Niecy Nash has opened up about her surprise wedding to Jessica Betts, and why she doesn’t consider the marriage her “coming out” story.

In a new interview with People, the comedian, who divorced her second husband in March before marrying Betts in August, said: “[My marriage] has absolutely nothing to do with gender and it has everything to do with her soul. She is the most beautiful soul I have ever met in my life."

And according to Nash, whose marriage came as a surprise to fans, she was not “was not suppressing my sexuality my whole life”.

“I love who I love. At one point in my life, I married twice and I love those people,” she continued. “And today I love this person. I've done everything I wanted to do on my own terms and my own way. So my choice now in a partner has nothing to do with who I've always been. It's a matter of who I am in this moment."

The 50-year-old also explained why she doesn’t consider her marriage a “coming out,” telling the outlet: "I don't feel like my marriage is my coming out of anywhere, but rather a going into myself and being honest about who I love.

“And I'm not limiting myself on what that love is supposed to look like."

In addition to opening up about her new marriage, Nash also reflected on her relationship with Betts and how her feelings progressed.

According to Nash, she met her now-wife in 2015 through social media, but didn’t see her as someone she would date because she was “happily married at the time” to her ex-husband Jay Tucker

It wasn’t until the Claws actress separated from Tucker in October 2019 that she felt feelings towards Betts, a singer-songwriter, begin to develop.

“I loved her before I was in love with her because she is such a special human being,” Nash said. “But we began to see each other in a way we never had before. Sometimes you get so broken by love, you run from it. But I’ve learned that you should always hold space for magic because it can happen at any time.”

Nash announced she and Betts had tied the knot on 31 August, when she shared photos from their wedding on Instagram.

“Mrs Carol Denise Betts,” she captioned a photo of herself and Betts holding hands. “#LoveWins.”