Inside Normani and DK Metcalfe’s Love Story: From Meet-Cute to Matrimony

The Breakdown: Singer Normani and NFL player Dekaylin "DK" Metcalf met through mutual celebrity friends and sparked dating rumors shortly after. From their first public appearance and making their relationship Instagram official to their 2025 engagement, we've watched their love story unfold before our eyes.

We have Ciara and Russell Wilson to thank for Normani's love story with Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DeKaylin “DK” Metcalf. After meeting through the Wilsons, Normani and DK became engaged in March 2025, proving a co-sign from them is all we need.

Let's get our dose of Dopamine as we look into the lovebirds' relationship timeline.

Normani and DK became the subject of dating rumors in 2022. Paparazzi caught them attending dinner at a celebrity fave, Giorgio Baldi, in Santa Monica, Calif., per the New York Post. Normani stepped out in a black minidress and bun while DK rocked a pink jacket with iron-ons of several basketball teams and a Notorious B.I.G. t-shirt. Though they were spotted leaving the dinner together, they wouldn't confirm their relationship until the following year.

DK and Normani's not-so-sneaky linkup came after the pair met through a blind date that the Wilsons arranged. In an interview with Ebro Darden for Apple Music, the "Work" singer said she knew something was up when Ciara insisted she attend a party Russell arranged for DK to attend. At the time, he and Russell played for the Seahawks.

"She was really adamant about coming,” Normani recalled. “I just knew it was something else because she was very adamant, and when I was on the way, she was like, ‘Oh yeah, your boy’s gonna be there.’"

While some couples prefer keeping their relationship offline, others believe that if you say your romance isn't on the 'gram, it's not the real thing. Normani and DK proved to ascribe the latter notion when they publicly confirmed their relationship via Instagram.

The former Fifth Harmony member was the first to make it official by of her beau kissing her on the cheek while they attended his Seahawks teammate Tyler Lockett's wedding in July 2023.

After a year of bae-cations and Normani embracing her inner Sunbeam, she and DK seemed steadfastly happy with their relationship. She shared with Rolling Stone that being with her man allowed her to tap into her inner "lover girl" fully.

"I wear my heart on my sleeve, and finding space where that’s reciprocated feels good," she said. "I like to see myself happy. I really do."

When we thought we couldn't love these two enough, Normani proved us wrong by sharing how she and DK's love inspired her first studio album, Dopamine. In the same interview with Rolling Stone, she shared that DK inspired several songs on her album. On The Terrell Show in 2024, she specifically said that “Lights On” is about wanting to be intimate with the lights on. Normani said DK was "hyped" to be her muse. Surprise, surprise!

In March 2025, Normani "graduated" from a footballer's girlfriend to the future Mrs. Metcalfe! DK proposed to his love in her hometown, Houston, Texas. The NFL star announced the happy news during a press conference after he was traded from the Seahawks to the Steelers. During the interview, DK asked Normani to "Hold that rock up, baby," and she happily obliged.

"My family and her family was in Houston," he explained to the crowd, "It was my sister's Spring Break, and just thought about getting the whole family together for a big kumbaya and joining our families with the ring."

Normani told Vogue the following day that she had no idea DK was planning to propose, admitting she was "as oblivious as oblivious can get." Despite being shocked to see her boyfriend on one knee for what she thought was a surprise party for his sister, she said, "Yes!"

Normani and DK have been the cutest couple during their courtship, and we can't wait for their new era as the Metcalfes. Congratulations to the lovely couple!