Jasmine and Maxwell
In 2020, Maxwell Pearce was in his fourth season as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters and Jasmine Styles worked as a news anchor in Tampa, Florida. That same year, Maxwell was a guest on a live TV segment in Birmingham, Alabama where two news anchors threw tangerines and a banana at him during a live interview. Maxwell was already aware of the racial implications and the sordid history behind this gesture. After using his platform to speak out, he was met with extreme backlash ranging from death threats to comments telling him to "shut up and dribble.” A mutual friend shared the story on his Instagram account and Jasmine immediately noticed and reposted. Maxwell reached out to Jasmine, thanking her for also sharing his story and asked how he might be able to get other outlets to cover the story. Jasmine gave him a list of people to contact and many of those publications shared his story. In the midst of a whirlwind of interviews and coverage, Maxwell forgot to thank her for the help, so Jasmine followed up. After that, they spent the following year talking to each other through direct message on Instagram — mistaking flirting for friendliness. Jasmine eventually took the initiative to directly ask if Maxwell was interested in her. And after taking the conversation offline, the relationship flourished.
The Proposal
Maxwell and Jasmine love to spend time in museums and art galleries. Maxwell knew pretty early into the relationship he would propose. He was constantly working on his plan to pop the question. He finally came to the idea of creating a collection of artwork about Jasmine and getting down on one knee with a one-of-a-kind portrait behind him. During Art Basel 2023, Maxwell coincidentally met a board member of The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. who offered her help with access to the museum. With this idea in mind, Maxwell asked if the museum was willing to exhibit a piece of art he made for Jasmine and they gladly granted it. Maxwell coordinated a private tour to surprise Jasmine with her very own artwork and officially propose. They took the entire tour of the museum with the camera crew secretly following them from behind. When they got to the artwork Maxwell created, he got on his knee to ask for her hand in marriage as soon as she realized this was a piece of artwork of her.
Creating artwork was Maxwell's most powerful way of expressing the depth of his love for Jasmine, believing she is a muse worthy of placement in museums. This is one of the countless examples of how Black love and Black life is the most resilient things on earth. It can emerge from the darkest of circumstances and become one of the brightest lights. 
The couple will be getting married on May 24th, 2025
Working Together
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Inaugural Exhibition Panel
In 2022, Jasmine moderated the panel discussion for Maxwell’s inaugural exhibition - which featured Natasha Cloud (Guard for Phoenix Mercury), Gwen Berry (2-time Olympian), and Dr.Karida Brown (Professor, Author, and Sociologist). This conversation broke down the intersection between race, gender, sports, and activism.
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The Art of an Athlete Heroes Exhibition Panel
In 2023, Jasmine moderated the panel discussion for Maxwell’s Art of an Athlete Heroes exhibition in Los Angeles. - which focused on intersection between race, gender, sports, and activism through the depiction of Black heroes.