Big Sean Always Has His Arm Around Jhené Aiko For A Reason

While it’s certainly not a requirement, it doesn’t hurt when a romantic relationship has its roots in friendship. And in Jhené Aiko and Big Sean’s case, their friendship, established three years before they made things official, was critical to their romance’s success.

In the beginning, circa 2012, the couple had no choice but to maintain a friendship, Jhené told Billboard in 2017. When Big Sean was interested in Jhené, she was in a relationship and when Jhené started catching feelings, Big Sean was dating someone else. So, they kept things platonic. They made beautiful music together (literally)—featuring each other on various songs and performing together before making their debut as a musical duo called Twenty88 and releasing an album under the same name.

Soon enough, however, their fans’ wishes became reality and the couple went from just friends to something more in 2016. Jhené described the shift in their relationship: “Obviously we worked together as well throughout our relationship. We did songs together. And then it just came to a point where it was like, 'I'm single, you're single, we love each other,'" she told Billboard. “We actually already loved each other as people and then it was like, 'Okay, let's just, you know, be together.' So, it was different because of that friendship. That comes first, we're friends before anything. We can bicker like a friendship.”

Their friendship is something body language expert Karen Donaldson says is evident in every move Big Sean and Jhené have made since making their relationship official. Ahead, she breaks down exactly how she knows that.