Who Is Billy Porter's Husband? All About Adam Porter-Smith
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Billy Porter and his husband Adam Porter-Smith found their way back to each other.
The Pose star first met Porter-Smith in 2009 at a dinner party, however, the pair went their separate ways after seven months of dating and it wouldn't be another five years until they rekindled their romance.
The couple wasted no time the second time around and tied the knot in January 2017, just 16 days after they got engaged. In the years since, Porter-Smith has accompanied his award-winning husband to various red carpet events and the two have celebrated plenty of milestones.
"I remember saying to my therapist, 'Now I know what love looks like, and it just walked out the door,' " Porter told PEOPLE just after their wedding. "I didn't know what it looked like before, and it was after that that I realized: 'Oh, s---, that's the one that got away! But now that I know what it looks like, the next time it shows up, I will be ready.' I didn't realize it was gonna show up as the same person — but I'm grateful that it did!"
From meeting through mutual friends to getting married, here's everything to know about Adam Porter-Smith and his relationship with Billy Porter.
He met Porter at a dinner party
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Porter and Porter-Smith met in February 2009 at a dinner with mutual friends. They immediately hit it off and as it turns out, their convenient seating arrangement was no accident.
"I was cruisin' him as he walked up the street, and he stopped, and he was with us!" Porter told PEOPLE in January 2017. "I was like, 'Oh, well, I'll be sittin' next to this handsome specimen tonight!' "
He called off their relationship in 2010
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After sparks flew at the restaurant, Porter and Porter-Smith started dating. "We kind of were enamored with each other from the beginning," Porter-Smith told PEOPLE after their wedding.
However, their relationship "imploded" after about seven months, and Porter-Smith broke up with the actor.
"We were both sorting things out," Porter said. "The first time we were dating, we were just, like, 'hanging out,' and all of a sudden, we realized, 'Oh, it's been seven months; that's more than just hanging out!' But because we weren't conscious of it, it kind of imploded."
Despite the split, the pair remained close friends and their connection always lingered.
He and Porter got back together in 2015
Five years later, Porter and Porter-Smith decided to give their relationship another shot. "It had been marinating within me, my love for him and figuring it out and coming to terms with it, over the years," Porter-Smith explained. "So I knew that it was on me if I wanted to ever change anything, I would have to be the first one to approach the subject; so I was trying to figure out the right time to do it."
The pair got back together on Porter-Smith's birthday in 2015, after a brunch date and a trip to see Hamilton at the Public Theatre. "Billy reached over and held my hand, and I was like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna tell him today,' " Porter-Smith said.
Porter added, "I felt it, and the tears came, and I pulled over, and he said, 'I love you, and I've always loved you, and if there's any chance, I would like another shot — I would like us to have another shot at this.' He was the one that got away — so it wasn't hard. The yes came easy and immediately!"
He designs vintage-inspired men's swimwear
Porter-Smith is currently the creative director of The Smith Society, which offers "swimwear for social settings," according to the brand's Instagram bio.
The brand launched in August 2022, and Porter shared several photos from the opening event on Instagram, writing, "About this weekend! Congrats @thesmithsociety on a successful launch event!! So proud of you! Much more to come! #JustGettingStarted🎉🎉🎉."
In an interview with Women's Wear Daily, Porter-Smith discussed his inspiration for the swimwear line, which he created during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I've always been inspired by 1920s, '30s and '40s swimwear," he told the outlet. "My design aesthetic was emboldened as I watched gay culture and beyond embrace silhouettes and new ideas around what we wear and the tone it sets in a new and more open world of fashion."
He previously worked in sales
Porter-Smith graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts in 2003. He then worked in sales for various companies, including Chanel and Jil Sander Eyewear, before becoming co-owner of the eyewear company Native Ken from 2016 to 2018, per his LinkedIn profile.
Porter proposed to him at dinner
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The Kinky Boots star proposed to Porter-Smith during a double date dinner in London on Dec. 29, 2016, as a throwback to how they first met.
"I had been planning it since late-September, early-October, just trying to figure out how to do it," Porter told PEOPLE. "I secretly set it up in London, and we went to a restaurant that was on the 42nd floor overlooking the skyline."
"The plan was we'd eat dinner, I would go to the bathroom, I would come back and propose, and then dessert would come. Dessert ended up coming too quickly, but I had planted the seed with [our friends] earlier in the evening," he continued. "When I asked them to tell their story about how they met; they did, for me to be able to then tell our story and, at the end of it, I said, 'And with that…' and I pulled out the Cartier ring!"
He and Porter got married 16 days after their engagement
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Porter-Smith married the Broadway star on Jan. 14, 2017. The couple explained that the reason behind their quick engagement was because they wanted to get married prior to Donald Trump taking office as president.
"We were discussing, and Billy had actually brought up to me that it's important for us to get married while [Barack] Obama is still President and before January 20," Porter-Smith told PEOPLE. "So we sat down and figured out when we could make it work before the 20th."
The grooms wore Thom Browne and Prada suits in an intimate ceremony in Manhattan with 45 guests. The wedding was something neither man thought they would ever get to experience.
"We both grew up in households where who we are is labeled an 'abomination,' " Porter told PEOPLE. "The thought of marriage, there was no context for it — there was no dreaming about it because there was no context to dream; it was unspoken and very clear that the sanctity of marriage was not for us."
He continued, "So to see that come around, to see that tide turned, it still takes my breath away; I'm still trying to find the words to describe it. I didn't think I needed it. I lived with this idea that it just wasn't for us. So when we went to get our marriage license the other day, the act of that was so powerful in a way that crept up on the both of us, and it just grounded that moment."
Porter-Smith added, "To get to marry the person that you love more than anything is an extraordinary thing, and I finally realized what everyone else has been able to do, I now am able to do myself. And that's an incredible feeling."
They often attend red carpet events together
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Porter is known for his bold red carpet looks, and since their 2017 wedding, Porter-Smith has accompanied his husband to various Hollywood events.
In September 2021, Porter and Porter-Smith attended the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards in coordinating black outfits. Porter wore sparkly jewelry that popped against his dark outfit, which included stunning wing-like panels, while Porter-Smith donned a black snake-skin tux jacket and a black bow tie.
Porter-Smith was Porter's date again at the 2022 Grammy Awards, where Porter wore a fuchsia Valentino outfit with matching gloves, a sparkly clutch and blue lipstick. Porter-Smith was right by his side on the red carpet, dressed in a metallic black suit. The Pose star later shared a selfie of the two of them sitting next to each other at the event, captioned, "Go time! @recordingacademy #Grammys 🎉🎉🎉."
He's helping Porter "heal" from past trauma
The Unprotected author opened up about past trauma in an interview with PEOPLE in October 2021. "At 52 years old, I am getting to the deepest parts of my truth," he said. "I'm having a rebirth — on my own terms."
Porter also revealed how Porter-Smith is helping him work through his struggles with intimacy.
"My sex life in relation to intimacy, it's not — it's not good at all," he told PEOPLE. "It's really, really hard in a marriage, you know, when you're trying to figure out how to be intimate with somebody. But we're growing together and healing together. It's a lot of hard work. Let me say, it's worth it."
