Taye Diggs, 55, Goes Viral Dancing with Alleged New Partner, Igniting Buzz Over Age Gap

The actor is turning heads again, and this time it has nothing to do with a role. It's all about the brand-new lady by his side.

Taye Diggs has been flooding his Instagram for the past several months with dancing videos alongside a new woman, and the internet has plenty of opinions. The clips are fun, and the chemistry is hard to miss, but fans are worried about several things: the age gap and that he did this kind of thing before with someone else.

Before Online Dancing, There Was Broadway

To understand why people care so much about Diggs's love life, it helps to know where it started. He and Idina Menzel met as castmates in the original Broadway production of "Rent" in 1995, and their love story felt like something out of the show itself.

They married on January 11, 2003, and by all accounts, made it work across coasts, busy careers, and everything in between.

Menzel once said, "We go through tough times like everybody else, but we love each other very much." They also co-starred in the 2005 film adaptation of "Rent," reprising their Broadway roles.

When their split was confirmed in 2013, after nearly 11 years of marriage, it hit fans hard.

Their son, Walker Nathaniel Diggs, was just four years old at the time. Diggs later reflected that he always knew people would react strongly and noted that it was easy for fans to root for them, given how they met and how talented Menzel was.

But they were done, and that chapter closed.

A New Chapter, and a Psychic's Text

Years later, Diggs seemed to have found something new. On the Tamron Hall Show in 2023, he revealed a story that seemed like fate. A psychic friend, someone he trusted and hadn't spoken to in months, texted him out of nowhere while he was at his then-girlfriend's house with a shocking message:

"She's the one."

He said he was stunned, texted back a question mark, and the psychic responded that his late mother had sent this woman to him and was painting a picture of her.

Both he and his girlfriend started crying. That woman was Apryl Jones, and for a while, it really did seem like something special.

The two became one of social media's more unexpected couples, bonding over a shared habit: making goofy and dancing videos together.

As Jones later described it, they would crack each other up mid-moment and one of them would shout, "Grab a phone." The clips spread, people loved them, and the whole thing looked effortless from the outside.

Why It Didn't Work Out

Sadly, by September 2025, Jones was sitting down with Carlos King for an interview and being remarkably candid about why things fell apart.

"We went to therapy," she said, "because I think we spoke different [sic]. We had different communication styles."

Jones went on to describe a situation where both of them were trying to express what they wanted but couldn't quite reach each other.

"I may have felt like I needed certain, you know, things that he wasn't [understanding] it was just like, 'Well, I'm telling you.' And he's like, 'Well, I'm telling you.' And it's like, 'Okay, well, can we understand?' And we just couldn't get there."

Despite that, they remained on good terms. Jones also opened up about an unexpected run-in with Diggs at "Hell's Kitchen" on Broadway in New York.

He was sitting four seats ahead of her, didn't recognize her at first because she had lost 37 pounds, and when he finally did, he pulled her aside.

He told her she had been "sitting heavy" on his spirit and that her light was "really bright," even saying he had sensed he would run into her soon. But they just caught up and laughed a bit.

King, naturally, asked her point-blank if she missed him.

"Oh god. I could say that I miss people," she said, laughing. "I mean, he ain't the only relationship I had. I don't know how to lie. I can't."

As for whether something could revisit itself down the line, she left the door open, adding, "It was fun while it lasted. It was great."

But she made clear she had moved on, and so, it seems, has he.

Enter Someone New

Fast forward to 2026, and Diggs, who maintains an extremely active Instagram, is back with a new dancing partner, Jessica Jarrell, 31, and fans have been watching closely.

What makes the pairing even more interesting is that the two are actually costars in the Candy Jar original digital series "Off Limits & All Mine," which means their on-screen chemistry has had plenty of time to develop off-screen, too.

On February 9, he and Jarrel danced together to "Teach Me How to Dougie" by Calli Swag District. On February 21, she showed off her vocals with "Part of Your World" from "The Little Mermaid," while Diggs stood beside her, part hyping her up, part interrupting.

On March 13, they were goofing around to "Raindance," the 2025 collaboration between Dave and Tems. April 13 brought another clip, this time moving to Thirteendegrees's "Da Problem Solva."

Then on April 20, he posted yet another video, captioned, "Can y'all learn this right quick?" And the internet noticed immediately.

The Comments Said Everything

Fans flooded that post with reactions, and the Jones comparisons came fast.

"Nah don't be tryna replace Apryl...this was yall thang[sic]," one person wrote, while another said, "She's not Apryl Jones because Apryl can dance and act, laughing at Taye's corny jokes! 🤷‍♀️"

Someone else thought, "I like April better but she cute tho. It just don't seem authentic. 😍"

"April and him was better!! Just saying😂😂," another netizen added.

But not everyone framed it as a comparison. Some went straight for the age gap.

"Isn't he 24 yrs older than her? ☹️ That's like me dating my youngest daughter's friends.....then again 52 yo men don't look like...," one person opined, while another scolded, "She's really young. Not a good look sir !"

Another netizen shared, "Cmon this video is hard to watch. This girl looks like a teenager with an old man. At least Apryl looked like a grown woman[sic]."

A few commenters, particularly those who couldn't recognize Jarrell, launched into immediate speculation. "Tate Diggs doesn't have a daughter. He has a son with Indina Menzel the boy is 12 years old. This gal must be his latest girlfriend 😮 [sic]," one person claimed.

And then there was the one wondering how Jones herself might be taking all of this, writing, "Is this the new girlfriend? April is not impressed!!"

While some people may not be familiar with Diggs' dancing partner, she is not a newcomer. Jarrell is an American pop and R&B singer, actress, and model who got her early break with the Justin Bieber collaboration "Overboard" and "Key to My Heart" from the "The Back-Up Plan" soundtrack.

She has since shifted toward independent urban AC releases, with tracks like "Getting Right" and visually driven videos like "Gravity" and "Goldblooded" racking up millions of YouTube views. Her credits have earned coverage from Billboard, BET, Rap Up, Perez Hilton, and Playboy.com, among others.

Neither Diggs nor Jarrell has addressed the speculation directly, and these videos might just be promoting their vertical drama. But they've certainly grabbed mixed attention!