Ashley Graham and her husband Justin Ervin took to Instagram Wednesday morning to announce they were expecting their first child together. Ashley’s husband also posted a photo of their baby’s ultrasound on his Instagram. It was a happy occasion for Ashley, 31, and Justin, 30, as the announcement coincided with their ninth wedding anniversary.
Social media fans and followers responded to the couple’s messages with hundreds of congratulatory comments. Although many fans are familiar with Graham, a plus-size model and body image activist, her husband, Justin Ervin remains less known.
If you’ve also been wondering who Ervin is, here is everything you need to know.
Who is Justin Ervin?
Justin Ervin was born on December 31, 1988, in Atlanta, Georgia, so he is 30 years old.
He is an African American cinematographer, writer, director, and producer. He holds an MFA in social documentary filmmaking from the New York School of Visual Arts in New York.
His documentary film credits include Derby in the Black (2007), Six Months Later (2013), Elephant in the Room (2012-2014), and The Pain of Love (2014). He also has TV credits and also worked on several short films.
Ervin has also directed several of his wife’s fashion campaigns. He has more than 74,000 followers on Instagram.
Ervin and Graham met in Church in New York City in 2009 on Porn Sunday, when she was 21. Porn Sunday is a day when ex-porn stars give testimony about their past lives and how developing a relationship with God changed them. She met her husband while she worked as an usher on Porn Sunday, welcoming people to the church.
The got engaged in 2009, with Ervin popping the question with a custom diamond ring.
Graham’s family did not approve of their relationship at first. Graham wrote in her autobiography (A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty and Power Really Look Like) that when she brought Ervin home, her grandmother wasn’t welcoming.
Graham was shocked by the cold reception, but Ervin wasn’t discouraged. He took pains to reach out to Graham’s grandmother on her 60th birthday and eventually won her over.
According to Graham, her grandmother “only saw Black men depicted on television in situations involving guns, rape, and violence — situations that perpetuate racist stereotypes against Black people in general and Black men in particular.”
Graham revealed in her memoir that she and Justin waited until after marriage to have sex. Doing so helped to build their relationship after she “had been around the world” as a model and “and slept with half of New York…. literally.”