These Are The Real-Life Partners Of Pentatonix
Cast your mind back to that long-ago year of 2011. "Glee" was on the air. Barack Obama hadn't yet been re-elected. "Pitch Perfect" hadn't yet hit theaters. On NBC, however, the acapella aca-revolution was in full swing. The network's hit show "The Sing-Off" was in the business of making stars out of acapella groups — at least they were trying to. It wasn't until Pentatonix won the show's third season that November that the show found its first bonafide superstars.
The group formed shortly before their audition for the reality show, but beatboxer Kevin Olusola told The Hollywood Reporter that it felt like they were always meant to be. "I think we all realized we had something that was very different," he recalled. "I had no idea we could connect like that instantaneously. We had this musical synergy that I had never felt before."
Now, more than a decade after they won the show as college students, Pentatonix have grown up. Many of the group members have settled down and started families, even as they have kept up with their rigorous touring and recording schedules. Those milestones have made it into their original music, as Mitch Grassi explained to Atwood Magazine. "You can really feel that we are dealing with all these really human issues, love, self-awareness, doubt, pain, and loneliness. It's our emotional journey into adulthood," he said. Press play on your favorite aca-playlist, because we're reviewing all the real-life partners of the members of Pentatonix.
Scott Hoying married a model
Scott Hoying has known fellow Pentatonix members Mitch Grassi and Kirstin Maldonado since high school. When he got to college and found out about "The Sing-Off," Hoying was the one who put together the band that would become Pentatonix. However, he demurs when people call him the lead singer. "It was kind of a special thing for us that we can have everyone do leads and everyone do solo type stuff because everyone in the group is super, super talented, and can carry a lead," he told Cincinnati Magazine.
Hoying is openly gay, and in September 2022, he announced that he had gotten engaged to his model boyfriend Mark Manio. "I have never met anyone that was so kind and selfless. I have always just felt so comfortable with him," Hoying told People. Manio agreed that the couple just clicked, adding, "He's the most lovable, kind, caring, compassionate, handsome guy ever."
The pair married in July 2023 in a seaside Santa Barbara ceremony that included all of Hoying's Pentatonix bandmates. They also boasted "Jar of Hearts" singer Christina Perri as the wedding's officiant. Hoying performed at his own wedding; he sang "Four," a song he wrote for Manio. "The song is one of my favorite songs I have ever written, as it is a love letter I dedicated to Mark after we had dated for four years, and I can barely sing it without crying," Hoying told People.
Mitch Grassi once dated his bandmate
A few years into the band's fame, Mitch Grassi and Scott Hoying formed a Pentatonix spinoff duo called Superfruit. They continued performing with the main band, but they also released music as just the two of them. Like Hoying, Grassi is openly gay, and fans of the duo began wondering whether they were in a relationship. Pride.com even rounded up their cutest "couple goals" moments, noting that they often called one another "husband" and were physically affectionate on their YouTube channel.
Hoying and Grassi played into fan speculation in a YouTube video called "ARE WE DATING!?" where they answered questions from listeners. Rather than directly telling fans whether they were a couple, they agreed, "We have been mad touchy lately!" Ultimately, Grassi and Hoying are not a couple, and they were not a couple while they were focusing on Superfruit. However, according to an interview with Paper Magazine, they did briefly date in high school!
Nowadays, of course, Hoying is married. Grassi, for his part, has not gone public with any current relationship.
Kirstin Maldonado is engaged to a director
Kirstin Maldonado is one of the founding members of Pentatonix, having formed a trio with Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi in college. While there were rumors that she dated former band member Avi Kaplan, those turned out not to be true. Instead, Maldonado has been in a relationship with filmmaker Ben Hausdorff for a while. He filmed a music video for the acapella group as well as a solo video for Maldonado, according to his website. Speaking with The Jacob Restituto Podcast, Hausdorff recalled, "Pentatonix management hit me up and said, hey, we're recording this album, and we're doing it a little differently than we normally do." They invited him into the studio to film the behind-the-scenes recording process, and the rest was history.
Maldonado and Hausdorff welcomed a girl named Elliana in July 2022. The Pentatonix singer wrote on Instagram, "We are soaking up every beautiful perfectly imperfect newborn moment; every late night cuddle, feed, cry is all worth it with our sweet baby and my perfect partner in crime @hausdo."
The new parents announced even more good news less than a year later, going public with their engagement in March 2023 while in Japan. On Instagram, Maldonado shared several adorable selfies showing off her new ring. Alongside one, she wrote, "Somehow now japan is even more so my favorite place in the world than it was before. i love you forever and always @hausdo, bah life 4eva."
Matt Sallee knew it was love at first sight
Founding Pentatonix member Avi Kaplan left the group in 2017. He announced in a goodbye video that he had been struggling to keep up with the group's fast-paced career engagements. "I believe in what we do, and I believe in what they will do. I could never inhibit their success in any way. I would never, ever want that," he said. Pentatonix needed a new bass, and the month after Kaplan's departure, Scott Hoying announced on Twitter that Matt Sallee had joined the group. "I hope y'all LOVE him as much as we do!" Hoying wrote.
Sallee was excited to join the group, and he found his new band was just as inviting as anyone could hope. "They are the most welcoming people I've ever encountered. They were excited for me; they were excited for the group," he told Southern Maryland News Net.
A few years after he joined Pentatonix, Sallee announced on Twitter that he had gotten engaged to a woman named Sarah Bishop. He wrote, "I waited & prayed & God gave me you. I will love you for the rest of my life." They married in 2022, and the couple told People that it was the culmination of a relationship that started with love at first sight. "We both knew pretty much after our first date that the connection was rare and special ... Our walk on the moonlit beach that night solidified it."
Kevin Olusola's two-day wedding
While Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, and Kirstin Maldonado knew each other in college, Kevin Olusola joined the band because of a viral video where he played the cello and beatboxed at the same time. Preparing for their "Sing-Off" audition, the trio sought out Olusola to be their beatboxer. "I don't think any of us knew that it was going to lead to all this," Olusola told Pray. "We're five such different people in such a beautiful way."
Olusola married college admissions counselor Leigh Weissman in 2019 after two years of dating. Their wedding took place over two days, combining Olusola's Nigerian family traditions with Weissman's Italian ones. "Day one was our rehearsal dinner, which doubled as a traditional Nigerian Ceremony to pay respect to the groom's Nigerian heritage," the couple told The Knot. "Day two was our traditional American wedding." Speaking with People, they reiterated their love for one another. "We are both just so excited to have our absolute best friend as a spouse as we enjoy this crazy journey we call life," they said.
In April 2021, the couple announced on Instagram that they had become parents. Olusola wrote, "Kaia, your mommy & daddy love you more than words can describe. And God, thank you for entrusting Leigh and me as her parents." On her own Instagram, Olusola's wife added, "I'm so enamored by you, my little Kai! Being your mom is the thing I'm most proud of in this world."