When Jared Lamar Brown came across a photo of Daniel Curtis Roberts on his Explore page on Instagram in November 2019, he was “immediately intrigued.”
Realizing that, like him, Mr. Roberts lived in Washington, D.C., Mr. Brown decided to follow his account. After Mr. Roberts messaged Mr. Brown, the two had an initial conversation that petered out. In January, when Mr. Brown posted a photo of himself in a robe on the balcony of the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Mr. Roberts felt motivated to reach out again.
“I remember thinking, oh my gosh, he is so handsome,” Mr. Roberts said.
About a week later, they met in person at Sakerum, an Asian fusion restaurant in Washington, that’s now closed.
“He came in with more energy and enthusiasm than any man I’d been on a date with,” Mr. Brown said. “There was something very special and magnetic about him.”
They spent the whole evening together, talking and visiting several bars in the area.
Mr. Roberts, 33, was born in Watertown, N.Y., and grew up in Fort Belvoir, Va., and Moss Point, Miss. In 2013, while studying public policy at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss., he interned in Michelle Obama’s social office for five months. Then, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree, he joined the Office of Management and Budget in the White House as a legislative analyst. He is currently a public affairs media lead at Meta.
Mr. Brown, 34, was born in Charlottesville, Va., and grew up in Amherst and Waynesboro, Va. He holds a bachelor’s degree in African-American studies from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in technology, entrepreneurship and corporate innovation from the University of Maryland, College Park. He worked as an associate in partnerships at the Obama Foundation from 2018 to 2020, then went on to roles at Meta, Apple and Microsoft. He is currently an interim director of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Teaching and Learning Center.
The two bonded over their experience working with the Obamas.
“I came out during my time at the White House, and I was there the night when they lit the White House in rainbow colors after the Supreme Court ruling,” Mr. Roberts said, referring to the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to make same-sex marriage legal. “The president was doing his best to create a country where I, as a Black gay guy from Mississippi, could be my full self.”
He credits former President Barack Obama with being the push that brought him to public service.
Mr. Brown said he felt equally inspired while working to support boys and young men of color at the Obama Foundation. He and Mr. Roberts “really bonded around being a continuation of that important legacy that was also so fundamental in terms of helping us build our careers,” he said.
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A few days after their first date, Mr. Roberts decided to be bold and invite Mr. Brown to see a play called “Pilgrims: Musa and Sheri in the New World” on February 14. After Mr. Brown noted that it was Valentine’s Day, Mr. Roberts asked, “In that case, will you be mine? Send a check for yes, x for no.” (The answer was a check.)
A few weeks later, the pandemic began, and expecting the lockdown to last a week or two, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Brown decided to quarantine together in Mr. Roberts’s studio apartment in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington.
In April 2020, the two went on a road trip to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where Mr. Roberts met Mr. Brown’s beloved grandmother, Arlette Woodson, or “Gang Gang” to her family. After a socially distanced meeting, Gang Gang gave the couple her blessing. Soon after, Mr. Brown surprised Mr. Roberts with a rooftop picnic in their apartment building, presented a Ring Pop, and asked Mr. Roberts to be his boyfriend.
That August, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Brown bought a house together in Washington, where they still live. Though they had only been dating for half a year, they were confident in their relationship.
“We did a lot of things in those first months that people would take a year or two to do,” Mr. Roberts said.
Living in close quarters, Mr. Brown said, meant “I was his best friend, co-worker, therapist and fitness partner. There was this closeness and proximity that led me to get to know him at a very authentic level and to learn that I felt very safe with him.”
Early on in the pandemic, Mr. Roberts’s mother, who has a heart condition, contracted Covid-19.
“Jared saw me cry,” Mr. Roberts said. “For me to be comfortable enough to let him see that unlocked a new level. He comforted me in such a way that I felt the same protection my parents gave me as a kid. I knew I would be OK for the rest of my life when they’re no longer here.”
When pandemic restrictions loosened and the world began opening again, they went through an acclimation period as they learned each other’s social habits.
“My dream date is rest and relaxation,” Mr. Brown said. “I want it to be low-key and calm. Dan is a social butterfly. In the pandemic, it was all isolation and spending time at home, and then in the post-pandemic world, it was oh, peekaboo! We had to grow into a lifestyle that reflects what we both value.”
In 2022, Mr. Brown’s grandmother, Ms. Woodson, died, and his uncle, with whom he was very close, died this year.
