Ryan Destiny Confirms She and Keith Powers Are Back on 3 Years After Split: 'We're More Than Best Friends' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ryan Destiny and Keith Powers.Photo:Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix

Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix

Ryan Destiny is confirming her relationship with Keith Powers is back on.The “best friends,” as the actress, 30, tells PEOPLE at theESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awardson Thursday,split in 2022after four years together but have remained close. Now, she says, Powers, 32, is her special someone again.“I just love him so much and I just appreciate him every step of the way,” says Destiny with a smile. “He’s such a cheerleader for me, as I am for him. It just means everything. We’re just best friends — you know, we’re more than best friends.”Being “very supportive of each other,” Destiny adds, is “something that we’ll continue to do.” That includes each other’s work on the big screen; in December, Powers told PEOPLE that Destiny’s work in the lead role ofThe Fire Insidemade him “cry a bunch of times.”“Yes, he did cry,” confirms Destiny with a laugh. “That was really special. It made me emotional too. He’s not a crier.”Ryan Destiny and Keith Powers.Getty Images For NAACPThe Fire Inside, from director Rachel Morrison and screenwriterBarry Jenkins, tells the real-life story of Flint, Michigan-based boxerClaressa “T-Rex” Shields, who overcame the odds to win a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Audiences’ positive responses to the movie — including, yes, Powers and other loved ones tearing up — have been gratifying, says Destiny.“The fact that it has been received how it has, it means the world,” she says. “My younger brother, he cried, my dad, so many people. People that I know who don’t usually get emotional did. It’s things like that that I’m just very proud of. And yeah, seeing Keith cry was something that was so, so special. I loved every second of it.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Ryan Destiny.Christopher Polk/Variety via GettyBalancing a Hollywood career alongside theUgliesactor is “really important,” adds Destiny. “Having to navigate ourselves individually and then having to do it as a collective is something that is always a challenge in our minds and something that we care about. So having his support is literally just something that I have always loved.”The 18th annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, includedCynthia Erivo,Marla GibbsandTeyana Tayloramong its honorees. Asked what else is keeping her grounded and focused, Destiny responds without hesitation: “People around me, artists especially, and particularly Black women, always are inspiring me and pushing me.”

Ryan Destiny is confirming her relationship with Keith Powers is back on.

The “best friends,” as the actress, 30, tells PEOPLE at theESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awardson Thursday,split in 2022after four years together but have remained close. Now, she says, Powers, 32, is her special someone again.

“I just love him so much and I just appreciate him every step of the way,” says Destiny with a smile. “He’s such a cheerleader for me, as I am for him. It just means everything. We’re just best friends — you know, we’re more than best friends.”

Being “very supportive of each other,” Destiny adds, is “something that we’ll continue to do.” That includes each other’s work on the big screen; in December, Powers told PEOPLE that Destiny’s work in the lead role ofThe Fire Insidemade him “cry a bunch of times.”

“Yes, he did cry,” confirms Destiny with a laugh. “That was really special. It made me emotional too. He’s not a crier.”

Ryan Destiny and Keith Powers.Getty Images For NAACP

Getty Images For NAACP

The Fire Inside, from director Rachel Morrison and screenwriterBarry Jenkins, tells the real-life story of Flint, Michigan-based boxerClaressa “T-Rex” Shields, who overcame the odds to win a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Audiences’ positive responses to the movie — including, yes, Powers and other loved ones tearing up — have been gratifying, says Destiny.

“The fact that it has been received how it has, it means the world,” she says. “My younger brother, he cried, my dad, so many people. People that I know who don’t usually get emotional did. It’s things like that that I’m just very proud of. And yeah, seeing Keith cry was something that was so, so special. I loved every second of it.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ryan Destiny.Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty

Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty

Balancing a Hollywood career alongside theUgliesactor is “really important,” adds Destiny. “Having to navigate ourselves individually and then having to do it as a collective is something that is always a challenge in our minds and something that we care about. So having his support is literally just something that I have always loved.”

The 18th annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Awards, held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, includedCynthia Erivo,Marla GibbsandTeyana Tayloramong its honorees. Asked what else is keeping her grounded and focused, Destiny responds without hesitation: “People around me, artists especially, and particularly Black women, always are inspiring me and pushing me.”

source: people.com