Meagan Tandy and Branden Wellington Open Up About Newlywed Life and Their Plans to Start a Family (Exclusive)

Meagan Tandy and Branden Wellington say newlywed life is all about learning and "adapting."

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at the 16th Annual African-American Film Critics Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 19, the couple — who tied the knot last September — shared how they are navigating the early months of their marriage. For Tandy, 39, it has marked the first time she has lived with somebody as an adult, an experience she says has been "an adjustment."

"I've only ever lived with my parents, and when I moved out of the house I lived by myself," she explains.

Wellington chimed in to joke that he quickly made a big sacrifice in the name of domestic harmony. "I give her most of the closet space so I am the nice guy," he says. "I give up the majority of shoe life for this lady."

Related: Actor Branden Wellington Is Engaged to Actress Meagan Tandy! See the Exclusive Photos

The Sistas star tells PEOPLE that now that the pair are living together and "combining" their lives, they are learning even more about each other every day. To make sure their relationship runs smoothly, he says, they have established certain routines and systems.

"I'm an early bird so I get up early and I know I got the day shift with the dog. So I'm going to do that so she can get her sleep," Wellington explains.

"It's like, 'How can who I am naturally compliment you and try to make your life easier today?' And just trying to find a way to work," he continues, explaining it was a learning process for him at first. "I was really new at this thing so we had a couple of false starts. So we're taking advice from anybody 10 years and beyond, contact us and let us know!"

Tandy says she has had to learn to be more patient and flexible.

"Especially sisters, we were very independent, we're strong, we got our own ways. So having to adapt to now being with somebody and how they do things and having patience with that, that's what I'm learning," the Batwoman actress explains.

Now that they have settled into their life together, the two are making plans for the future — and that includes starting a family.

"We definitely want to start a family at some point here," Wellington says, prompting Tandy to joke, "He said it, okay."

"It's part of the natural trajectory of life. We don't know when it's going to happen," Wellington adds.

But Tandy hopes it happens soon. "Yeah, I hope God has it for us this year, honestly."

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Tandy and Wellington first met in 2017 while she was filming the TV show Survivor's Remorse in Atlanta. They squeezed in a date before Wellington flew back to New York City to film the last season of the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. In 2018, the pair made their relationship official and then on Christmas Day in 2023, Wellington proposed.

The two said "I do" on Sept. 1 last year in Lytle Creek, Calif., surrounded by 175 guests. At the time, Tandy told PEOPLE she was excited to have Wellington by her side and "share life’s journey with someone special."

"I grew up in a loving family that deeply shaped who I am today," she added. "For me, life has always been about connection, and I never saw it as something to navigate alone."

Wellington shared how marriage marked a "rite of passage" into manhood and fatherhood for him. "I’ll be the sixth generation married in my family, so it’s something I’ve looked forward to for a while," the actor said at the time. "I’m fueled by knowledge and most looking forward to learning new ways to love the same person for a lifetime."

Read the original article on People