Common Has A Sly Excuse For Not Being Married To Jennifer Hudson

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It's not every day that you get asked by your girlfriend why you haven't proposed yet on national television. This was the exact case when "The Light" rapper Common appeared on "The Jennifer Hudson Show" to promote his album "The Auditorium Vol. 1" in October 2024 and Hudson asked, "I heard you've been even out there talking about marriage. ... What's that about? I mean, I just happened to notice that." Always known for his cool demeanor (and his long list of exes), Common offered the sly excuse, "You know what? You told me a quote that your mother said, 'A man knows what he wants.' And I was saying my true feelings about, listen, Jennifer is the person. If I should be married, it will be to Jennifer Kate Hudson." In other words, the ball might be in her court.

The audience-approved excuse (and maybe confirmation?) came after Common appeared on "The Breakfast Club" earlier that year and said, "If I'm going to get married, it's to her." And while it was breaking news, the two are no strangers to public displays of affection, even officially debuting their relationship on Hudson's show in January 2024 when Common was booked as a guest — and came with flowers. 

At the time, the two danced around officially confirming that they were dating, though Common let the identity of his mysterious girlfriend slip when he said he set his standards high for who he would date, rattling off a Hudson-specific list of accomplishments, saying on "The Jennifer Hudson Show," "She had to have an EGOT. She had to win an Oscar on her first movie. ... She had to get her own talk show." Hmmm ... We wonder who that could be ...

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If wedding bells are to eventually be in the air for Common and Jennifer Hudson, it will be after both have had a long and winding dating history. According to People, fellow musician Erykah Badu was Common's "first love," and after being together for two years, he took their breakup in 2002 hard. "I was in a haze, just going through the motions. It was hard to eat," he said. Then he spent a year with award-winning actress and "Empire" star Taraji P. Henson in 2005, dated tennis legend Serena Williams from 2007 to 2010, and even had a year-long relationship with comedian Tiffany Haddish from 2020 to 2021. The long list might come with some baggage, but Common must have an uncommon amount of charisma to have spent time with so many illustrious stars.

For her part, Hudson has emerged from a contentious relationship with former professional wrestler and actor David Otunga, her partner of 10 years and father to her son David Daniel Otunga Jr. The two met in 2008 and were engaged within the year, then welcomed their son a year later. But the exes never married, and it was only after they separated in 2017 that the ensuing messy custody battle for their son revealed that their relationship was so acrimonious that Otunga even decided to resell Hudson's 80-thousand-dollar engagement ring. But now Hudson and Common are in a better place, and more importantly, with each other. And if wedding nuptials are truly in the air, we hope that Common stays booked on Hudson's show, because we can't get enough of their on- and off-screen chemistry.