Long before Beyond the Gates star Colby Natasha Nixon (formerly Muhammad) and writer and director Keith Nixon Jr. stood side by side at the altar on their wedding day on June 21, 2025, they stood side by side at the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology in Virginia for four years straight, conjoined by their locker placement (assigned in alphabetical order). Their story begins in 2007 at their high school. And while a story of high school sweethearts would be an adorable way to begin this thing, “We were not high school sweethearts,” Colby clarifies. They were just friends. Or something like that.
“Our first encounters were innocent enough at the time,” Keith shares. “Co claims I hated her, which is far from the truth. She was kind of annoying, but I later grew to understand she was just a theater kid. I actually quite liked her, but I guess teenage love might have looked a little like hate at the time.
“High school was a series of hits and misses. We were never quite on the same page,” he adds. “Although our chemistry was lacking, there was always a palpable tension.”
Eventually, Keith worked up the nerve to ask Colby to the junior prom, and she said yes. While that could have been the perfect beginning to a romantic relationship, it would actually take years for them to try their hand at love. Eleven years from their introduction, specifically.
“It wasn’t until 2018, when Keith asked me to be an actor in one of the films he directed in film school at Howard University, that things began to click,” says Colby. “I drove to D.C., starred in his film, and the rest was history. Well, the rest was history after I looked up our zodiac charts on CoStar and got confirmation that we were 100% compatible! We started going out to dinner, going to museums, and of course, when two film artists get together, it means watching a lot of movies. March 26, 2026, marks seven years together. Seven years of laughter, play, grief, loss, growth, resilience, and love.”
Their love for one another was established by the ways they would show up for others. Their tenderness, their joy, made it easy for both parties to see a life with the other. Keith, while caring for his late mother during her period of illness, showed Colby that he was “dedicated, kind, attentive, family-oriented, and a leader.” She was sold on him. As for Keith, Colby being her genuine self every day was enough to let him know he’d found his person. “She was always easy to be around, and she had a radiance that could brighten your day.”
After withstanding a long-distance relationship for nearly two years and their careers in the early stages of taking off, in March 2024, Keith decided to pop the question. It happened when he decided to “tag along” for a business trip Colby was taking to NYC to meet potential agents and managers, at a time when the couple were getting ready to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary. Despite her meetings running over, which inadvertently left him waiting for her in the cold at the fancy Italian joint they were supposed to meet at for dinner, she was surprised to see him in a good mood. She would soon find out why.
“After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. We get to our room, and he tells me to wait outside. So I’m standing in the hallway, our leftovers in hand as it starts to dawn on me–he’s about to propose,” she recalls. “He finally opens the door after a couple of minutes, and there are a million white rose petals and candles.” The candle sections were significant, with five candles for their five years together, three because it’s her favorite number, and more. The proposal was intentional.
“He then got down on one knee, gave a beautiful speech, and asked me to marry him. Obviously, I said yes—well, more like screamed yes while jumping up and down,” she says.
A little over a year later, the couple, who call the West Coast home now, returned to their roots in Virginia to make their union official, saying “I do” at the stunning Chrysler Museum of Art. In keeping with the fact that both Colby and Keith are artists, the venue was the perfect place to exchange vows. And dance.
“As for our wedding, you should know this about me: I love to dance,” Colby shares. “I would always tell our planner, I want our wedding to be a party!”
It was also the perfect way to begin their life together as husband and wife. For them, the future is filled with more artistic endeavors, lots of fun, and endless possibilities. It’s already off to an amazing start.
“Whenever people ask how I’m enjoying married life, I say, ‘I love it,'” says Keith. “It’s been a blast so far. I sometimes joke with Co and ask, ‘Why didn’t we do this sooner?'”
Take a look at the beautiful memories made on their big day, learn more about their love story, and swoon over all the beauty and Black love in this week’s Bridal Bliss.
“I have always been a visual person. When I initially met Co, I had not yet found my passion in storytelling, but I knew enough to be observant, discerning, and trusting of what I could see. I was not always sure of what I felt nor what it meant, but I knew undoubtedly I could see a future with Co,” Keith says. “She was always easy to be around and she had a radiance that could brighten your day. I could see us living together, building a life together, doing life together. Most importantly, I could see us at the altar. I guess on some level I got a glimpse into our future and I never could let it go.”
