Michaela Jaé Says She Was 'Running Into Brick Walls' Before Finding Love with Boyfriend Stephen Gimigliano (Exclusive)

• Michaela Jaé recently opened up to PEOPLE about her relationship with longtime boyfriend Stephen Gimigliano
• The actress said that before they began dating, she was “running into brick walls”
• She shared the revelation while promoting her new single, "Green Lights"

Before Michaela Jaé found love with her longtime boyfriend Stephen Gimigliano, she was apparently “running into brick walls” in her dating life.

“Before my relationship with Stephen is where I was just stopping at the green lights,” the actress/singer, 33, told PEOPLE of hesitating when it came to her love life.

The revelation came up as Jaé spoke about her new single, “Green Lights,” and its accompanying music video, which premiered exclusively on PEOPLE.

In a press release, the Golden Globe winner shared of the empowering track, “I wrote this song for all the girls out there who felt like they kept stopping at a green light, they never took it and just sat there and waited until it turned red. Don’t wait at a green light, take it; it’s green.”

The message as it relates to Jaé’s futuristic visual is about reconciling with the past in order to see what’s ahead, which hit close to home when it came to finally ending her romance search with Gimigliano, whom she’s been dating since 2019. 

The couple — who made their relationship Instagram official in 2020 after celebrating Valentine’s Day — are just a few months shy from celebrating their five-year anniversary on Oct. 25.

"When Steven came into my life, that was a big green light to just go and run,” the Pose alum added. “But before I was just running into brick walls, literally just couldn't get it right.”

After a trip to the studio with friend and co-producer Nick Smith, Jaé said the lyrics for “Green Lights” “subconsciously” spilled out of her. She soon realized it was due to some harbored feelings from past partners and relationships she hadn’t yet addressed.

“These words just came out when [Smith] was creating the beat. And later on, actually wildly down the line, I realized that this was probably underlying harboring feelings that I had felt and I had dealt with in past relationships,” Jaé recalled. “I was like, well, what might be important [with this song] is for young girls, trans and bio, to know never ever settle for less.”

She added, “When you do have a really good green light that you're catching, catch that s---. Don't sit there and just wait for the red light. You waste time.”

Elsewhere in her recent chat with PEOPLE, Jaé revealed her excitement about her forthcoming debut album, 33, dropping this fall, three years after her first single, “Something to Say.” 

“I've never felt better," Jaé emphasized, adding that it “feels fantastic” to finally announce the upcoming LP, "and only for myself because, me and my team, we finally have decided to just put the project out there and see how people really enjoy it.”

“I've learned that once I release something into the world, it's not mine anymore; it's ours,” she continued. “So whatever comes will come. But I have strong feelings that there will be a good reception of it simply because I really put my heart into it.”