'Wicked' Star Marissa Bode and Her Girlfriend Are the Cutest — a Look Into Their Romance

Spoiler Alert: This article contains light spoilers for Wicked.

I believe I speak for many theatre kids (especially those of us who became those "cringe millennials" you all love to drag) when I say I am both "glad" and "grateful" for Wicked's music adaptation release. After a massive opening weekend on Nov. 22, 2024, the movie musical starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande received a wave of new fans ready to belt out "Defying Gravity" at a moment's notice and unpacking all of its Wizard of Oz connections.

Actor Marissa Bode, who played Cynthia's character, Elphaba's (aka The Wicked Witch of the West) younger sister, Nessarose, is a pivotal part of the movie, especially Act Two. Marissa made history as the first disabled actor to portray the character, who is in a wheelchair during the film.

During Wicked's fabulocious press run, fans discovered Marissa has a plus one by her side.

Marissa's character, Nessarose, may have been unlucky in love in Wicked, but that's just a testament to her acting abilities. In real life, she's in a relationship with Lauren "Wren" Brooks. Marissa's girlfriend, who uses she/they pronouns, is also disabled and describes herself as a "wheely hot writer."

Lauren's Instagram bio states she's a journalist who has written for several publications, including Cripple Media, the first media publication "run by and for disabled people." She has been vocal on her platforms about issues like the ongoing genocide and protests in Palestine.

It's unclear when Marissa and Lauren made their relationship official, but the cuties have been all over one another's social media accounts throughout 2024. When the actor appeared with her girlfriend on the red carpet during one of the movie's many premieres, fans were elated to see them together. Several fans expressed their glee on TikTok after a user named @alicianotsograceful posted a collection of photos of them together wearing stunning ivory dresses. The photos were how many discovered Marissa identifies as queer.

"Wait, I had already fallen in love with her & she's queer?!!!!" one user commented.

"THE RED SHOESSSS!!!" another fan peeped of Wren's shoes for the premiere, . "She understood the supportive partner assignment!"

"THIS IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME," a third fan professed.

Multiple fans also shared their views about Marissa's relationship, with her receiving primarily positive feedback. However, one fan pointed out that her relationship is another example of Wicked's perceived plan to cater to the movie's significant LGBTQ+ fanbase in more ways than one.

"Truly not a single straight person on that set," one commenter joked on Instagram, adding, "It was inevitable Ariana and Ethan ended up together."

The fan's reference was a petty nod to Ariana's alleged affair with her Wicked co-star, Ethan Slater, who played Marissa's character's love interest, Boq. While Wicked likely didn't intend for most of its principal cast to be somewhere under the rainbow, as a fellow coalition member, I must say "Thank Goodness" for this update!