Harry Rapheal
In an industry where relationships rarely last, CeCe Winans has something increasingly rare: a marriage measured in decades, not headlines. The most-awarded female gospel artist in history has been married to the same man since 1984 — a partnership rooted in faith, built on friendship, and still going strong 40 years later. Here’s the story of CeCe Winans’ remarkable marriage, explained.
It started in a bowling alley
The love story began long before the Grammys. CeCe was introduced to Alvin Love II by her late brother, Ronald Winans, whom Alvin knew as a good friend. The two first connected at a bowling alley when CeCe was just 17 years old.
By her own telling, it was a “when you know, you know” situation — they sensed early on that this was something lasting. They married on June 23, 1984, and have been together ever since.
Who Alvin Love II is
Alvin isn’t a background figure in CeCe’s story — he’s a partner in every sense. A pastor by calling, he’s spent his life in ministry, and the couple has built their shared life around faith rather than fame.
CeCe has often described him in the warmest terms. For one anniversary, she called him “the love of my life, my best friend and just an all around good guy,” even thanking him for living up to his surname. On their 40th, she wrote simply: “It’s been 40 years, Mr. Love, and I’m still in love with you.”
A family built on faith
CeCe and Alvin have two children — Alvin Love III and Ashley Rose Love — both of whom followed their parents into ministry and music.
Their son, Alvin Love III, is a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer who has worked on his mother’s music, and he now serves as lead pastor of the family’s church. Their daughter, Ashley, is also involved in ministry. The couple’s family has since grown to include grandchildren — Wyatt, Rooney, and Honey — making CeCe and Alvin proud grandparents.
Faith is the foundation
Ask what’s held the marriage together for four decades, and the answer always comes back to their shared faith. Since 2012, CeCe and Alvin have co-pastored Nashville Life Church in Tennessee together — meaning their partnership isn’t just personal, but a shared calling they carry side by side.
That spiritual foundation is something CeCe points to again and again. When she celebrated the 40th anniversary, she captioned the photos with a line that captures her whole philosophy of marriage: “God’s unconditional love for us makes it possible for us to love each other unconditionally.”
They balance each other out
One of the most human things CeCe has shared is how she and Alvin steady one another. In a 2008 interview with Today’s Christian Woman, she described the rhythm of their partnership.
“Alvin and I help each other a lot,” she said. “It’s amazing how when I’m upset or mad, he can be so calm and practical. Then the next day, he’ll be upset, and I’ll be able to say, ‘Ba’y, it’s OK.’ We praise God that we can help each other.” It’s a small, relatable picture of a marriage that works because two people take turns holding each other up.
It hasn’t always been easy
CeCe has been refreshingly honest that a long marriage — layered on top of a demanding career and motherhood — took real work.
She’s admitted there were moments she wanted to walk away from the pressures of balancing it all. “There were times when I thought, ‘I’m quitting! This is too hard,'” she once said of juggling music and raising children. What kept things together, in her telling, was her sense of calling, Alvin’s steady support, and family nearby — her mother and mother-in-law — who helped along the way. She’s even acknowledged a moment when she was “ready to give up,” making the endurance of the marriage feel earned rather than effortless.
Forty years, celebrated in style
To mark their milestone 40th anniversary on June 23, 2024, CeCe and Alvin didn’t just post a photo — they marked it with a full anniversary photo shoot in Nashville with photographer Hannah Corwin.
CeCe wore a white floor-length dress reminiscent of a wedding gown and held a bouquet of white roses; Alvin wore a sharp black tux and bowtie. The images, which she shared with her fans, were a joyful, public celebration of a love that had lasted four decades. “Happy 40th Anniversary! Thank you for picking me Mr. Love,” she wrote, “and for making our life really sweet!!”
Why their marriage resonates
In a culture where celebrity unions often collapse under pressure, CeCe and Alvin’s 40 years stand out as something worth celebrating. Observers have called them one of the few couples of their generation to model that marriage, while genuinely hard, can be lasting and joyful through faith.
For CeCe, it’s all of a piece with who she is. Family sits at the heart of everything she does, and her marriage is the foundation everything else is built on — the career, the ministry, the legacy. It’s fitting that a woman who has spent her life singing about love has lived out one of its most enduring examples offstage.
The bottom line: CeCe Winans’ 40-year marriage to Alvin Love II is exactly the kind of quiet, faithful love story her music has always pointed to. From a bowling alley at 17 to co-pastoring a church and raising a family together, they’ve built a partnership rooted in faith, honesty, and mutual support — and four decades in, as CeCe puts it, she’s still in love with Mr. Love.
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