How Did John Legend Meet His Wife Chrissy Teigen?

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images John Legend and Chrissy Teigen attend the 70th annual Emmy Awards last year in Los Angeles.

Singer-songwriter and EGOT winner John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen are one of the internet’s favorite famous couples. Besides the fact that Teigen’s online presence is social media gold, the duo stays busy, with Legend performing on the iHeartRadio Music Awards and hosting the current season of The Voice, and Teigen authoring two cookbooks and landing on multiple best-seller lists.

Where Did John Legend and Chrissy Teigen First Meet?

With the couple constantly making headlines, many fans don’t know the actual story of how the two first met. The two met when Teigen was on set starring in the music video for Legend’s “Stereo” in 2007. Teigen, a model, was only 21 years old at the time. The two got to know each other (including an awkward moment when Teigen walked in on Legend ironing his underwear), but it wasn’t instant love. However, when their shoot was over, they did end up eating burgers in Legend’s hotel room and hooking up.

“We did the music video, we were together for like 12 hours,” Teigen told Wendy Williams in 2014. “We spent the entire day together, me in my underwear and him in a full suit, and I went to go say goodbye to him, to his hotel and we didn’t ever say goodbye that night.”

The two parted ways the next day excited to move on and further their burgeoning careers. They didn’t make it official until months later because Legend took off on tour shortly after their encounter.

“I let him be himself for a while,” Teigen told Cosmopolitan in 2014. “The worst thing you can do is try to lock someone like that down early on, then have them think, ‘There’s so much more out there.’ I played it cool for a long time. Never once did I ask, ‘What are we?’ Marriage was never my goal because I’ve never been very traditional. I was just happy to be with him.”

A Mini-Break Up and Trip to Lake Como

Early in their relationship, Teigen joined Legend on tour. After he got sick and had to cancel a show, stress got the better of Legend and he had a mini lapse in judgment.

Teigen recalled: “He was feeling really bummed and stressed out. He was like, ‘I can’t be in a relationship right now.’ That lasted for one day. Literally, a day. I knew it came from a place other than us not working. It was the stress of him having to maybe cancel a show, and he had never been in a real relationship—or so he says now. I always joke, ‘Remember when you tried to break up with me?’ He’s like, ‘Yes, sorry. Big mistake.’”

The couple forged on and soon traveled to Lake Como, Italy together, the location of their future marriage and filming location for the “All of Me” music video. Teigen said it was on this trip that she knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Legend.

Proposal and Marriage

After four years of dating, Legend popped the question on a vacation in Maldives. Airport TSA almost botched the surprised when they wanted to take a look inside Legend’s bag, including the small box he had stowed away inside. Luckily, the secret was kept until the time was right.

“We get to the Maldives and he had planned this beautiful Christmas. He knows how much I love Christmas…And this waiter comes out with a silver dome for dessert…So he opens up the dome and a ton of arugula falls out and then I kind of fish in it…And I see the little box and then you know, your heart stops and you get so excited,” Teigen retold on an episode of FABlife. “There was no big grand speech or anything. I think it was just very lovely and sweet.”

Teigen and Legend were married in a luxurious ceremony on September 14, 2013 in Como, Italy, the site of their first trip together. The couple made things official before leaving for Italy.

“We actually got married after going to a couple Fashion Week shows at Vera Wang, ironically who actually did my dress, but we got married at the courthouse right after,” Teigen told E! News. “We are dumb and didn’t realize that our Italian wedding would not be recognized unless we had a real ceremony in New York City. So Irina Shayk was our witness—the most beautiful woman on earth!”

Legend and Teigen are now the proud parents of two children, almost 3-year-old, Luna Simone Stephens, and Miles Theodore Stephens, who will turn 1 in May.

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