How Idris Elba’s Wife Sabrina Dhowre Changed His Mind About Marriage

Idris Elba didn’t know he’d marry again—until he met Sabrina Dhowre. 

“We’ve been literally inseparable since we met,” the 46-year-old actor told British Vogue in a new interview released Tuesday.

The two first locked eyes in 2017 while hanging out at a jazz bar in Vancouver, where Elba had been filming The Mountain Between Us. As The Wire star recalls, it was “love at first sight.”

“You know, I’m 47 this year, been married and lived a full life before I even met Sabrina,” he told the magazine. “It wasn’t something that I wanted to do, get married again. But…”

In February 2018, Elba proposed. The Luther actor popped the question at a film screening in London. The two then tied the knot at the Ksar Char Bagh hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco in April 2019. According to British Vogue, the couple picked this location because the bride and groom’s families are from east and west Africa respectively and they wanted to meet in the middle.

The event was an extravagant affair. According to the publication, friends and family members celebrated their love for three days. Guests reportedly attended a “colors of the Souk” themed dinner before the wedding and toasted to the newlyweds at an all-white party the day after the nuptials.

On the big day, the duo said “I do” in style. Per the publication, the bride wore two custom dresses by Vera Wang while Elba donned an Ozwald Boateng suit.

Not only have the two strengthened their own bond over the course of their romance, but Elba also credits his spouse with helping him build up his other relationships.

“Sabrina has deepened friendships with people I’ve known longer than [her], nurturing the best side of me to make me connect to my friends more,” he told the magazine.

This marks Elba’s third marriage. The actor was first married to Hanne Norgaard, with whom he shares his daughter Isan Elba, and then to Sonya Nicole Hamlin. He also welcomed a son, Winston Elba, with Naiyana Garth.

To read Elba’s full interview, check out the new issue of British Vogue.