This week’s National Enquirer states that Queen Latifah plans to marry her partner of five years, personal trainer Jeannette Jenkins, after the groundbreaking ruling in California that legalized same-sex marriages. Latifah has been notoriously tight-lipped about her relationship with Jenkins, and told Ebony Magazine that she was not going to comment on the rumor that Jenkins was her girlfriend. She didn’t deny it, she just got annoyed that someone even asked her the question:

“No comment on that at all. I’m done commenting on all that … It’s ridiculous, I know me and that’s all I need to know.

“And if the readers don’t know me, then that’s one part they aren’t going to get to know. Those are my people but they don’t sleep with me,” she says in a very even tone that is very consistent with her relaxed mood. “It feels so invasive. It’s the one thing I don’t think people need to know about.”

[From Ebony, October 2007 via Jasmyne Cannick]

And she told Essence in September, 2006 ” “If I’m not going to tell you what guy I’m dating, I sure wouldn’t tell you I’m dating a girl.”

So if this is true, it’s a big step for Latifah, who’s never even mentioned Jeannette. She has a lot of high-profile endorsement contracts as well as her movie career, so maybe she fears a backlash if she comes out or just doesn’t think it’s anyone’s business. The Enquirer points out that Jeanette isn’t out, either, and that she “previously denied being gay and once claimed to be engaged to a man.”

In September of last year, Latifah bought Jeannette a new car, a Range Rover she had delivered to surprise her at a restaurant where they were having lunch.

The two are said to be “planning an intimate ceremony with close family and friends,” according to The Enquirer. Latifah has said she would like to adopt a child, particular an American baby, and this may be the first step toward showing her commitment to Jeannette and to providing a stable home life. Congratulations to Latifah and Jeanette if this is true.