Billy Porter Says He’s ‘Back on the Market’ After Filing for Divorce: ‘Looking Forward to the Next Adventure’

Billy Porter is navigating life after announcing his breakup with husband Adam Smith.

PEOPLE revealed in early July that the singer/actor, 53, and Smith “made the sad decision to end their marriage after six years,” Porter’s rep said in a statement.

“The decision was an amicable and mutual one and was made after much consideration,” the statement added. “They continue to love and support each other as they embark on this next chapter.”

In an interview with the U.K.’s Evening Standard, the “Broke a Sweat” singer joked, “The whole world knows I’m getting a divorce! Y’all want to talk about my divorce and Ricky Martin’s at the same time?” (Singer Martin, 51, and husband Jwan Yosef also announced their divorce in July after six years of marriage.)

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Adam Smith and Billy Porter in January 2020.
Santiago Felipe/Getty

Porter said of his breakup with Smith, “Relationships are hard. I will always love him. We made it as far as we could. But we learn, we grow and we live. And I’m looking forward to the next … adventure.”

“She’s back on the market! Looking for an English huzzzband!” said Porter, who’s currently stationed in London while performing. “And you have to spell it just like that: huzzzband!”

Porter proposed to Smith in London back in December 2016, and they got married two weeks later on Jan. 14, 2017. They’d met in 2009 at a dinner party and later broke up after dating for about a year; however, five years later, they rekindled their romance.

In 2017, Porter told PEOPLE why getting married was an important milestone for him.

“We both grew up in households where who we are is labeled an ‘abomination,’ ” he said at the time. “The thought of marriage, there was no context for it — there was no dreaming about it because there was no context to dream; it was unspoken and very clear that the sanctity of marriage was not for us.”

Adam Smith and Billy Porter in January 2019.
Kevork Djansezian/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal

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“So to see that come around, to see that tide turned, it still takes my breath away; I’m still trying to find the words to describe it,” Porter added.

“I didn’t think I needed it. I lived with this idea that it just wasn’t for us. So when we went to get our marriage license the other day, the act of that was so powerful in a way that crept up on the both of us, and it just grounded that moment.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education