Destiny's Child Star Michelle Williams Announces Engagement to Pastor Chad Johnson
After a year of dating, Destiny's Child Star Michelle Williams announced Thursday that she is engaged to marry Pastor Chad Johnson, who serves as chaplain for the Pittsburgh Steelers, L.A. Dodgers and founded Elevate International — a Christ-focused mentorship organization that works in urban communities.
"On March 21, 2018, the love of my life @chadjohnson77 proposed and I said 'Yesssssssss.....I will, I will, I will!!!" Williams wrote in an Instagram post Thursday.
Johnson also shared his own announcement on Instagram, declaring in a nod to his fiancée's 2014 song "Say Yes": "Well, When Jesus say 'Yes' ... not even @michellewilliams can say 'No!!'"
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Well, When Jesus say “Yes” ... not even @michellewilliams can say “No!!”
Williams, who reunited with Destiny's Child group members Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland in a celebrated performance at Coachella on Saturday, shared in another post just over a day before announcing her engagement how Johnson has supported her despite the different "worlds" in which they work.
"That amazing feeling of getting off the stage, running back to the dressing room and I see someone standing there waiting for me! I always wondered how our worlds would mesh. I always wanted to protect who you are, your ministry and platform because people are nuts and cruel, but you have covered me, prayed for me and told me that wherever I go, and whatever stage I stand on to be a light! Soooooooo sorry I jumped on you but I'm glad to know you have muscles to hold me! You so stronnnnnnnng! I've waited yeeeeeeears for someone who could come in to my world and be CONFIDENT and NOT insecure, love who I love and genuinely be there for people!! I LOVE YOU @chadjohnson77!!!" she wrote.
Williams, 37, told People that she met Johnson, 40, at a spiritual retreat in March 2017.
In a March 10 post, Williams revealed that it was Elevate International's Remix Young Adults Retreat. The retreat began in 2009 "out of an appeal to create a liberating and inspiring experience for young adults."
"The heart of Remix retreats is to reveal that God wants a deeper relationship with His children. This has been the foundation of the retreat, allowing young adults to have a connection to God and help build other relationships around them. Through Elevate Remix, lives are continually transformed with amazing worship experiences, dynamic teaching and incredible guests," the program's website explains.
Williams said when she attended for the first time last year she was "BROKEN" but a year after finding love, she attended the retreat this year with a "healthy spirit."
"The past two days at @chadjohnson77's @elevateint Remix Young Adults Retreat has been phenomenal. Seeing young people come together to sing, dance, worship God and get some good teaching has blessed me! I'm so glad to be here. Last year I came for the first time and I was soooooo BROKEN! This year I come with a healthy spirit and honored to serve in whatever capacity I am asked! @chadjohnson77 I love you so much and I pray you take all of this in and be strengthened knowing that God met us here and the yeeeeeeears of you leading this ministry will yield incredible blessings beyond what you could have EVER imagined!!" she wrote.
After meeting at the retreat last year, the couple told People they kept in touch, through Instagram, text messaging and FaceTime calls before going public with their relationship last July. Johnson proposed on March 21 with a 5-carat engagement ring and they plan on getting married this summer.
Johnson, whose parents divorced when he was 13, told People that after focusing on his career and helping to raise his teenage nephews: "The biggest desire in my life is to have a wife and kids."
"I was getting ready to turn 40, she's in her late 30s. Neither of us have been married, had children, and I think you just get to a place sometimes where you're just so career-driven, so focused on what you're doing at the moment, that it's kind of a comfort zone. ... Both of us were in very similar places on a personal level," he said on how they connected.
Williams says she has received the blessings of her Destiny's Child sisters and Beyoncé's mother, Tina Lawson, noted last September that the couple is "evenly yoked."
