RHOBH Star Diana Jenkins’ Fiancé Asher Monroe Once Shared A Stage With Kelly Clarkson

Early on in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 12, new cast member Diana Jenkins announced that she was engaged to musician and actor Asher Monroe. Shortly after her 2012 divorce from banker Roger Jenkins, Diana officially began dating Asher, who she first met in March 2010 at a Victoria’s Secret event. Despite her 15-year age difference with the 33-year-old singer/songwriter, Diana has described their connection as intense on the Bravo series, and the pair welcomed Eliyanah, their first daughter together, in 2020.

Though RHOBH viewers have yet to learn much about Asher on the show, he and Diana shared the news of a recent miscarriage in one episode, as they are attempting to further expand their family. Otherwise, Asher’s career has been described in vague terms, but his Christmas carol performances at Diana’s holiday party in the July 27 episode were a clear reminder that he’s a skilled musician.

As it turns out, Asher actually has an impressive resume in both acting and music. Here’s everything RHOBH hasn’t told you about him yet.

Asher’s Music & Acting Career

After getting his start as Chip in Beauty and the Beast’s first national Broadway tour at age seven, Asher (whose full name is Asher Monroe Book) transitioned to the small screen, both acting and singing in ABC Family’s Pop Rocks movie in 2004. His other early acting roles include appearances on the Jamie Lynn Spears-led Zoey 101, Medium, and The Mentalist. A onetime student at the real New York City school the musical was based on, Asher also played Marco in the 2007 Fame remake, before guest-starring in eight episodes of NBC’s Parenthood as Haddie Braverman’s boyfriend, Steve Williams, in 2010.

“The show was fun for me, just to come on. I know I was on the first season, so I was one of the first characters introduced,” he told PopCrush in 2015 of his Parenthood run. “I think the cast is — you’re always walking onto someone else’s home life, work life — and so, for me, they treated me so nice and … I was just like family. And I think that’s what they embrace on the show as well. I think what you see on TV is a lot of what I saw in real life. They had me with open arms.”

Meanwhile, Asher later signed with Warner Bros. Records, and as the lead singer for the band V Factory, he landed a Top 40 single with 2009’s “Love Struck.” Though the group shared stages with such acts as Kelly Clarkson, Pitbull, M.C. Hammer, and Flo Rida, they broke up the same year, at which time Asher began his solo career as the flagship artist signed to Diana’s D Empire music company. After working with artists such as Sean Kingston and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, Asher dropped a music video with Chris Brown for their song “Memory” in 2014. (As of publication, the clip had more than 2.7 million views.) The following year, he also performed on the European leg of Brown’s “One Hell of a Nite” tour.

“All of my songs are very melodic, very fun and catchy,” Asher told Billboard in 2012, citing Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Queen, and Elton John as inspirations. “I always want people leaving my songs remembering the hook.”

Following a steady stream of singles and music videos, Asher dropped his most recent album, Windows of Time, on July 13. “I wrote all the lyrics for the album in Croatia over a span of 3 months. I locked my phone in a safe, read the entire Old Testament, jumped into the sea every day, and acted as a channel for whatever inspiration led to be,” he recently explained to Broadway World. He added that his lyrics tap into his and Diana’s relationship, as well as first-time fatherhood.

Asher’s Instagram

In addition to showcasing his music, Asher’s Instagram also includes some of his famous friends, including Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, Paris Hilton, and Elton John and David Furnish. (n a birthday tribute, he explained that he first met Burtka when they co-starred in the Beauty and the Beast production at 7 years old. Asher also had a meeting with Pope Francis in 2018, something he called a “memorable moment” that he will “always cherish.”

The true stars of his social media account though are Diana and their daughter, as he often shares special family moments. While celebrating Valentine’s Day 2022, for example, he wrote that he couldn’t believe he “first laid eyes on” Diana 12 years ago. “It feels like a flash from all the wild and crazy fun,” he captioned the post, in part. “If it was only highs, it wouldn’t be real, if it were only lows we’d never know .. it’s experiencing true love in this life that has nourished my soul.”