Halle Bailey is off the market, and she made it clear at one of music’s biggest industry nights. As theGrio has reported, Bailey spent much of 2025 navigating a difficult public custody battle with her ex and son Halo’s father, DDG, and she closed out that chapter by describing the year as transformative and saying she felt healed and free.
Now, she’s stepping into something new. Essence reported that Bailey attended the ASCAP 2026 Pop Awards in Hollywood on April 30, showing up arm-in-arm with record producer Scott Bridgeway, born Ruchaun Akers.
Halle Bailey’s (potential) new boyfriend moment had been building quietly. The two were first spotted together in July 2025 on a yacht in Italy, and rumors started even earlier after she was reportedly seen holding his hand at a Kendrick Lamar concert in May of that year.
Bridgeway’s Grammy credentials are no small thing. He took home a “Record of the Year” award at this year’s ceremony for his production work on “Luther,” the Kendrick Lamar and SZA collaboration that dominated the airwaves. He also picked up an ASCAP award for “Luther” and a second for “Squabble Up,” both from Lamar’s “GNX” album. His connection to Kendrick’s world runs deeper than those records. His big break came through Baby Keem, Lamar’s cousin, after a chance encounter during a video game session in the pandemic led to a link-up with producer Cardo. That connection landed Bridgeway production credits on 10 songs from Keem’s 2021 debut, “The Melodic Blue.”
His ties to Bailey’s family also predate the relationship. Bridgeway worked with her older sister Chloe Bailey on “Fallin 4 U,” off Chloe’s 2023 solo debut album “In Pieces.”
The Roanoke, Virginia native told Cardinal News in 2025 that his sound traces back to his mother, a former DJ who raised him on everything from rock to rap. “
I basically got my musical tastes from my mom,” he said. “We’d be in the car and I remember hearing ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’ [by Snoop Dogg]. The Neptunes played a big part of my music influences. I fell in love with them.” For Halle Bailey, her new boyfriend comes with a resume that speaks for itself long before the red carpet moment.
