Sam Smith reportedly engaged to designer Christian Cowan
Sam Smith is engaged to Christian Cowan, according to a “hotel lobby spy” who spilled the tea to Page Six.
“From what I understand, it was a private engagement,” the hotel lobby spy told the outlet after allegedly overhearing the couple discussing their betrothal. “They are over the moon, and from what I hear, so in love!”
We will not pause to consider whether the spy was a publicist, an assistant, a second assistant, a hotel employee or perhaps even a stray NYPD officer employed that night as a security guard, but Page Six says a second person confirmed the news.
The Times has reached out to Smith’s record label for independent confirmation, but has not heard back.
The two Brits were first spotted together in late 2022, when Smith sang at the White House to mark then-President Biden signing the Respect for Marriage Act guaranteeing federal protection for same-sex and interracial marriages. After numerous sightings of the couple out together and sharing kisses in 2023, they confirmed to the New York Times at the 2024 Met Gala that they were dating.
Back in May 2024, the couple made a small splash on the red carpet with Cowan in an ivory suit and Smith in a black one with a sheer suggestion of skirt laying over the pants. But on Monday night, with Cowan in an evocative-of-the-1920s black suit and tie flecked with beads, Smith pulled out the stops, donning a black Cowan-designed gown that weighed more than a fully loaded checked bag on the airline of your choice.
“This is the heaviest thing I’ve ever worn in my life. It’s a massive workout,” Smith told Vogue on the Met Gala red carpet.
“It’s 52 pounds,” Cowan chimed in quietly. “Fifty-two pounds. Sorry.”
Once the smiling designer was prompted to explain the collaboration, he said, “Sam was like, ‘Babe, please make something that’s lighter weight.’ And I didn’t do that. Sorry.” Smith noted that the outfit was “like a corset” on the shoulders.
“There’s no one who knows my body more than this man,” Smith said, which made it easy for them, sitting at home with their Pekingese pups Haggis and Pudding, to dream up what the singer would wear to the couple’s third Met Gala together.
With its mermaid-style skirt, full sleeves, furry collar and panache of tall black feathers on a crowning headpiece, the ensemble was a callback to the opulence of the 1920s, Cowan said, finished off with 255,000 crystals and beads. Two thousand hours of “artisanal hand sewing” got the job done, he said in a quote posted on Smith’s Instagram.
“I feel very lucky to be here and to wear your incredible talent like this, it’s amazing,” the 33-year-old “Stay With Me” vocalist told Cowan.
Can’t wait to see what Smith wears on the big day — hopefully it will be a tad less weighty. Here’s hoping a wedding reception spy is on the guest list.