Trevor Noah recently moved on from his daily late-night hosting duties for good. However bittersweet that ending may have been, there is likely no chance he will have a change of heart and double back around to “The Daily Show” like he did with his ex-girlfriend Minka Kelly.
The celebrity duo were quite the serious couple for two years. Trevor Noah and actress Minka Kelly have shared plenty of ups and downs since first being linked to each other in August 2020.
Despite a breakup and reconciliation, it seems they officially called it quits ahead of this past summer, when a source told E! News they were done for good. The South African native has not been sitting by idly though.
While Noah was busy staying abreast of the latest headlines and crafting witty commentary for “The Daily Show” — which was originally hosted by Jon Stewart — it seems one of his most notable exes, Kelly, was enjoying life with a new man. But before we get into that, let’s take a look back at some of her life and dating highlights and the timeline of her and Noah’s relationship.
Minka Kelly: Her Unconventional Upbringing
More than a decade ago, Minka opened up about her unconventional upbringing with her mother, Maureen Kelly, who was a stripper. Her father is the famous former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay. Minka Kelly told the publication that Duffy wanted “to try the family thing,” but her mother was “too busy having fun.”
The actress noted that she often had to be more responsible than her peers. “That was like our big Friday,” she recalled. “She would want me to skip school [the next morning]… I was like ‘No, Mom, I’ve gotta go to school!’ “
Losing Her Mother (December 2008)
In 2008, Maureen passed away after a battle with cancer. By then, Minka Kelly said she had moved past her childhood days where she longed for her mother to be more of a parent and less of friend to her. “I was holding her. I was with her until her last breath. We made it,” she told Cosmopolitan magazine.
Minka also shared that cooking helped her cope with her mother’s death. “I think that the experience of grief and loss brings you great depth and meaning to your life.
It helped me articulate internally what my priorities are and what is truly important to me. And that is to love the women in my life as deeply as I can and to be of service. Cooking gives me that,” she said.
Minka’s Career as an Actress (2003—Present)
Aside from being Noah’s love interest, Minka Kelly is known for being an actress. She has appeared in multiple television series such as “Friday Night Lights,” “Parenthood” and “Titans.” Kelly has also appeared on the silver screen in movies like “500 Days of Summer” and “The Roommate.”
But before she landed her breakout role on the football drama series in 2006, she worked in a California hospital as a scrub nurse, helping women prepare for lip and breast augmentation surgery. She held the job for four years.
Chef Minka, Anyone? (2020)
Minka’s love for food and the culinary arts dates back as far as 2015, when she appeared on “Top Chef” as a competitor. “As an actor, it’s important to have things outside of our careers that still are creative,.” Kelly told Self magazine.
“Because at least for me, acting on its own—it doesn’t fill my plate. I feel like food is love, and it’s how I express love. I feed my friends and it makes me feel really good.”
That same year, she completed the New School of Cooking’s six-month culinary program in Culver City, California. Braced with technical cooking skills, she even teased testing out the waters of a traveling cooking show with Gaby Dalkin.
“We’re going to be traveling around the country and learning about all of those fascinating things to do with our food and the process where it goes from farm to table,” she told PEOPLE in 2020.
Going to Bat For Love With Derek Jeter (2008—2011)
New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and the actress were in a very serious relationship for three years. They were seldom spotted together, aside from Minka supporting the athlete at his games, but that did not stop rumors of an engagement from popping up. Neither Kelly nor Jeter ever confirmed if he popped the big question before they broke up in August 2011.
In a statement released on their behalf, an insider told outlets, “They care about each other and it was amicable. They’re still friends.”
Minka Kelly and Trevor (June 2020—May 2022)
At one point, it seemed as though Trevor Noah and Minka Kelly were going to go the distance as they lived together and shared a very stable relationship. However, the seemingly stable relationship hit a rough patch in May 2010. It was also the first time the actress and television host separated.
Just as soon as news of a breakup got out, the couple was spotted on vacation in St. Barts, sparking speculation that they had reconciled after one week without each other.
Confirmation that they were trying their hand at love again came when Kelly and Trevor Noah shared pictures from a trip to South Africa. It was the first time either party shared a photo featuring the other on social media. They broke up again this past spring.
An insider told E! News, “She is very disappointed. They were going in circles and ending up in the same place. It didn’t work.” The former flames seemingly have moved on from each other for good.
Who is Minka Currently Dating?
According to TMZ, Minka’s romantic life has been heating up ever since she was spotted getting cozy with Imagine Dragons rock star Dan Reynolds in November.
They were recently spotted visiting Disneyland, where they packed on the PDA, ahead of Christmas.
