Who Was Christina Grimmie Dating?
Christina Grimmie was dating music producer Stephen Rezza at the time of her death in June 2016. The two met around 2012 at Jim Henson Studios in Los Angeles, where they began writing songs together, and the creative partnership became a love story. When the 22-year-old singer was fatally shot after a concert in Orlando on June 10, 2016, Rezza lost not just his girlfriend but his closest musical collaborator.
In the years since, Rezza has kept her memory alive through music - producing her posthumous album All Is Vanity (2017) and releasing his own tribute project Songs for Christina, which samples her voice from songs they wrote together. A decade after her death, he still posts tributes to her, writing in 2026: “10 years without you... it is still one of the greatest privileges of my life to carry your memory forward.”
Christina Grimmie: Life and Career Background
Christina Victoria Grimmie (March 12, 1994 – June 10, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, and internet personality. In 2009, she began posting covers of popular songs on YouTube. After releasing her debut EP, Find Me (2011), her YouTube channel reached one million subscribers. After she reached two million subscribers, she released her debut studio album, With Love (2013).
Grimmie then became a contestant on season six of The Voice, finishing in third place. Adam Levine, her coach on the show, announced in the finale that, regardless of the results, he would sign her to his label 222 Records. Lil Wayne also offered to sign her to his label, Young Money Entertainment. She was signed with Island Records for a short time before being dropped. Grimmie released her second EP, Side A, in 2016. That same year, she took on an acting role, making her only motion-picture appearance in The Matchbreaker.
On June 10, 2016, Grimmie was fatally shot while signing autographs following a concert performance at the Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida. Side B, a follow-up to Side A, was made available on Spotify and iTunes in 2017, and in June 2017, Grimmie's second and final album, All Is Vanity, was released posthumously.
Christina Victoria Grimmie was born to Tina (née Milos) and Albert Grimmie in the Marlton section of Evesham Township, New Jersey, on March 12, 1994. Her mother worked as a receptionist until she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her father worked at Verizon Communications as of 2014. She had an older brother, Marcus, who worked as her road manager during her performances.
Grimmie was of Italian and Romanian descent and grew up in Marlton, where she attended Bethel Baptist Christian School, Marlton Middle School, and Cherokee High School. Her father noticed Grimmie's talent for singing when she was six years old, and she started playing the piano at age 10. Despite having received piano lessons, Grimmie said she played by ear.
Grimmie began posting videos to her YouTube channel in 2009 at age 15, under the username of zeldaxlove64. Grimmie stated that she began a musical YouTube channel so that people could connect with her music and because her friend persuaded her to post her videos on YouTube. The first video Grimmie uploaded was a cover of Hannah Montana's "Don't Wanna Be Torn". She first earned recognition for her cover of Miley Cyrus's "Party in the U.S.A." in August 2009. Grimmie's covers first gained attention and stood out due to her voice, personality, and interpretations of well-known songs.
Grimmie was homeschooled for her junior year of high school in 2010. That same year, she covered Nelly's "Just a Dream" with fellow YouTubers Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider in a video which received more than 190 million views over the course of ten years. Later, it also became available on iTunes and Spotify. In 2011, she placed No. 2 in the MyYouTube competition, behind Selena Gomez. As her popularity grew on YouTube, Grimmie was discovered by Gomez's mother, Mandy Teefey; Teefey and her husband Brian soon became Grimmie's managers.
Grimmie performed in the UNICEF charity concert, and also performed backup vocals for Selena Gomez & the Scene; she appeared on the first DigiTour in 2011, which was created specifically for YouTube artists. Gomez became her mentor. Grimmie appeared on the Billboard Social 50; she also opened for Selena Gomez & the Scene, Allstar Weekend and the Jonas Brothers during the Concert of Hope. She toured for six weeks with Selena Gomez & the Scene opening for them in the We Own the Night Tour.
The Love Story: How Christina Met Stephen
Stephen Rezza has said he met “the love of his life” about four years before her death - around 2012 - at Jim Henson Studios, when Christina, then fresh off her rise as a YouTube sensation, was writing new material. They clicked immediately, musically and personally, and spent the next years writing songs side by side. When she left for the tour that would end in tragedy, they had been working on music together - plans for a future that was stolen in an instant.
