Raven-Symoné shares new details about their journey with sexuality, NDAs, and more

Raven-Symoné and her wife Miranda Pearman-Maday open up further about the NDA situation, their coming out journeys, and beyond. 

Raven-Symoné and her wife of three years, Miranda Pearman-Maday, made headlines earlier this month when the “Raven’s Home” star revealed Pearman-Maday, along with other past suitors, signed an NDA to date the actress. Now the couple is opening up further about the matter. 

In a new interview with People magazine, the couple gave details about their new iHeart Radio podcast, “The Best Podcast Ever,” opened up further about their relationship, journeys with sexuality and coming out, and among many things, discussed how the NDA situation went down with Pearman-Maday. 

Raven-Symoné, Miranda Pearman-Maday, Raven-Symoné's wife, Raven-Symoné NDAs, Raven-Symoné sexuality, Raven-Symoné queer, Black queer women, Black celebrity queer women, theGrio.com
Raven-Symoné attends Variety’s Family Entertainment awards at the West Hollywood EDITION on Dec. 8, 2022, in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

The two shared about meeting at a karaoke bar in West Hollywood, followed by a date two days later. Two months after, Raven-Symoné’s mom asked her to have Pearman-Maday sign an NDA.

“It was very difficult for me. I fought against it [with my team] multiple times,” she told People. 

Pearman-Maday told the outlet how the experience made her feel. “I was kind of like, ‘No, I’m not gonna sign that. That’s crazy.’ I didn’t like doing it,” she said.  

Although having her romantic partners sign NDAs became standard practice for the actress, she said it was a business decision she never agreed with. 

“At the time, the people in charge of my career felt it was important. They would search online and see everybody’s personal business out there — they didn’t want that for me. I guess ya’ll didn’t know my business back then, so thank God. But you do now,” she said. 

Since coming out in 2013, Raven-Symoné has not shied away from discussing her sexuality; however, she wishes she had done it sooner.

“I wish I could have come out sooner, but it wasn’t an option. When I finally came out, I felt like I ruined everybody’s childhood,” she said, adding, “As I’ve been out of the closet longer and longer, I get stronger and stronger.”

Reflecting on her 10-year journey in another People article earlier this year, she told the magazine the experience of coming out made her feel vulnerable.

“There was the crumbling of the wall that I had put up for so many years. And I felt very vulnerable, it was an interesting wound that was opened up in public,” she explained.


TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrio’s Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to ‘Writing Black’ with Maiysha Kai.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE