Inside Dancing with the Stars host Alfonso Ribeiro’s sweet love story with wife Angela Unkrich

Alfonso Ribeiro has returned to Dancing with the Stars for season 33, and his wife, Angela Unkrich, might just be his biggest cheerleader. 

The couple have been together for over a decade, and will celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary in October. But Angela still tunes into watch Dancing with the Stars, as she revealed ahead of the 32nd season that she had got glammed up to watch the season premiere.

Since crossing paths at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills in 2011, Alfonso and Angela have gone on to build a beautiful life together, and they’re proud parents to sons, Alfonso “AJ” Lincoln, 10, and Anders Reyn, nine, as well as five-year-old daughter, Ava. We’re taking a closer look at the couple’s sweet love story…

How did they meet?

Following his divorce from Robin Stapler in 2007, Alfonso met Angela at a Four Seasons hotel in 2011, and he was instantly taken with her. 

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Despite his meteoric rise to fame, which was sparked by Alfonso’s iconic portrayal of Carlton in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Angela had no idea that he was a household name. “I didn’t know who he was at the time,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle in 2018. 

“He told me he was a director, which [he was]. And I was very much in the ‘I don’t want to date anyone in entertainment [mindset],'” Angela added. 

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According to Alfonso, he’d decided to make the “first, second, third moves” to change Angela’s mind, and after taking her on a dinner date, she saw a different side to him. “I don’t think it was more than 10 minutes that went by, and I was like, huh, he’s different than I thought,” she said. 

Their romantic wedding 

A year after their first meeting, Alfonso and Angela eventually tied the knot at the Lakeside Golf Club in Burbank, California. For their big day, the bride wore a Rivini mermaid-style gown and Judith Ripka Brides jewels. As for the groom, Alfonso stepped out in a classic black tuxedo. 

“Last night I got married to the most incredible woman in the world,” Alfonso tweeted after their nuptials, with Angela penning, “1st morning waking up as Mrs. Ribeiro = AMAZING!!! So happy and blessed!”

As of October 2022, the couple have marked their 10 year wedding anniversary, with Alfonso penning the sweetest tribute to his wife on Instagram. “10 years ago I turned my best friend into my wife,” the caption began. 

“@mrsangelaribeiro1 you’ve made me the happiest man in the world. We made an incredible life together. As a team we have 3 beautiful kids, took my career to amazing heights and became so much healthier. The best is yet to come. Happy 10th Anniversary.”

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Alfonso and Angela’s family together 

Following their 2012 wedding, Angela became a stepmom to Alfonso’s daughter, Sienna, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Robin Stapler. 

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Alfonso and Angela have also welcomed three children together. Their eldest son, AJ, was born on November 6, 2013, while their youngest son, Anders, arrived on April 30, 2015. Taking to Instagram on May 13, 2019, Angela later confirmed that she and Alfonso had welcomed a baby girl named Ava Sue, the day after mother’s day. 

Speaking about their different approaches to parenting, Alfonso told Parade: “Oh no, I’m strict. My wife and I both can be strict. We play different roles at different times based on what is necessary. 

“But no, I’m a bit hardcore. I’ve always said, ‘I’m not successful because I’m easy on things, I’m successful because I’m willing to put in the work.’ I have discipline, I have an idea of what needs to get done and I will stop at nothing to get it done. So, there’s a lot of that in me. I have to teach my kids how to really lock in and put in the work.”