After her death, Rezza threw himself into finishing what they started: he helped produce All Is Vanity, her posthumous album released in 2017, a process he has described as emotionally grueling - every song a reminder of the future they had planned.
Who Is Stephen Rezza? About Christina's Partner
Stephen Rezza is a singer, songwriter and producer who was Christina's boyfriend and creative partner. In 2020, he released “Hard Mode,” the first single from his tribute album Songs for Christina, which weaves her vocals - sampled from songs they wrote together and voicemails she left him - into his own orchestral-pop sound. The project had the blessing of Grimmie's family. Rezza's own life nearly ended in 2019, when surgeons removed an avocado-sized brain tumor; he has said the experience gave him a new urgency to finish the music for her.
His tributes continue: for the 10th anniversary of her death in 2026, he posted a long, emotional remembrance of their time writing together at Henson Studios, their jokes, their parody songs and their late-night adventures.
Christina's Dating History
Grimmie was intensely private about her personal life during her rise - from YouTube covers in 2009 to a million subscribers, her Find Me EP (2011), her third-place finish on season six of The Voice (2014) under coach Adam Levine, and her debut album With Love (2013). Her relationship with Rezza was known to those around them but never a publicity vehicle; it only became widely known after her death, when the depth of their partnership became clear through his music and his grief.
Christina Grimmie at 22 at death: Career Snapshot
Christina Victoria Grimmie was born March 12, 1994, in Marlton, New Jersey, and began posting covers on YouTube in 2009. Her channel passed one million subscribers after her debut EP Find Me (2011) and two million after her debut studio album With Love (2013). In 2014 she competed on season six of The Voice, finishing third on Team Adam Levine, which brought her mainstream recognition. On June 10, 2016, after a concert in Orlando, Florida, she was shot during a meet-and-greet by 27-year-old Kevin James Loibl, who then killed himself. She was 22. Her family established the Christina Grimmie Foundation to support families affected by gun violence.
Family Life and What Comes Next
Grimmie was extraordinarily close to her family - her parents Albert and Tina, and her brother Marcus, who was her manager and was with her the night she died (he tackled the shooter). The family has kept her legacy alive through the foundation and through annual remembrances, and they gave Rezza their blessing for his tribute music. In 2026, ten years after her death, the family released a documentary celebrating her life, with tributes from Rezza, friends and fellow musicians.
Christina's Love Life: Quick Answers
Still curious? The questions below cover the essentials - marriage status, partner, children and dating history“ if not past else ”the relationship, the history and the legacy, all answered with verified facts. For the deeper story - how they met, who came before, and what Christina has said about love - the sections above have it all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Christina Grimmie dating?
Christina Grimmie was dating music producer Stephen Rezza. They met around 2012 at Jim Henson Studios while writing songs together, and were a couple when she died in June 2016.
Who is Stephen Rezza?
A singer-songwriter and producer who was Christina Grimmie's boyfriend and musical collaborator. He produced her posthumous album All Is Vanity (2017) and released the tribute project Songs for Christina.
How did Christina Grimmie die?
On June 10, 2016, after a concert in Orlando, Florida, she was shot during a fan meet-and-greet by Kevin James Loibl, 27, who then killed himself. She was 22.
What is 'Hard Mode' by Stephen Rezza?
A 2020 single - the first from his Songs for Christina tribute album - that samples Christina Grimmie's vocals from songs they wrote together. Her family approved the project.
How old was Christina Grimmie when she died?
22. She was born March 12, 1994, in Marlton, New Jersey, and died June 10, 2016.
What was Christina Grimmie known for?
YouTube covers (2M+ subscribers), her Find Me EP (2011), With Love album (2013), and a third-place finish on season 6 of The Voice under Adam Levine.
What is the Christina Grimmie Foundation?
A foundation started by her family to support families affected by gun violence, keeping her legacy alive through charity work.