Michael B. Jordan made waves online when he decided to go Instagram official with Lori Harvey at the top of the year.
While speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, the usually private Jordan explained why he felt comfortable enough to tell the world about his new love.
“The situation for me was real enough [to share]. There’s a premeditated planning of staying out of the way [of the public eye] that sometimes kills spontaneity and intimacy,” Jordan explained. “I wanted to take that away and give this the best chance it had, in this weird world that we live in, to be somewhat normal. Long story short, I think it’s just the timing of everything. It was the right time for me. Yeah. I’m happy.”
Jordan also talked about how he’s learned to deal with the public’s opinion, especially when it comes to dating in public. “When I was younger, I don’t know if I could have handled the onslaught of opinions and being picked apart, and also being conscious of what the other person’s going to go through,” he said. “It takes a special person to deal with that.”
Harvey’s father, Steve Harvey, also talked about how happy his daughter has been since meeting Jordan.
“I don’t speak publicly about this type of stuff, but I’m happy for my daughter right now. I really am,” Harvey told People. “It’s the first time I’ve been happy for her [in a relationship]. And it’s the first time she’s been happy.”
While this is the first time Jordan has explicitly talked about his relationship with Harvey, the two have been together for a while now. Page Six pointed out that the couple celebrated their one-year anniversary in the middle of November, with both posting Instagram stories of their personally tailored anniversary dinner.
Elsewhere in the cover story, Denzel Washington is quoted talking about how he believes Jordan has the “it” factor when it comes to acting.
“Whatever that ‘It’ factor is, he has it,” Washington said.
This is high praise coming from someone that Jordan really admires. While promoting the Washington-directed film A Journal for Jordan that he’s starring in, the actor talked about how much of an honor it was to work with one of his idols.
“Everybody wants to work with him, and he’s a very selective guy,” Jordan said. “So the fact that he wanted to work with me was a huge deal for me.”
A Journal for Jordan hits theaters exclusively on Dec. 25.