Tyler Perry's longtime partner turns heads in flowy dress in photo with grandma while in Ethiopia

Gelila Bekele, the longtime partner of actor and director Tyler Perry, took to Instagram to share a photo of her next to her grandmother during her trip to Ethiopia.

In the image, the Ethiopian model appeared wearing a beautiful, loose, red, and yellow dress. One of the most striking aspects of her outfit, though, was the straw hat that gave her the final chic touch.

Next to Gelila, an elderly lady was standing with the help of a walking cane while wearing a white and yellow ensemble. For the caption, the model wrote, “my Grandma (Aman’s great-grandma)” followed by the hashtag “God is Good.”

PEOPLE’S REACTION

As soon as she uploaded that image, her followers took to the comment section to share their thoughts.

“What a nice foto of you two!” [sic] wrote one user.

“Oh Love. This is All Things. Family First and Forever!! Blessings to you and Aman always,” [sic] admitted a second follower.

“Wow, God bless her loads, amen,” added another person.

GELILA’S RELATIONSHIP

Tyler and Gelila have been dating since 2007 when they met each other at a Prince concert. In 2014, they welcomed their first son together, Aman Tyler Perry. The actor revealed that he learned he was going to be a father in a very unusual way.

During an interview with People, Tyler said that he received a FaceTime call from his partner, who was holding up the pregnancy test showing it was positive. Later, the director pointed out that there was no other person that he would like to have a child with, proving how much he loves Gelila.

STEPHANIE MILLS SPILLING THE TEA

Singer and songwriter Stephanie Mills shared a photo on her Instagram account back in 2017 that might suggest that the couple got secretly married at some point during their relationship.

In the image, the singer is between Tyler and Gelila at the Tyler Perry Cast Party in Atlanta, Georgia. Although the image itself didn’t prove anything, Stephanie’s caption shared “a lot of” information about Gelila.

“Tyler Perry, his lovely wife, Gelila and I at The Tyler Perry Cast Party in Atlanta GA.” However, neither Gelila nor Tyler has confirmed if they are married.

What might have happened is that, since the couple has been together for so long, some people (including Stephanie) might see them as a married couple even though they are not.

GELILA’S LIFE AND CAREER

Gelila was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Before being scouted for Ford Magazine, she lived between Europe and the United States.

After she got her first modeling gig, well-known brands as L’Oreal and Pantene signed her for their campaigns. Apart from her career in the entertainment industry, she has spent most of her life working with the organization Charity: Water.