DeVon Franklin keeps a stunning woman on his arm.
The film producer, author, and minister stepped out with his new girlfriend during the Merge Awards in early November, which honors individuals who successfully combine their faith with their work in entertainment. During a chat with TheJasmineBrand on the carpet, Franklin had trainer Maria Castillo by his side. When asked if she was his date for the night, he took it a step further.
“Is this my date? Absolutely. This my girl,” Franklin said. The reporter, impressed, then asked why it’s so important to communicate clearly and “speak life” when talking about the people in your life. He made a point about how calling her a “date” would have been saying she’s just someone temporary in his life, but she’s much more.
“It’s critical. Sometimes you say date, it’s like, oh yeah, cool, but that implies a moment. When I’m saying this is my girl, I’m saying, that’s a commitment,” he said. “I think it’s very important when we make a commitment to be ok with verbalizing that, vocalizing that, especially in relationships. Because there are so many forces that can create division and insecurity, so communicating and being clear on our commitment is vitally important.”
The awards presentation wasn’t their red carpet debut, though. In October, about a month after rumors that they were dating began, they went to The Pink Awards at The House of Hope Atlanta. They looked good together at that event, too, which honors breast cancer survivors, advocates, and more.
Castillo is a popular trainer for the stars, like Angela Simmons. She is known for her Flawed & FIT program and has more than 125,000 followers on Instagram. She is originally from the Dominican Republic.
The last person Franklin was publicly linked to was his ex-wife, Meagan Good. He was married to the actress from 2012 until they announced their split in 2021. Soon after the divorce was finalized, Good began dating actor Jonathan Majors. Earlier this year, Franklin said that while the divorce did shake his belief system temporarily, he still has love for the actress and always will.
“Love is eternal. So my love for her doesn’t stop at marriage,” he told Nick Cannon. “My commitment to her well-being is still intact.”
But he also had no problem being honest about how necessary it was for him to confront the pain he felt about the end of their union. Doing the work gave him a positive perspective on things.
“I wouldn’t say that it didn’t work. I wouldn’t say it was unsuccessful,” Franklin said of their surprising end at the time. “Because maybe it did exactly what it was trying to do. That also was a perspective that I had to kinda learn as I went through my healing.”
Perhaps everything happened to bring them to the people they are both with now. Either way, we’re glad to see both parties moving on and finding love again.
