Kate Hudson and Danny Fujikawa met through Hudson's stepbrother and began dating sometime around 2017.

He's a musician (the former guitarist and lead singer for the band Chief), actor, and filmmaker.

In 2018, he and Hudson welcomed a daughter, Rani Rose Hudson Fujikawa.

Kate Hudson has never been shy about sharing her love of love, and her relationship with musician-turned-actor-turned-filmmaker Danny Fujikawa might just be her sweetest one yet. The two actually go way back: Danny was a longtime friend of Kate’s stepbrother, Wyatt Russell, and had been in her orbit for over a decade before they got together. What started as a casual hike turned into a first date and, eventually, a full-blown love story.

Now, they’re engaged, raising their daughter Rani Rose along with the rest of their blended family. 

Danny started his career as a musician in the indie folk rock band Chief, where he played guitar and sang vocals. The band had a solid cult following before breaking up in 2011, after which Danny co-founded Lightwave Records and started exploring documentary filmmaking.

More recently, Fujikawa co-produced Hudson's 2024 album Glorious. Their collaboration was Hudson's idea. As she told People, "I made him do it, so it wasn't like he had a choice!" In the end, she said working together felt like "magic" as they played off of one another's strengths.

Danny and Kate met through family connections, specifically Wyatt Russell, Kate’s stepbrother and the son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. Danny and Wyatt were close friends for years, and Kate says she and Danny “never saw each other like that” until one fateful hike in 2016 changed everything.

“A year ago today Danny took me on a hike and what I thought was just a hike with a family friend turned very quickly into an unexpected first date,” Kate wrote in a 2017 Instagram post. “No moves were made on this first date. In fact, it took months for him to make a first move! And as a kiss on this bridge would have been nice, the kiss a year later was so much sweeter.”

They made it official shortly after, and the vibe has been “best friends in love” ever since.

After five years together, Danny popped the question in September 2021. Kate shared the news with a giddy, smooching selfie captioned, “Let’s go!”

And while there’s no word yet on when the wedding’s happening—Kate’s been engaged before, so she’s in no rush—they already feel like a solid unit.  "I like the idea of being engaged forever," she said on The Drew Barrymore Show. "The contractual thing is tough for me. I like my freedom ... I like the concept of freedom."

In October 2018, Kate and Danny welcomed their daughter, Rani Rose Hudson Fujikawa. She's named after Danny’s late father, Ron Fujikawa. Rani is Kate’s third child and Danny’s first. Judging by Kate’s Instagram, he is very into the girl-dad lifestyle. Rani’s already the star of the show in their house, often seen meditating with Dad, dancing with Mom, or holding court with them in matching pajamas.

"It's the first time I feel like I have a real teammate in this. We're able to pick up where the other one has to leave off," Hudson told Women's Health in a 2019 interview. "If I have to go to a dinner meeting, he can be home."

Before Rani came along, Kate had two sons from previous relationships: Ryder, her eldest, with ex-husband Chris Robinson, frontman of The Black Crowes; and Bingham, with Muse frontman Matt Bellamy. Yes, Kate’s exes are basically a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame lineup.

Chris and Kate were married from 2000 to 2007, and despite their split, they’ve stayed on great terms. The same goes for Bellamy—Kate and her current fiancé have even hung out with Matt and his wife Elle Evans.

Danny doesn’t have any kids from previous relationships, but he stepped into the stepdad role like he was born for it. In the Sunday Times, Kate called Danny a wonderful dad and stepdad, and even confirmed how well they do in managing it all: "It might not look traditional from the outside, but on the inside I feel like we're killing it," she said. 

As Hudson shared in her first Instagram post with Fujikawa, her longtime friends Sara and Erin Foster are Fujikawa's stepsisters. The Fosters' mom, Rebecca Dyer, was in a decade-long relationship with Fujikawa's father Ron until he died in 2012. "His step sisters are my best friends...and so it goes we have been in the same circle for over a decade," Hudson wrote on Instagram in 2017.

Kate might radiate main character energy at all times, but Danny is more of the “let me hold your purse while you take the spotlight” guy. He rarely posts on social media, isn’t doing press, and generally avoids the Hollywood hustle.

With three kids, a rock-star ex or two, and a very chill co-parenting situation, they’ve made their modern love story work in a way that feels refreshingly un-Hollywood. “He makes me feel beautiful every single moment of the day. Even when we have fought, I still feel loved," Kate told People. "His devotion to the family unit makes me feel safe and confident and secure."