'The Cosby Show's Tempestt Bledsoe Has Been Dating Co-star for 27 Years but They Aren't Married

Tempestt Bledsoe, a.k.a. “Vanessa” from "The Cosby Show," has been dating Darryl Bell for over two decades now, but they are still unmarried. From the look of things, the couple has no solid plans for settling down.

Bledsoe played Cliff and Clair's fourth child as Vanessa Robinson. Though she was an excellent student, she embodied all the problems related to pre-adolescence.

She had the desire to wear makeup and watch movies and go against her parents' wishes. She also had a knack for meddling in affairs that did not concern her.

TEMPESTT BLEDSOE

Tempestt Bledsoe, born in Chicago in 1973, graduated from New York University with a master's degree in Finance. She was also ranked #51 in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid Stars." After "The Cosby Show" came to an end, Bledsoe said:

"I don’t feel it was hard for me to reinvent myself."

Bledsoe started her career in 1986, where she was Grace Wheeler in Season 15, Episode 4 of "The Gift Of Amazing Grace," of the ABC Afterschool Special program.

In 2009, Bledsoe realized that she was not taking good care of her body, so she went on VH1’s "Celebrity Fit Club" and shed 19 lbs.

In 2011, she replaced Niecy Nash as the host of "Clean House" on Style Network. In 2019, Bledsoe was cast in the Netflix show "Family Reunion" episode #10, "Remember When Our Boys Became Men?"

DARRYL BELL

The American actor is best known for his role as Big Brother X-Ray Vision in the 1988 Spike Lee film "School Daze" and Ron Johnson Jr. on the NBC sitcom "A Different World."

Shortly after graduating from Syracuse University, Darryl Bell was cast as smooth-talking schemer Ron Johnson on "A Different World."

His father, Travers J. Bell Jr. was known as the founder of the first black firm on the New York Stock Exchange. His acting career has mostly been on TV shows.

BLEDSOE AND BELL'S RELATIONSHIP

Former Cosby kid Tempestt Bledsoe, 47, has been involved in a long-term relationship with 58-year-old Darryl Bell since 1993. There doesn’t seem to be a plan for making things official yet.

Bell was in the NBC TV comedy "A Different World," a spinoff of "The Cosby Show," where Bledsoe made a guest appearance. According to The List, the couple met on the show.

Darryl said in an interview with V-013 that he doesn’t mind the current status of their relationship. He also likes being the "Stedman" to her "Oprah."

Darryl not only appears to be happily unmarried, but he is also comfortable with the woman in his life being the breadwinner. Several years ago, the actor inherited $14 million from his father’s estate.

He misappropriated it all with his poor investment decisions. So it makes sense that Tempestt is in charge of the finances. Explaining their unconventional relationship, Darryl emphasized the need to make each other laugh:

“I think it is that it is really important that we are able to make each other laugh.”

However, Tempestt’s response to People insinuated something different. Asked why they were never interested in walking down the aisle, the actress said; “I wouldn’t say never, but we feel great about the way things are.”

Either way, Bledsoe appears to be happy. “This is a tough business for anyone, especially if you start out young,” she says of Hollywood. “I feel really lucky about the way things have turned out.”

Two decades is a long time. The couple also appeared in nine episodes of "House Husbands Of Hollywood" and were one of the only unmarried couples to feature.