“Having Daniel as I was providing others with support gave me my own support system,” Mr. Brown said. “That’s been so special, to feel safe, to feel at home and to feel like, despite the responsibility and all of the changes, I have Daniel here to help me navigate those challenging times.”
In 2023, they adopted a cat together whom they gave the French name Pierre, in honor of their favorite country in Europe. Mr. Brown had always wanted a cat, but Mr. Roberts was allergic.
“I got my allergist to give me a regimen,” Mr. Roberts said. “I have built up immunity. It was something I knew Jared really, really wanted, and it was something I wanted to sacrifice for him.”
In early 2024, Mr. Brown called Tiffany & Company, where Mr. Roberts had bought himself a ring, and impersonated Mr. Roberts, so that he could find out his ring size.
Later, in July, while they were in Santorini to celebrate Mr. Roberts’s birthday, Mr. Brown arranged a photo shoot in a village called Fira, on a balcony overlooking the Aegean Sea.
“I get to the very top, and it’s nothing but water and these huge letters that say, ‘Marry Me,’ and roses in the shape of a heart,” Mr. Roberts said. “I was like, ‘Yes, yes, yes!’ He looks at me and in his calm voice says, ‘I haven’t asked you anything yet.’”
After Mr. Brown finally proposed — with a ring from Cartier’s Love collection — the couple celebrated over dinner at Pyrgos Restaurant, where they spent the evening calling and messaging dozens of loved ones with the news.
“Daniel always has a rollout plan,” Mr. Brown said. “This is a comms person. We had a list of everybody we needed to contact by phone, we had behind-the-scenes photos and videos; we were reaching out to our closest 50 people.”
About six weeks before the wedding, Mr. Roberts and Mr. Brown faced a close call.
When Mr. Roberts went to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to submit his and Mr. Brown’s application for a marriage license, he said an employee told him that if she did not process the documents that day, the license could be delayed for weeks or even months because of the looming federal shutdown. Mr. Roberts frantically called Mr. Brown, asked him to send his Social Security number and a photo of his ID, and submitted the forms about three minutes before the office closed.
The next day, Oct. 1, the court stopped processing new marriage license applications and did not restart until Nov. 12. (A couple of weeks later, the D.C. council passed a law enabling the mayor’s office to issue licenses.)
Mr. Brown’s and Mr. Roberts’s wedding went off without a hitch on Nov. 15 at the Perry Belmont House in Washington, D.C., in front of 152 guests, with their friend Emil Wilbekin, who was ordained through Universal Life Church, officiating.
Mr. Brown and Mr. Roberts, who are fans of the TV show, “The Gilded Age,” said they were inspired by one of its glamorous main characters, Mrs. Russell, who throws over-the-top society parties. For their theme, they chose “French elegance meets African-American culture,” Mr. Roberts said.
“Mrs. Russell would be proud,” Mr. Roberts said.
Before the after party, the grooms changed from all-white tuxedos into monochromatic suits — cognac for Mr. Roberts and chocolate for Mr. Brown — and wore fur stoles around their shoulders. Both looks were designed by Brandon Murphy, who styled Usher for the Met Gala this year.
“The energy was overwhelming,” Mr. Brown said. “It felt like the walls were rumbling as people screamed and cheered for us. We felt so loved.”
On This Day
Where Perry Belmont House, Washington
When Nov. 15, 2025
Friends in the Arts Yannick Lebrun, a principal dancer in the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and a friend of the couple, performed a dance he choreographed to “A Song for You” by Donny Hathaway during the ceremony. “It was breathtaking and very emotional,” Mr. Brown said. During the dinner, Mr. Roberts’s best friend, Deon Jones, who was on the televised singing competition “The Voice” in 2024, sang “Forever” by Jason Nelson. “Deon’s performance took us to church,” Mr. Roberts said. “It was truly a spiritual experience.”
Creole Flavors For dinner, the couple chose an array of Creole-inspired dishes, like pomegranate short rib, bourbon salmon and a vegetarian jambalaya. The hors d’oeuvres included duck confit and fingerling bites, and macarons were served for dessert. “Our friends and especially our family can be tough critics, but everybody had great things to say,” Mr. Brown said.
Full Circle Moment Around midnight, the couple joined 30 guests at Thurst Lounge, a gay bar that opened in the same spot where the restaurant where they had their first date used to be. As they entered, their guests and the other patrons surprised them with applause.
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