Chelsea Manning: 5 Things To Know About The Whistleblower Reportedly Dating Grimes

Grimes is reportedly dating WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning after her breakup with Elon Musk. Learn more about Chelsea here.

It’s been another whirlwind day in the land of pop artist Grimes. After revealing she welcomed a second child with ex Elon Musk, who is currently dating actress Natasha Bassett, reports surfaced that Grimes herself had begun a new relationship, with former WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

Although questions arose about Grimes and Elon’s relationship status after she called him her “boyfriend” in her baby announcement, Grimes later confirmed their split and has reportedly been “getting serious” with Chelsea. Learn all about the whistleblower and activist’s past, including her relationship with former President Barack Obama, here.

1. She’s a former whistleblower

While she served as a U.S. Army intelligence officer, Chelsea allegedly got in contact with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in late 2009. Over a period of a few months, she leaked hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website, committing what’s believed to be the largest unauthorized release of classified state information in history. Chelsea was arrested in 2010 and after her initial trial was commuted, sentenced to 35 years in prison in July 2013.

2. She’s a transgender woman

Chelsea, who has said she has felt like a woman since childhood, came out publicly as transgender the day after her sentencing, saying “I am a female” and requesting to be referred to as Chelsea Manning. She sought treatment for gender dysphoria while incarcerated in a men’s military prison, but the Department of Defense allegedly denied her request. While serving her sentence, she tried to commit suicide twice. She also went on a hunger strike in 2016 for 10 days, until army officials finally allowed her to pursue her gender affirmation, including reassignment surgery.

 3. Former President Barack Obama pardoned her 

As one of his final acts in office, former President Barack Obama commuted the remainder of Chelsea’s prison sentence in May 2017. At the time, Chelsea had served roughly seven years of her sentence, which still made her the longest-serving whistleblower in United States history. After her release, she found a new lease on life, even running for a senate seat in Maryland in 2018.

 4. She and Grimes have reportedly been “getting serious”

According to a Mar. 11 report from Page Six, Grimes and Chelsea’s relationship is moving full speed ahead, with a source sharing they “U-Hauled it” and have been “living together in Austin.” HollywoodLife has reached out to both Grimes’ and Chelsea’s reps for comment.

News of the alleged couple’s fast-paced romance comes just as Grimes confirmed her second split from Elon on Thursday in a bombshell interview with Vanity Fair, where she also shared she and Elon secretly welcomed a daughter in Dec. 2021. The new baby is named (in classic Grimes fashion) Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, or Y for short. Grimes and Elon already share son X Æ A-Xii Musk, who goes by X.

5. She and Grimes have already been trading tweets for months

Though Grimes and Chelsea’s reported relationship may be getting more serious, the pair have been interacting on Twitter for months, with some conversations even hinting at their connection. In response to a tweet by comedian Hasan Minhaj where Grimes promised to be a guest on his show, Chelsea replied “vouch,” seeming to allude to behind-the-scenes conversations between her and Grimes.