TLC’s Chilli and Matthew Lawrence go public: ‘They are really cute together’


Well, well, well, what do we have here? Over the summer, there was speculation that Matthew Lawrence and Chilli Thomas were dating after they were spotted on the beach together in Hawaii. This sighting came a few months after Matthew’s divorce from Cheryl Burke was announced, and Matthew and Chilli’s teams were quick to shut down speculation that the two were together. But not anymore! Chilli and Matthew finally went Instagram and tabloid official over the weekend.

Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas and Matthew Lawrence are diggin’ on each other.

The TLC singer, 51, and Brotherly Love actor, 42, are dating, Chilli’s rep, Christal Jordan, confirms to PEOPLE.

The two became involved romantically just ahead of Thanksgiving, after they were previously photographed on a beach in Hawaii in August.

Jordan further confirms that Chilli and Matthew spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in Atlanta, where the actor met Chilli’s family.

“I’ve been with Chilli since 2005 and I’ve never seen her this in love,” Jordan tells PEOPLE. “She is glowing. They are really cute together.”

The two went Instagram official over New Year’s weekend, sharing a joint Instagram post that featured a video of them dancing in match Christmas pajamas, in the style of A-ha’s “Take on Me” music video.

“This makes me very happy!! ❤️❤️,” Matthew’s former Boy Meets World costar Danielle Fishel wrote in a comment.

TMZ was the first to report that the two are dating.

[From People]

So they announced with a cute video and Chilli’s rep confirmed that they’re dating. They don’t confirm the timeline but maybe they got together shortly before or after hanging out in Hawaii. Maybe their relationship was more new then and they wanted more distance from Matthew’s divorce before officially going public. Over the summer, Cheryl Burke hinted heavily that she and Matthew were divorcing because of his cheating. Okay, she actually put him on blast with a bunch of vague yet pointed posts about it. She didn’t specifically call out Chilli then, or now, but did post “well, that was fast” after her ex-husband’s relationship was confirmed this time. I feel bad for Cheryl because it definitely sucks to see an ex move on. And if that ex did you wrong it especially stings to see them happy. But I’m very interested in this Chilli/Matthew pairing. Chilli was always my favorite member of TLC. This is the unexpected, millennial childhood nostalgia couple we didn’t know we needed. They even look the same! (For context, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester are the obvious, millennial teen nostalgia couple we did know we needed). I want to see more cute dancing videos and more of Chilli back in the gossip sphere.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

photos credit: Jules Annan/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram and YouTube. Photo note by Celebitchy: I’m sorry for the weird header photo I’m not trying to be shady! There are no photos of Matthew from the past few years that aren’t with Cheryl Burke so it’s a screenshot from YouTube. Also all the new photos of Chilli are of her performing.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

19 Responses to “TLC’s Chilli and Matthew Lawrence go public: ‘They are really cute together’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Amy Bee says:

    The video’s cute. All the best to them.

  2. Enny says:

    Whoa!

  3. Snuffles says:

    Wow, she’s 51 and he’s 42. She doesn’t look 51 at all. Ages ago I saw her at the mall once in Beverly Hills and I thought she was a tween. She was with a friend and her daughter and I also thought she was the friends daughter. That’s how young she looked. She was probably in her 30s at the time. Those are some good genes.

    • Lucy says:

      I think she’s dated younger a lot. She and Usher were together for a few years, I’m pretty sure he’s younger. She’s completely stunning, I hope they’re happy.

  4. SAS says:

    I’m letting the millennial team down because I have no idea who the man is but I loveeee TLC so I hope he’s good enough for Chilli! The Xmas dancing was super cute.

    • LadyE says:

      I also didn’t know who he was, but looked him up and he’s Joey Lawrence’s little brother (who I do remember) and apparently was the little boy in Mrs. Doubtfire. Also, yes, love TLC and Chili!! She looked happy, yay!

  5. Pointillist says:

    Cheryl Burke – never heard of her and she is fricken hot!!

    Also I’d go Joey over Matthew.

  6. Angie says:

    So Matthew Lawrence like sisters. Good for Chili and I’m sorry Cheryl’s hurt. Wish her healing and love.

  7. manda says:

    That is cute! I didn’t remember him being in Boy Meets World. I am going to age myself, but I remember him in Gimme a Break with his older brother. Gosh they were cute kids. I don’t know why we never hear about Gimme a Break or Nell Carter anymore. She was such an amazing singer

  8. USA_noob says:

    As usual genX gets ignored. 😆 Chilli is 51, making her genX.

    This is a millennial/genX pairing and I support it. Such a cute video.

  9. AT says:

    Surprised how many people don’t remember Matthew Lawrence! I always had a crush on him. He was in the hot chick (Rachel mcadams bf silly billy nilly), Shawn’s brother/Eric’s bestfriend on boy meets world, mrs doubtfire, angels in the end zone etc

  10. Solidgold says:

    This is random!

  11. ChillinginDC says:

    Cute!

  12. Danna says:

    I just see Kip and LaFawndah

  13. theotherviv says:

    I feel for Burke. Correct me if I am wrong but isn’t this the second time this has happened to her? We don’t watch her on Euro TV as we have our own Dancing with the Stars dancers but from what I have read about her in the celebrity rags she has been through the wringer.

    • K.T says:

      I consume lots of dance content so I like Dancing with the Stars and thought I never saw the first seasons, watched it recently. Therefore, i have a soft spot for Burke and she seems really feisty & strong willed, talked about overcoming addiction and I like how she’s a bigger dancer. Dancers have it tough because they are athletes and entertainers that don’t last long, so I tend to give them all more credit! Good luck Chilli, but I wonder if she can do much better?!

  14. imara219 says:

    I mean, are they cute together? I don’t know but the word on the street is that he’s a cheater-mc-cheat-face, so I wish the best for them but yikes on a bike for Chilli