Lance Gross & Eva Marcille
With Every Beat of Their Hearts
Story by
DeWayne Rogers
Images by Scott Hebert for Steed Media Service
Love.
A word that comes and goes.
But few people really know
What it means to really love somebody.
~Kirk Franklin, “Love”
The
occasion was meant to be a celebration of the impending union of two
lives. But the decibel level commonly associated with such a festive
time was replaced by a more subdued, poignant moment of reflection.
“First of all, you’re my best friend,” actor Lance Gross began, as he
stared lovingly into the suddenly watering eyes of his future
bride-to-be, Eva Marcille. “You’re the best thing that’s ever come into
my life. You keep me laughing, you keep me smiling, you’re my daily
motivation. I’m in love with your flaws [and] you’re in love with mine.
You’re just all around the sh-t … and I love you to death. “
The silence difollowing his heartfelt pronouncement gave way to the
oohs and aahs of those in the room, Marcille remained quiet, displaying
a knowing smile as she carefully wiped the tears away. Her smile spoke
of a woman who had discovered her soul’s counterpart, and she basked in
the warmth of this realization.
For Marcille, such a powerful realization comes at a critical juncture
in her career, where marriage (or a serious relationship for that
matter) certainly was not a part of her plan. After winning the third
cycle of “America’s Next Top Model,” and making a successful transition
to television with her NAACP-nominated work on “The Young and the
Restless,” the long-dreamed about career for Marcille was finally
coming to fruition.
But then it happened…
“When I met Lance, everything that I expected for my life just
completely changed,” Marcille began, exposing a hint of wonderment in
her voice at the thought of her life changing. “I never that I was
going to get married. I thought that I would adopt kids somewhere in my
late 30s or early 40s and just be a workaholic. I also thought that I
would never be able to meet someone who could appreciate me for me
since I’m in this business. But then I found Lance.”
The Realization Of A Dream
Since her days as a contestant on “America’s next top Model,” Marcille
has always been perceived as a competitive, driven woman, who
diligently works to accomplish her goals. With that characterization in
mind, she even jokingly shared her role in the couple’s successful
pairing, “I’d like to say that I picked him up,” she says with a laugh.
“He thinks that he picked me up, but he doesn’t know that I set the
whole thing up. I played him like a chess game. I knew what I wanted,
but I had no idea that it was going to come along when it did.”
For Gross, there was no need to play games, since Eva captured his
heart from the start. According to the talented “House of Payne” star,
Marcille was destined to play a permanent role in his life. “With Eva,
I knew early on,” he explains. “I’ve been in a lot of relationships,
and men usually know whether or not they want to take that step.”
His
decision to make that leap of faith was guided by the powerful examples
in his life, which revealed to him how God intended for a man and woman
to relate. “I’m an old soul, and I’ve got a good example in my life,”
Gross continues. “My parents have been together for over 40 years, and
so I followed their lead. When someone comes into your life that’s
right for you, you are supposed to do the right thing. So it didn’t
take much for me. I knew that I was going to be with Eva forever
anyway, so it was all about whether I wanted to get my grown man on and
make it official, or if I was just going to play games. I’m not really
about playing games, so I went ahead and made it official.”
His
words of wisdom to colleagues faced with a similar decision? “If you’ve
got someone that you love, get along with, and see yourself with, then
you might as well make it official,” Gross states. “Let’s set better
examples. You don’t have to have a baby mamma, and all of that drama.
If she’s the right one, then make it official and put a ring on her
finger.”
Maybe we should settle down, and raise a family
A girl for you, and maybe a boy for me.
That is how much I love you
~Babyface, “Sunshine”
As
Gross and Marcille set their sights on a seemingly bright future, the
pair is quick to laud the self-evaluating mechanism they’ve put in
place to ensure their relationship’s success. While the love between
them continues to smolder, they understand that love alone will not
sustain them. That’s why the pair works hard to fortify their already
rock solid foundation.
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“Communication
is very important for us,” Gross says. “I think that’s why we mesh so
well, because we communicate with each other. If it’s something that I
don’t like, I let her know, if it’s something that she doesn’t like,
she lets me know and we compromise. You’ve got to have communication in
your relationship. That’s number one.”
If
communication is the number one priority for the couple, then Marcille
says that their desire to enrich each other’s lives runs a close
second. “I’m far from perfect, and I have a lot of bad habits,” she
says with a laugh. “I’ve always been the kind of person where it was
all about me. But when I started dating Lance, he pushed me to focus on
more than just me. He’s helped me to kick a lot of bad habits, and at
the same time, I’ve worked to push him to better himself as well.”
Their ability to push each other will certainly come in handy when the
time comes to expand their family with the addition of children. For
Marcille, she’s certainly ready for the challenge, and willing to take
a break from her career pursuits to raise a family with Gross.
“I’d definitely be willing to sacrifice careerwise for Lance,”
Marcille unflinchingly replies. “No question about it. We want to have
a family. We plan on working hard for another six to eight years, and
then taking some time off for the children.”
The mere mention of one day starting a family causes a smile to creep
across Gross’ face. Though he agrees with Marcille’s assessment that
the time is not right for kids, he is willing to accept the
responsibility when that day does arrive. “I understand that I have to
provide for my family,” he explains. “What man doesn’t want to take
care of his family? That’s what I know. I look at my parents, and I
consider them to be heroes because of the love that they had for me,
and the love that they had for each other. I want to us to have that.
What makes it work for us is that we are going into it knowing that not
everything is going to be perfect. But we are willing to do whatever it
takes to make it work.”
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Hearing
her fiancé speak with such bold assurance caused the tears to well up
once again for Marcille. As she clasped hands with Gross, and
considered their lifelong commitment, fame and fortune seemed paltry in
comparison to their shared happiness. “As long as he’s a happy guy, and
I’m a happy woman, that’s all that matters to me,” she says. “Jobs
come and go. Offers come and go. And there might be something here
today that will be gone tomorrow. But he and I have such a foundation
where the work and our careers [are] not the most important part — it’s
our love for one another.”
