Frankie Grande.Photo: Emma McIntyre/WireImage

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 30: Frankie Grande attends the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards at The Beverly Hilton on March 30, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/WireImage)

Frankie Grande has learned a ton from his first year of marriage.

The actor and activist, 40,married Hale Leon in May 2022and is still living comfortably in a haze of newlywed bliss. “Now that I’m married, my life is completely free of anxiety,” Grande told PEOPLE at the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday. “I feel so wonderful and supported.”

The pairbecame engaged in 2021 after two years of dating, and thesocial media star reveals that life after the wedding has been a welcome change of pace. “Deciding to get engaged was so difficult because you’re making that decision to be with this one person for the rest of your life, and it feels so final,” he admits. “And then planning the wedding, for me, it was hell — absolutely so much anxiety.”

Grande calls his life with Leon, 30, “so chill” and explains that after years of “speeding through my relationships to try and find the one,” he can finally just enjoy his relationship. “I put in the work,” he adds. “I’m 40, honey, time to relax, sit back, and not be chasing anyone.”

Hale Leon and Frankie Grande in 2021.Albert L. Ortega/Getty

Hale Leon and Frankie Grande attend Sony Pictures “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Los Angeles Premiere held at The Regency Village Theatre on December 13, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.

TheTitanique The Musicalstar has found it easier to understand his partner since the happy couple’s small,Star Wars-themed ceremony at the Grande family home in Boca Raton, Florida. “I know it’s so cheesy, but it really is about compromise and putting yourself in each other’s shoes,” he reflects. “When we have an argument or a difficult situation, if I just come at it from where he’s coming from, and he comes at it where I’m coming from, we resolve it very, very quickly.”

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Grande cites marriage as giving him the space to find “love and forgiveness very quickly,” especially during the sort of trivial disagreements that plague all relationships, adding, “Everyone has silly arguments, but you get to learn how to navigate those so much faster, I think, in marriage.”

Frankie Grande and Hale Leon with Appa.Frankie Grande/Instagram

Frankie Grande

The lovebirds are busy raising their red toy poodle Appa while also getting back to work. Grande is even celebrating the release of his first film,the just-released horror flickSummoning Sylvia, and says they are holding off on adding children to their lives.

“When I make that movie star money, honey, we can talk about a family,” the formerBig Brothercontestant muses about expanding their family. “We want to be able to give our child all of the best and we’re just not there yet, like in terms of time, finances, all of that.”

source: people.com