Keith, dressed in a look from H. David Harrell, of Harrell’s Men’s Wear & Dapper 7, is a good man, Savannah.
“Keith’s mom was sick for most of our first year together before eventually passing from complications of a bone marrow transplant at the end of the year. Watching the way this man took care of his mother and his sister while also studying for his masters degree out of state showed me the kind of man he is: dedicated, kind, attentive, family-oriented, and a leader,” Colby shares. “Although we’d known each other for years prior, this was the first time I saw him handle hardship and grief. I saw how beautifully he loved and cared for the women in his life. Beyond that, he still found a way to make me feel special, loved, and important during such a tumultuous time in his life. It was then that I knew that this was the man I was going to marry.”
The gowns Colby wore on her big day were different than what she initially thought she wanted, but they ended up being perfect. “My ceremony gown was still the classic, simple design that I was initially leaning towards in my inspiration pics. It was clean, structured at the bodice, defined my waist but the skirt had a modern architectural quality.”
“One of our first ‘official’ dates was at a Virginia Art Museum. Keith went to undergrad in Norfolk, Va. so he had frequented The Chrysler Museum of Art. I fell in love with the dramatic stairwell. I imagined myself walking down the grand steps with my husband, family, and friends looking at me in my gown and I fell in love. My husband and I are both artists, so it made sense to get married at an art museum,” says the bride.
“My favorite memory was being at the altar with Keith,” Colby shares. “We had a big wedding. There were around 180 guests, and yet, at that moment, it felt like we were the only two in the room.”
“My favorite moment by far was our moment at the altar,” says Keith. “It was a full circle moment so it was a bit of a dream come true.”
“Professing our love for each other in front of so many of our loved ones is something I hold dearly,” Keith says. Also, can we talk about how stunning this space is?
“I loved hearing his vows, watching him react to my vows, and honestly, it’s a miracle I could see anything through all the tears I shed that day,” Colby shares. “But I can still see every detail of our ceremony. I wish I could relive that moment again and again.”
The couple took part in the time-honored tradition of jumping the broom to solidify their status as Mr. and Mrs.
“I am loving getting to spend everyday with the love of my love,” the bride says about married life. “Whether we’re traveling together or hanging out on the couch, we always have fun together.”
“Of course any relationship requires work, effort, attention, care, but I take pride in the energy I put into our marriage,” says Keith. “And as Co said, we have plenty of fun together. We are very different in many ways, but we mesh well.”
We are in love with this beautiful seating chart display, which showcases a blown up engagement photo of the couple.
“Athough unplanned, our wedding cake by Totally Unique Cakes complemented my ceremony gown – elegant, sculptural, and intentionally modern. We wanted every piece of our wedding to feel classic, modern, simple and timeless.
The Nixons made their grand debut during the reception.
“I wanted my second gown to be the complete opposite from the first,” says the bride. “Sexy, dramatic, bold but still timeless.”
We adore this black-and-white memory from the couple’s first dance.
“We travel when we can. We make good travel companions, but we’re both home bodies,” Keith declares. “We love a night on the sofa. That’s probably our happy place aside from being in Virginia with our families.”
Actress Tamara Tunie, Colby’s co-star on the CBS soap Beyond the Gates, was one of the esteemed 180 guests to celebrate the couple’s nuptials.
“We have a huge community of family and friends, so the museum had the space to hold all of our loved ones,” says Colby of choosing The Chrysler Museum of Art. “We also wanted to give people an opportunity to dress up. Rarely do we have formal events, particularly in a post-Covid world, and the space lent itself to that feeling.”
What better way to commemorate your new title than on a custom jersey?
“I come from a large, Southern, Black family. Not everyone could be present, but having many of my loved ones, family and friends in the same place is one of the most profound and beautiful experiences of my life,” Keith notes. “What makes it even more special is our families are now united as one because of me and Colby.”
“I love being married to my creative partner. Co inspires me time and time again whether in writing or in image,” says the groom. “Many, many years ago I told my brother and best man, David, that she was my muse. I stand by that, but it’s taken on greater meaning. We support each other, we challenge each other, we lift each other. I look forward to the day we make films together.”
As far as what Colby is looking forward to as Mrs. Nixon, the answer is everything. “I am looking forward to buying a house together, to having children, and to continue to learn and grow together.”
