Laverne Cox Opens Up About Her New BF: 'He's a Really Great Guy'

Laverne Cox "is in love again."

The Promising Young Womanstar discussed details of her new relationship on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and the butterflies she feels from it. 

"It feels amazing," Cox told the lesbian host via Zoom in a video posted Thursday. "Love is an incredible thing. It's literally this chemical thing that's awesome."

"He's a really great guy and I didn't expect it," she added. "I thought he was just going to be this hot dude I was going to be hanging out with and then it just kinda happened."

Cox revealed that she and her partner — who was not named — began "hanging out" around six months ago. They were finally able to use the word "love" around November or December.

"It's a nice Christmas present to have love," DeGeneres quipped. The host also asked Cox about a topic she has discussed before in interviews: the stigma that prevents men who love trans women from "coming out" about their relationships.

"The issue over the years for me as a trans woman and other trans women is that the womanhood of trans women is often disavowed, that a lot of people don't see trans women as women and so the men who are attracted to women, people think they're gay," Cox said. "Like, if you're a straight man, you don't want people to think you're gay, and so a lot of times they don't want to disclose."

The transgender actress said she would love to feature a cisgender man on her new podcast, The Laverne Cox Show, to discuss the issue and help fight this stigma — but she hasn't found a high-profile person who is both willing to have that conversation and eloquent on the topic.

However, Cox, whose Netflix documentary on trans representation, Disclosure, is receiving Oscar buzz, said now that she is famous, the tables have turned on disclosure for romance. "When you're famous, you kind of want them to be really discreet," she said. "Things sort of change. Historically, guys have been like, 'Don't tell anybody.' Now I'm like, 'Don't tell anybody!'"

Cox also divulged the dream guest for her new podcast: Beyoncé.

Watch the conversation with DeGeneres below.