Michael Ealy and Khatira Rafiqzada have been married since 2012

Photo: Prince Williams/Wireimage

Michael Ealy keeps his relationship with his wife, Khatira Rafiqzada, relatively private.

The Golden Globe-nominated actor — who’s starred in various blockbuster films and television shows, including 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), The Good Wife, Think Like A Man (2012) and Bel-Air — married Rafiqzada in October 2012. They have since welcomed two 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren together: son Elijah and daughter Harlem.

Ealy spoke kindly of his wife when posting a photo of her holding their daughter Harlem on Instagram in 2017.

“We can always find comfort in you,” Ealy wrote at the time. “We’re all blessed to have you. We celebrate you everyday! Thanks 4 holding us down. You are the core and the rock.”

So who is Michael Ealy’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Khatira Rafiqzada and her relationship with the Barbershop star.

She was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in AfghanistanKhatira Rafiqzada Instagram

Rafiqzada was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in Kabul, Afghanistan, but moved to India with her family when she was 8 years old, according to TEDxWaterStreet.

She moved again four years later, this time to Northern California. Rafiqzada has shared on social media that she moved around often during her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood — a total of 26 times.

“I came here as a refugee from Afghanistan when I was 12 years old, sponsored by Catholic Charities as victims of war,” Rafiqzada captioned a throwback photo of her parents in 2017. “I loved my 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥hood and [because] war hadn’t yet made it to our backyard, I couldn’t understand why we left my country.”

“I’m now married to an American and have kids that are half first-generation immigrants and half Black. My biggest achievement so far has been to raise these 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren as self-aware, conscious and thoughtful human beings,” she added. “I’m proud to have that opportunity and proud to be American. I would not have been able to add all of these experiences to the American fabric, but for my parents’ will to offer us a better life.”

She and Ealy celebrate their first date every yearKhatira Rafigzada Instagram

The couple commemorates the anniversary of their first date every year on Feb. 16 by ordering the same meal they shared at Viet Noodle Bar in Los Angeles.

On Instagram, Rafiqzada stated that it only took three days from when she gave Ealy her number for them to go on their first date. Sparks flew, and the date lasted all day from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. The two both knew within their first few dates they wanted to marry each other.

“I knew within an [hour] of our first date that I was going to marry you! I had never before felt safety in someone’s presence like I did 10 years ago today,” she captioned the anniversary post in February 2018.

Similarly, Ealy wrote in a 2020 Instagram post, “A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection. The myth goes as such: at the end of it lies a pot of gold. I knew I found my gold on our 2nd date and I’ve been reflecting on the phenomenon that is you ever since.”

She has been in the food industry for over a decadeKhatira Rafiqzada Instagram

Sharing a photo of workers at the Korean restaurant Le Comptoir in L.A., Rafiqzada wrote that she “started her career in the food industry as the prep girl.” She also had jobs as a dishwasher, bus girl, bar back and host, among others.

When she’s not professionally cooking, Rafiqzada unveils her favorite food finds on social media and bakes her kids’ 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡day cakes. She also runs a cooking program called Break Bread — which she cofounded — at St. Anne’s Family Services in L.A.

“We teach young moms who are transitioning out of the foster care and probation systems how to make healthy, delicious meals for themselves and their kids,” the entrepreneur captioned a photo of a FoundRae necklace on Instagram in December 2020. “We break bread with them after each cooking lesson and enjoy the meal they have just prepared.”

She married Ealy on Oct. 20, 2012

After four years of dating, the lovebirds tied the knot in a private ceremony in L.A. in October 2012. However, they didn’t share the news of their nuptials until two months later.

“Michael has always been a private guy, and he wanted to enjoy his time as a newlywed with his wife privately,” Ealy’s rep exclusively told PEOPLE at the time. “Now that some time has passed and the holidays are here, he wanted to share the news with his fans that he is married and very happy.”

The couple exchanged vows in front of six witnesses at their October ceremony, Rafiqzada shared on Instagram. They held a larger reception with friends and family that December.

She shares two 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren with EalyMichael Ealy Instagram

Rafiqzada and Ealy are parents to Elijah Rakim and Harlem Quest. After welcoming their son Elijah in September 2013, Rafiqzada gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 to their daughter Harlem in April 2016.

Though the couple chose to keep the pregnancies and 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡s of both of their 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren private, Ealy later opened up about being a father while speaking with PEOPLE in 2014.

“There are multiple milestones every day,” the actor shared at the time. “He said ‘Mama’ yesterday in the car and it really warmed my heart. It was a lot of babbling!”

She is an art collectorPresley Ann/Getty

Rafiqzada is an avid art collector, often visiting galleries and sharing her findings on social media. She started gathering pieces at a young age, and now art has become one of her great “loves” in life.

“Once I came to America, I fell in love with anti-war photography. It expressed the frustration of what my reality was,” she told Sugarcane Magazine in 2021. “At the time, I didn’t have the language to communicate those feelings. Art gave me the gift of communication without words, and that was powerful for me. I loved photography so much I picked it up as a hobby.”

Rafiqzada’s passion for art has also rubbed off on her husband. Ealy began compiling artworks after meeting his wife and was even on the Board of Trustees at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

“I started collecting because my wife was so passionate and persuasive about it,” the actor said to Sugarcane Magazine. “Truly. I am still collecting because she was right. The passion is infectious, and the impact on our kids seeing themselves in the works is unparalleled.”

They are each other’s biggest supportersMichael Ealy Instagram

Rafiqzada and Ealy mostly keep their family life out of the limelight, but they aren’t shy about sharing their support for one another on social media.

After Ealy gave the commencement speech at Dillard University in 2021, the food connoisseur praised her husband.

“I have never been so proud,” she captioned a video of Ealy’s address. “People finally get to see a side of him that has kept me sane all these years. He genuinely is my rock. He inspires me on a daily to appreciate the small things and to never compare my life w/ anybody else. He is the king of living in the present and not bothered by your business. He is [focused] and has a very healthy definition of what success is.”