Colman Domingo may have lost at the 2025 Oscars, but I think he might be a winner no matter what thanks to his mind-blowing love story with his husband Raúl. Like, I’m not exaggerating when I say that Colman and Raúl’s relationship story is truly one of the most magical things I’ve ever heard. This story will make you believe in the power of love… and the power of Craigslist.

Colman was nominated for the Lead Actor Oscar for his role in Sing Sing, but he honestly seemed more focused on just having a good time at the 2025 Oscars. During a commercial break, he invited the whole Dolby Theater to dance with him, and throughout the broadcast, you could spot him in the front row giving a standing ovation at any opportunity. It was clear to me that Colman is a person who lives life to the fullest, and that is also obvious from his love story with Raúl. Even though Raúl doesn’t make public appearances very often, they clearly have a strong relationship based on all the many interviews Colman has given throughout the years. And since Raúl did step out on the red carpet to support Colman at the Oscars, fans are resurfacing those interviews and remembering Colman and Raúl’s love story, especially how they met.

Who Is Colman Domingo’s Husband Raúl?

How Did Colman And Raúl Domingo Meet?

Colman shared his love story with Raúl with GQ for their Modern Lovers issue in 2021. “This is a good story,” he began the interview, and he’s honestly not wrong.

Back in 2005, Colman was living in New York, but was in Berkeley, California working on a play. One Sunday night, he went to Walgreens for a mud mask (incredibly relatable, btw) and locked eyes with a “beautiful” man, as he told Graham Norton in 2024. Colman was on the phone and Raúl was in the middle of another conversation with someone else, but they still caught each other’s attention.

“They walk off down the street, but he keeps looking back. And I wave, but he just keeps going. And then I’m just dumbfounded,” Colman said on The Graham Norton Show.

Colman couldn’t get the interaction out of his head. “I just felt something,” Colman said to GQ. Apparently, so did Raúl.

They both turned to the internet for help, but this being 2005, it was a very primitive version of the internet. Instead of the apps, they had Craigslist Missed Connections. Raúl wrote a post that began,”I saw you outside of Walgreens in Berkeley…” A couple days later, Colman turned to Craigslist too. “I literally jumped out of my chair when I saw the post,” he told GQ. Colman quickly fired up an email response, and they went on a date in San Francisco. That night, when Colman thought Raúl was sleeping, he whispered, “I think I love you.”

When Did Colman and Raúl Domingo Get Married?

Their first summer together, Colman got an acting job in Juneau, Alaska, and Raúl got a job as an assistant costume designer on the production so he could follow him there. “I feel like I needed to understand everything that you are,” Raúl said to GQ. Then that November, Raúl — who is 11 years younger than 55-year-old Colman — proposed.

In 2014, the couple invited 25 of their closest friends to what they said was a house party. When all the guests arrived, though, Colman and Raúl greeted them by saying “Welcome to our wedding.” A surprise wedding is just about as romantic as it gets, and it seems like the perfect way to celebrate a couple who met in such a magical way.