Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Shares How She Found 'Diamond' Boyfriend Stephen Gimigliano After Dating Around: 'There's A Lot of Trash Out There' (Exclusive)

The actress has been dating Gimigliano since October 2019

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez intends to start and end her search for love with boyfriend Stephen Gimigliano.

“I am very grateful that I do have my boyfriend in my life. I love, love,” Rodriguez, 33, tells PEOPLE for this week’s issue. “He is my first and most likely last. And I'm very thankful for that. He has shown what it is like to have true love in your life, someone who cares for you, and also what trash does not look like.”

She continues, “He is much more than any of that. I know there are a lot of men out here that are trash, and I know I can say that because I've been through the gamut, but this man, he is nothing of the sort. He is a diamond.”

As the Pose star — who currently stars in the Apple TV+ comedy Loot — gushes over Gimigliano, she gets “giddy” and wants to “garnish him in everything, diamonds and rubies. That’s exactly what he is.”

Related: 'Pose' Star Mj Rodriguez Opens Up About New Music Video and Paving the Way for Young Trans Artists

Rodriguez and Gimigliano celebrated their fourth anniversary on Oct. 25, 2023. The actress commemorated the occasion with an Instagram reel montaging clips of the couple.

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“I can’t loose [sic] when I’m with you! 10/25 4 years today. Damn time flew,” she wrote under the video, soundtracked by a cover of SZA’s “Snooze.” The reel also weaves in audio from Rodriguez’s 2022 Them interview, in which she speaks about Gimigliano.

“Everybody was like, you were trying to hide him from us? And I'm like, yes, child because y'all wanna be all up in my business, and I just wanted to be me and him, okay,” she said at the time. “People do need to see love on a trans woman. They need to see that. They need to see what love is and how it expands beyond gender, race, anything.”

The Emmy-nominated actress first went public with Gimigliano in 2020 by sharing an Instagram post celebrating Valentine’s Day. Under a now-deleted post of the pair, Rodriguez introduced Gimigliano with a video and photo compilation of their relationship.

Related: 'Pose' 's Mj Rodriguez Reacts to Her Historic Golden Globes Win: This 'Is Going to Open the Door'

“They’ll try to hold you back, they will say your wrong, but they will NEVER UNDERSTAND, the journey that your on. Baby I wouldn’t choose it any other way. I love you,” she captioned the tribute. “I feel like I can be my truest self when I am around you. You have shown me what love truly looks like when it's balanced and easy. I'm so proud to call you my Valentine but most importantly my boyfriend.”

New episodes of Loot arrive Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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