Congratulations are in order for Alisan Porter and Justin de Vera, who tied the knot on Sunday and began their happily ever after together. The couple have known each other for more than two decades and have been dating for nearly six years, but are finally taking the next step in their relationship.
They announced their engagement in August 2022, roughly one year after they welcomed their first child – a daughter named Shilo, who turns 2 years old later this year. Shilo is Justin’s first child, but Alisan’s third child overall – she shares two children with ex-husband Ben Autenrieth, who she divorced in 2017.
“I think for both Justin and me, we have been best friends for so long that this just feels like the next step. We’ve known each other for over 20 years. We’ve had an amazing six years together, raised incredible kids and had our own baby. So this is what we’ve been waiting for,” Alisan told PEOPLE in an interview.
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Alisan Porter, who won Season 10 of The Voice, met Justin de Vera (a professional dancer) at a dance studio during their childhood. They remained close friends ever since, but their relationship didn’t turn romantic until six years ago – when they started dating, following her divorce from Ben Autenrieth.
The engagement came at a David Gray concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Justin ended up asking her to marry him during Gray’s ‘This Year’s Love’ – a song they consider to be ‘their song.’ They proved as much at their wedding, playing the song during their first dance as husband and wife.
The wedding took place at the Venus Garden Chapel at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 16. They exchanged their own, handwritten vows and described it as an intimate wedding that was ‘very personal and very us.’ “We didn’t go for any kind of traditional anything — just what felt right to us.”
The officiant of the wedding was a close friend of the couple named Guy. Alisan introduced Guy and Justin when they were children and they’ve been best friends ever since. She considers Guy to be a cousin and was her grandmother’s godson. It made for quite a special moment for the newlywed couple.
A Look Back at Alisan Porter and Her Career So Far
Alisan Porter rose to prominence as a child actor in the late-1980s and eventually earned a lead role in the 1991 film Curly Sue alongside Jim Belushi – she was just 10 years old when the film came out. She continued acting throughout her schooling days, but didn’t make any major film or TV appearances.
After graduating high school, she made the move to New York and started auditioning for Broadway shows. She was cast in Footloose in New York and The Ten Commandments: The Musical in Los Angeles. She started to transition to music throughout the 2000s, forming several bands during that time.
In 2016, she auditioned for The Voice and wowed all four judges – ultimately choosing Christina Aguilera as her coach. She made her way into the top-48 and continued to impress the judges – and viewers – throughout the season. She won the competition in May 2016, giving Aguilera her first win as a coach.
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The following year, she divorced her husband and started dating Justin de Vera. In 2019, she released her third studio album, Pink Cloud. Two years later, their child was born and they’re now ready to live happily ever after together. The only question now is will there be more children (or music) on the way?!