Sam Smith and Christian Cowan's Relationship: All About the Singer and Fashion Designer's Romance

Sam Smith and Christian Cowan made their red carpet debut at the Met Gala in May 2024

Sam Smith and Christian Cowan are protective of their relationship.

While the pair were first spotted out together in December 2022, they didn’t officially confirm their relationship until May 2024.

Smith — who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns — and Cowan walked the red carpet at the Met Gala while holding hands in coordinating suits.

Cowan discussed the custom looks he designed with The New York Times following the event and confirmed that he and the “Unholy” singer have been dating for about two years.

Cowan and Smith are very supportive of each other, with the singer often attending their partner’s runway shows. However, the duo haven’t shared how they met and mainly keep their relationship off of social media. Speaking with GQ U.K. in October 2022, Smith said after previous public relationships, they prefer to keep their romantic life private.

“Over the last few years, as I’ve become confident in my skin, I’ve got loads of wonderful romantic attention. It’s been incredible,” the singer said. “I’ve decided that I will always keep that private now. I have had relationships where I’ve shared stuff online and talked about it here and there. And I just don’t want to do that. I think being loved by someone is such a gift – for yourself. And I think my job can get in the way of that – the purity of that love – sometimes.”

Here’s everything to know about Sam Smith and Christian Cowan’s relationship.

They started dating in 2022

Smith and Cowan first sparked romance rumors in December 2022 when they posed for a photo with President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff at the White House. The “Stay With Me” singer was there to perform in celebration of Biden officially signing the Respect for Marriage Act.

A month later, Smith and Cowan visited a tattoo studio in Sydney, Australia. The tattoo artist posted a photo with the pair and shared that he'd inked Smith with a red plant design. The two were also spotted on a walk in New York City that same week. The couple was photographed walking arm-in-arm, and Smith was snapped giving Cowan a kiss on his head.

After being seen together multiple times throughout 2023, Cowan officially confirmed to The New York Times in May 2024 that he and Smith have been dating for about two years.

Smith supports Cowan at his runway shows

Smith is very supportive of Cowan’s career as a fashion designer. The singer attended Cowan's first show on Valentine’s Day in 2023 during New York Fashion Week. Smith sat in the front row and wore one of Cowan’s designs, a silver sequin coat over a red jumpsuit.

In September 2023, Smith gave a runway performance of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round” during Cowan’s Paris Fashion Week show, which was a tribute to the band’s late lead singer Pete Burns.

“Ultimately, I’d like to capture the punk, British, glamorous and experimental nature of Burns within this collection. To bolster this, there could be no greater choice than a performance by @samsmith to evoke this spirit,” Cowan wrote on Instagram. “As they have done through their incredible and boundary pushing career.”

They made their red carpet debut at the Met Gala

Smith and Cowan made their first red carpet appearance at the 2024 Met Gala in custom looks by the designer. Smith wore a black tuxedo with a sheer skirt overlay and a silver-plated rose, while Cowan donned a matching white tuxedo with a gold-plated rose.

Speaking with Vogue, Cowan said he was inspired to create the dual looks after reading J.G. Ballard’s short story “The Garden of Time,” which was the dress code for the event.

“We immediately looked towards old-world tailoring—specifically, Oscar Wilde,” he said. “As for the choice of flora, I gravitated toward the English rose, something celebrating both Sam and I's heritage. The roses are in fact real red roses, then dipped into solid 24-carat gold and sterling silver; These roses then skewer through the tailoring, forming as a closure.”

Cowan also shared that he added a sheer skirt to Smith’s outfit to “balance the traditional masculine tailoring toward a gender neutral position.” The metal-plated roses were another intentional addition to the pair’s outfits.

The designer told Vogue in an interview on the red carpet that the roses were a nod to the beginning of his relationship with Smith. “Early on in our days, I gave Sam a metal-plated rose,” Cowan said. “So it was a nod to that moment.”

Smith has worn Cowan’s designs on several occasions

The Met Gala wasn’t the first time Smith has worn Cowan’s designs. The “Dancing with a Stranger” singer often attends Cowan’s runway shows in custom looks, including at the designer’s Winter/Autumn 2024 show, where they wore a star-patterned blouse and a black taffeta skirt.

For Smith’s Gloria tour in 2023, they wore a custom design by Cowan, an organza and tulle gown that featured corset and rose detailing. The star also donned a satin tuxedo dress by Cowan for their “I’m Not Here to Make Friends” music video.

In a Facebook post celebrating their music video, Smith praised Cowan’s designs. “It’s been an honour to wear Christian’s work and work with him on this outfit and video. I have never felt as sexy and as free as I did wearing Christian’s clothes,” the singer said. “I am so grateful to Christian for creating something so truly and authentically fabulous and timeless. It’s the sillouette of my dreams.”

They are a private couple

Though they had a few public outings before confirming their romance, Smith and Cowan are still a very private couple. They didn’t share personal posts about each other on social media until after their red carpet debut at the 2024 Met Gala. Smith posted a photo from the event on Instagram, writing, “Side by side, always 🌹.”

That same month, Cowan celebrated Smith’s birthday by sharing a photo of the singer in a sequin suit he designed, calling them a “birthday beauty.”

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