Who Is Wanda Sykes's Wife, Alex Sykes? Here's What We Know

You may have spotted this funny lady in a string of popular sitcoms, from Black-ish and Will & Grace to Broad City. But now, actress and comedian Wanda Sykes is heading to Netflix with her brand-new family comedy, The Upshaws.

In case you missed it, Sykes has teamed up with writer Regina Hicks to create the sitcom, which is already generating a lot of buzz among fans on social media. But beyond simply her professional life, we have so many questions, like who is Wanda Sykes's wife, Alex Sykes (née Niedbalski)? So far, we know that Alex's original birth name was changed after she married her wife, but how long have they been together? Read on for more details about the couple's relationship.

Not much is known about Alex, aside from the fact that she hails from France and loves to travel. But according to her wife, she once worked as an interior designer. Whether she still works in this field is unclear, but it turns out that this profession is exactly what brought these two lovebirds together.

The couple first met in 2006, and Wanda revealed to The Guardian that she first spotted Alex on a ferry to Fire Island in New York. The comedian recalled, “Something really said to me, like, audibly, ‘Wow, that’s what you need, Wanda.’”

Just a day later, she got some love advice from a friend, who insisted that she quit telling strangers stories about remodeling her kitchen and opt for some cheesy pick-up lines instead. But Wanda actually ignored her friend's advice, defiantly sharing details about her remodeling plans with the next woman that she met. Then, in an interesting twist of fate, this woman introduced Wanda to Alex, who sold granite countertops and, to Wanda's delight, was single at the time. The two ladies instantly hit it off and, as they say, the rest is history.

Wanda and Alex privately tied the knot in October of 2008, just one month before the Friendsgiving star publicly came out as gay at a same-sex marriage rally in Las Vegas. Nearly 13 years later, their relationship is still going strong.

While celebrating their 12-year wedding anniversary in 2020, Wanda wrote in an IG tribute, "Twelve years! Happy Anniversary ma femme!"

According to People, the couple became parents when Alex gave birth to their twins, Lucas Claude and Olivia Lou, on April 27, 2009. The moms are typically very private when it comes to their children and social media, but Alex did make an exception for the twins' most recent birthday. On Instagram, she shared a festive pic of their birthday cakes and wrote, "Guess who’s 12 today?? #proud #moms #surreal."

It's unclear whether Alex has tied the knot before, but Wanda was previously married to a music producer named Dave Hall from 1991 to 1998. While speaking with The New York Times about both of her marriages, she revealed that she had a "bad relationship" with Hall.

She explained, "I wanted to get away. Like: 'God, there's his stupid face, and he's chewing. Ugh, does he have to breathe? Make him stop breathing.' Now I'm in a great relationship, and I'm happy, so my wife's chewing doesn't annoy me."