Rom-coms are getting their groove back in 2026. Black love stories are the main character this year, with long-awaited reunions (Love Jones‘ alum Nia Long and Larenz Tate in Don’t Ever Wonder), globe-trotting romance (You, Me & Tuscany) and renewed vows (Why Did I Get Married Again? with a dose of Taraji P. Henson). In Relationship Goals, the new rom-com coming to Prime Video next month, faith enters the conversation on Black romance, where love is guided by purpose and unwavering belief.
The latest from the production house of fellow pastor DeVon Franklin, the film stars Kelly Rowland as Leah Caldwell, a brilliant TV producer who’s about to make history as the first female showrunner to lead the top morning show in New York. Just when everything in her life seems to be lining up, her ex, Jarrett Roy — played by Cliff “Method Man” Smith — returns to compete for the same position.
He’s got a new beat on love thanks to the pastor’s book, which guides the search for a partner through faith-based principles. But with Leah coming in strong with her own list of relationship qualifications, competition and chemistry clash. Franklin, who expanded his TV empire last year with Ruth & Boaz, a romantic drama based on the Biblical parable, understands that faith-based romance is another way to help audiences connect with a higher power through film.
“From the first time I read Pastor Mike Todd’s New York Times bestselling book, I knew it had the makings of a phenomenal film,” he shared with EBONY.
Casting Rowland and Smith was an easy choice. “Kelly and Cliff are Hollywood’s new leading woman and man,” he declared. With them in the leading roles, “this is gonna be your new favorite romantic comedy.”
In addition to starring in the film, Rowland has recorded a new song, “Complicated,” for it. She also serves on the film’s executive production team alongside Bart Lipton and Todd. “It’s only crazy when it happens,” Todd had exclaimed on Instagram when the news of the film’s production first dropped this past February.
Rowland has steadily expanded her on-screen presence in front of and behind the camera, with a starring role and a producer credit on the 2024 hit Tyler Perry’s Mea Culpa. She’s also behind the Merry Liddle Christmas holiday movie franchise.
First published in 2020, Relationship Goals: How to Win at Dating, Marriage, and Sex is a faith-based life manual on building healthy, lasting relationships, rooted in self-awareness, purpose and God’s design for love and marriage. Todd drew from biblical principles and personal experience to help readers set their intentions for the relationship they seek.
Relationship Goals will premiere globally on Prime Video on February 4, 2026.