As part of his vow to lead with “more vulnerability” in the new year, Chris Redd is getting candid about his romance with girlfriend Christina Evangeline ― who was previously married to his former “Saturday Night Live” co-star Kenan Thompson ― for the first time.
On Tuesday, Redd posted an emotional video to Instagram in which he described his relationship with Evangeline as a “very unique, nuanced thing” that began while he was dealing with “pill problems and issues” during his five-season stint on “SNL.”
Evangeline, he said, was “the only one to call me on my shit, help me on my shit,” and encouraged him to start therapy.
“She told me things about her life that made me look at a lot of people involved differently,” he continued. “And in that time, we fell in love.”
Evangeline and Thompson split in spring 2022 after about 10 years of marriage. The former couple share daughters Georgia and Gianna.
While the exact timeline has never been clear, Evangeline and Redd were first romantically linked in the media that fall, shortly before Redd confirmed his exit from “SNL” after five seasons.
In his Instagram video, Redd hinted that his relationship with Evangeline had already begun prior to his “SNL” departure, thus making the situation “an emotional double-edged sword” given his professional ties to Thompson.
“I think that we were a great team. And I hate doing something to somebody that I know would hurt them,” he said, choking back tears. “I don’t feel player for this shit at all, but I did choose love.”
“I don’t feel like a pimp,” he continued. “I don’t feel cool about this at all, besides the fact that I found someone that makes me feel like I didn’t even know what love was for real. And I just felt like I couldn’t miss out on it.”
Elsewhere in the clip, Redd also reflected on being punched in the face outside of a New York comedy club in 2022, and suggested the incident was somehow connected to his then-new relationship becoming public knowledge around that time.
“Most people who know me from back home would know that I would be retaliating in a heartbeat, but not this time,” he said. “This time it felt fair. Fair enough.”
Redd, 40, shared the video while announcing a Jan. 28 comedy show in New York. Fans, he said, can expect to hear more about his personal relationships in the show, which is about “love.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, Thompson had yet to respond publicly to Redd’s video. He’s also remained tight-lipped about the demise of his marriage to Evangeline since their split.
When asked on NBC’s “Today” why he didn’t divulge details about his divorce in his 2023 memoir “When I Was Your Age,” the actor and comedian said he avoided topics that would require him “to speak out of turn on people who aren’t there to tell their version of the story.”
“So I just kind of told my perspective,” he added.
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