Wes Moore loves his wife and loves Black women, the Maryland governor gushed about during a recent radio interview.
Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, told “The Breakfast Club” that he “cannot be more lucky” to have married his wife of 18 years, Dawn, whom he called his best friend.
“I married someone who I love and who I respect and who I adore, and someone who I am so thankful is on my side,” raved Moore, who is a rising star in the Democratic Party and a favorite to run for president in 2028.
During the interview, host Charlamagne Tha God praised Moore for being a Black man who loves a Black woman. The radio personality noted, “So many people, especially people like you in positions of power and government, especially Black people, they [aren’t].”
When asked about the “importance” of being a Black man with a Black woman, Wes Moore said Black women have always been an “anchor” for Black men and their communities.
“When you think about what Black women have meant to us…Black women have always been our guide. Black women have always been the ones to, when the whole world denied us, they defended us. And they lifted us up,” said the 46-year-old Maryland politician.
The governor said even in his state of Maryland, Black women have been some of the biggest supporters of his statewide program supporting young men and boys in employment, education, mental health, and beyond.
“They know that’s talking about their sons, and their husbands, and their fathers, and their uncles, and their friends. And it’s so beautiful to watch because it is very indicative of how Black women, and women as a whole, have always been our greatest defenders,” said Moore. He continued, “That when the whole world came at us, oftentimes it was women who stood in front of us with shields and said not today.”
Moore also shared how his wife, Dawn Moore, promised in her wedding vows to always have his back. “She said, ‘I will be your greatest defender,’” he recalled. Gov. Moore’s vows, however, were less to boast about. He jokingly shared, “This shows you how corny I was when we first got married…I’m like…I’mma keep it fresh and sexy.”
How did Wes Moore and Dawn Moore meet?
A few months after being inaugurated as Maryland’s first Black governor in 2023, the Moores shared how their love story came to be. As Dawn Moore put it, it was “the best blind date of our lives.”
The couple initially met for coffee after being pushed by family and friends to go on a date. The meeting went so well that it led to dinner and then a night out dancing. “It turned into a whole thing,” Wes Moore told NBC4 Washington. Soon after their blind date, the couple took a trip to Europe, where they had their first kiss while on a train to Florence, Italy. The trip was followed by a surprise proposal.
“I was getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan, and I knew I wanted to ask her to marry me before I left,” Wes Moore shared. His initial idea was to propose via a video after he was deployed–something his sister convinced him not to do (she told him it was the “worst idea I ever heard in my life”).
At the same time, Dawn was planning a surprise going-away party for Wes. However, his mother tipped him off about the party, and ultimately, Dawn was the one who ended up surprised.
“It’s not about me, it’s about you,” Wes Moore said during the “surprise,” before he got on one knee and popped the question.
“He started talking about how in his life, he would have no direction, and that I was his compass,” Dawn Moore recalled.
Nearly two decades later, Maryland’s first couple is still standing side-by-side with two young children, Mia and James.
As Wes Moore told “The Breakfast Club,” his wife Dawn is “someone I will ride for because she’s always rode for me.”
