportedly shared a suite at Manhattan’s Greenwich hotel. Neither Monae nor MC Lyte have publicly confirmed the relationship.

Monae Has Been Romantically Linked to MC Lyte & Tessa Thompson

Thompson, who is bisexual, appeared as Monae’s lover in the music video for “Pynk.” This sparked rumors that the two were dating, which the former addressed in an interview with Net-a-Porter. “It’s tricky, because Janelle and I are just really private people and we’re both trying to navigate how you reconcile wanting to have that privacy and space, and also wanting to use your platform and influence,” she said. “I can take things for granted because of my family – it’s so free and you can be anything that you want to be. I’m attracted to men and also to women. If I bring a woman home, [or] a man, we don’t even have to have the discussion.”

“Janelle and I love each other deeply,” Thompson added. “We’re so close, we vibrate on the same frequency. If people want to speculate about what we are, it doesn’t bother me.” She later told The Cut that she’s too busy to date, which caused many to dispel the belief that she and Monae were an item. “I currently don’t have time to date,” she revealed. “Also, because dating right now requires that somebody gets on a plane, which is fine, but that’s a lot to ask when you’re first… It’s a lot of expectation.”