SNL

As part of his promise to lead with “more vulnerability” in the new year, Chris Redd is getting candid about his romance with girlfriend Christina Evangeline, who was previously married to his former “Saturday Night Live” co-star Kenan Thompson for the first time.

On Tuesday, Redd posted an emotional video on Instagram in which he described his relationship with Evangeline as “something very unique and nuanced” that began while he was dealing with “problems and issues with pills” during his five-season stint on “SNL.”

Evangeline, he said, was “the only one who called me and helped me with my things” and encouraged him to start therapy.

“She told me things about her life that made me see a lot of people involved differently,” he continued. “And in that moment, we fell in love.”

While the exact timeline has never been clear, Evangeline and Redd were first romantically linked in the media that fall, shortly before Redd confirmed his departure from “SNL” after five seasons.

In his Instagram video, Redd hinted that his relationship with Evangeline had already begun before her departure from “SNL,” making the situation “an emotional double-edged sword” given his professional ties to Thompson.

“I think we were a great team. And I hate doing something to someone that I know would hurt them,” she said, fighting back tears. “I don’t feel like a player in this shit at all, but I did choose love.”

“I don’t feel like a pimp,” he continued. “I don’t feel good about this at all, besides the fact that I found someone who makes me feel like I don’t even know what real love was. And I felt like I couldn’t miss it.”

Elsewhere in the clip, Redd also reflected on being punched in the face outside a New York comedy club in 2022, and suggested that the incident was somehow related to his then-new relationship becoming public around that time.

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“Most people who know me at home would know I would retaliate in an instant, but not this time,” he said. “This time it seemed fair. Fair enough.”

Redd, 40, shared the video while announcing a comedy show on January 28 in New York. Fans, he said, can expect to hear more about his personal relationships on the show, which is about “love.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, Thompson had yet to publicly respond to Redd’s video. He has also remained quiet about the demise of his marriage to Evangeline since their split.

When asked on NBC’s “Today” why he didn’t divulge details about his divorce in his 2023 memoir “When I Was Your Age,” the actor and comedian said he avoided topics that would require him to “speak out of turn to people who aren’t there to tell their side of the story.”

“So I just stated my perspective,” he added.