Fact Check: Is Stephen A. Smith Engaged to Molly Qerim?

Molly Qerim is a longtime ESPN figure who joined the media house in 2006. She rose through roles in digital, features, and studio hosting before becoming the moderator/host of First Take in 2015. She was previously married to Jalen Rose, a former NBA player and ESPN analyst.

Qerim and Rose, who got married in 2018, divorced three years later. Rose publicly announced their separation in December 2021, emphasizing mutual respect.

Claim: After their divorce, rumors about Qerim’s romantic involvement with her First Take co-host Stephen A. Smith started swirling. One of the rumors doing the rounds is that they are engaged. But is there any truth to those rumors?

Source of the rumor: These rumors often rely on Stephen A. and Qerim’s on-air chemistry, occasional matching attire, and public curiosity about both personalities. Multiple social media posts claim that Smith and Qerim are engaged.

As long-time cohosts, Smith and Qerim developed a rapport that audiences sometimes read as romantic. And with both being prominent media figures, it was perhaps inevitable that speculation about their relationship would be thrown about on social media.

Verdict: The rumor that Stephen A. Smith and co-host Molly Qerim are engaged is false.

There is no credible evidence pointing to that or their relationship. Their own on-air statements explicitly deny any romantic relationship. The engagement claims appear to stem largely from speculation, misinterpretation, and media amplification rather than from factual evidence.

On First Take (April 2024), the rumors were directly addressed. When co-panelist Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo joked about matching outfits and “who said ‘I do’ first,” Smith responded emphatically: “No! There’s nothing going on.”

Molly added that what she found funniest was “people actually believe it.” In that same conversation, Smith had dismissed the speculation as persistent but incorrect.

Qerim has also, in various interviews, denied or shaken off insinuations that she and Smith are romantically involved. Smith spoke earlier this year about having a “special lady” in his life, but has not identified that person. And he’s made clear that rumors tying him romantically to Qerim are unfounded.