Dominique Jackson and Al, Her Partner of 20 Years, Parted Ways a While Ago

A recent episode of Pose took a new look at the events that shaped Elektra's life, such as her decision to leave her family's house after being shamed for the way she looked. 

As model and actress Dominique Jackson told Refinery29, she too left her family at a young age. Following her move to the U.S. at age 18, Dominique got into the ballroom scene in Baltimore, Md. before relocating to New York. She met her now ex-husband, Al, when she was in her thirties. 

Dominique met her husband, Al, back in 1998. As she told Refinery29, the period had its ups and downs — as she was also waiting to undergo surgery. 

"We always had it in the back of our heads that eventually I would be able to become post-op. It was extremely important to me, and we both knew that physically the relationship wouldn't last if I wasn't complete," she told the outlet. 

By 2013, things got worse as Dominique began to experience increased gender dysmorphia. 

"But in 2013 my husband had became so frustrated because I wouldn't let him touch me in any capacity at all," she told the outlet. "I was literally hanging on by a thread." 

They pushed through, and they got married in 2016. Their wedding ceremony was captured in an episode of Strut, a 2016 reality TV show starring trans models like Isis King and Arisce Wanzer. 

As Dominique explained in a promotional clip for Strut, she and Al first got married after gay marriage was legalized in the U.S. — but they had to wait for the wedding bash of their dreams. 

"I've been planning my wedding for 20 years. I still haven't had it yet. We just went to the courthouse," Dominique explained in a promotional clip. "We actually had the opportunity to get married because it was right after they passed the laws. ... Then I was like, 'Look, I now have the ability to do this, within the law I'm being recognized and I didn't share it with the world." 

According to Oxygen, they ended up organizing a beach-side ceremony with their nearest and dearest. 

Dominique and Al organized a vacation to the island of Aruba in June 2018, but the carefully planned trip quickly turned into the stuff of nightmares. 

As Dominique claimed in a series of social media posts cited by People, she was assaulted by another hotel guest. As she explained, the police had to be called, but in the end, it was she and Al who got kicked out of the Barceló Aruba, a five-star venue. 

"We are supposed to be at the Barceló in Aruba and we just got put out of our hotel room because I said to the white man I would not sleep with him," she said in a video. "We're in Aruba like stuck and I paid — it's like $5,000 for me to be able to have this vacation and they put me out of my room because the white man said, 'She insulted me.' I'm out on the street." 

Dominique and Al split up in 2018 after having spent two decades together. Dominique also confirmed the rumors via a tweet posted in March 2020.

"I have been separated and divorced! Keep up!" she wrote. 

Catch new episodes of Pose every Sunday at 10 p.m. EST on FX.