It is completely plausible to meet new friends and acquaintances through your parent’s profession. A teacher could bring her son to a school function, and he could meet a new friend. This everyday occurrence becomes headline news when the parties involved are Hollywood celebrities. It is not uncommon in the tight-knit community of Hollywood to have interaction between two famous celebrities’ families. When they start dating, people will talk, and there’s a rumor going around that Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence’s children are dating. Before we get into that, let’s look at their respective family trees.
Eddie Murphy’s family
Beyond his impressive acting and comedy careers, Murphy has 10 children from five different relationships. He shares his first child with former girlfriend Paulette McNeely. Eric Murphy was born in 1989 and is currently 33 years old. More about him later. Eddie was married to Nicole Mitchell from 1993-2006. The exes share five children: Bria, Myles, Shayne, Zola, and Bella. Eddie shares son, Christian, with ex-girlfriend Tamara Hood. He and Spice Girl Melanie Brown, better known as Scary Spice/Mel B, share a daughter named Angel. Eddie and his fiancée, Paige Butcher, share two children, Izzy and Max. The couple has been together since 2012 and got engaged in 2018.
Martin Lawrence’s family
If it was a strictly numbers game, Eddie would win this round. Martin Lawrence has three children from two different marriages. He shares a daughter with former Miss Virginia, Patricia Southall. The couple was married from 1995-1997. More on Jasmine Page Murphy later. Martin shares two daughters, Iyanna Faith and Amara Trinity, with ex-wife Shamicka Gibbs. The two were married from 2010 to 2012, and Eddie happened to be in attendance at their wedding.
Martin and Eddie’s friendship
Eddie and Martin first met on the set of the 1992 movie Boomerang. Eddie starred as Marcus Graham in this romantic comedy while Martin played Tyler Hawkins. They appeared together again in the 1999 movie, Life, a buddy comedy about two friends who are wrongly convicted of murder. From then on out, Martin and Eddie ran in the same Hollywood circles.
Jasmin Lawrence and Eric Murphy
The cat’s out of the bag: Eric Murphy and Jasmin Lawrence are dating. A fun fact is they did not meet through their famous fathers. Jasmin told InTouch Weekly that it was her uncle that introduced them. “It wasn’t even our dads, and they’ve done two movies together. They’re friends,” she stated.
Jasmin went on to say that their relationship began as a friendship, so it has a firm foundation. The couple “became really good friends because we bonded on a lot of things,” and “understood each other on a certain level” because of their similar childhood situations. The friendship grew into romance. “And over time, it just, you know, became more,” she recalled. Jasmin also stated that their families are “absolutely” supportive of the situation.
Both Eric and Jasmin are following in their fathers’ footsteps while trying to forge their own paths. Eric is a writer and voice-over actor while Jasmin is an actor and appeared in Martin’s film, Bad Boys for Life.
Jasmin and Eric go public
Jasmin and Eric went public with their relationship status in June of 2021. He took to Instagram to make the announcement, posting an adorable selfie of himself and Jasmin, captioned, “Head over heels in LOVE with YOU.”
Jasmin also posted her own social media PDA. On Eric’s birthday, she posted two cute couple photos with the caption, “Happy birthday, my love! I’m so incredibly blessed to know you, to love you, and to have you by my side. Cheers to many more blessings, laughs, and beautiful memories! I love you so much!!”
Martin weighs in
On a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live appearance, Martin discussed his daughter’s relationship. He joked about the potential for a “comedy super-baby.” He got real though and revealed that he and Eddie do not really talk about their kid’s love life. They “kind of just stay out of their business, and let them do their own thing, and respect their thing.” He couldn’t stay serious for too long, though. He added that if the couple get married, he is “gonna try to get Eddie to pay for it.” This would go against tradition, but Martin thinks Eddie can swing it. Can you imagine the funny speeches at that wedding? It would be a hilarious event for sure.