Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson managed to remain tight-lipped about her romance with
model and actress Cara Delevingne​ for an entire year, but since going public during
Pride Month in 2019, fans are scrambling for more details.
Here are some things you may not know about this intriguing couple.
Before the pair came clean about their relationship, Benson and Delevingne reveled in speculation.
The couple posted photos of each other to Instagram throughout 2018, but things looked
less platonic and more romantic when they were first spotted holding hands at a bowling
alley in May of that year, according to Seventeen.
Needless to say, this shocked fans, especially considering Benson's dating history.
According to J-14, the actress had been previously linked to Ryan Good, Justin Bieber's stylist
and an executive producer on Punk'd.
The pair had an on-and-off romance that lasted the better part of Pretty Little Liars' excessively
long and massively complicated run.
Nonetheless, when P.L.L. geared up for its final season in 2016, Benson was onto bigger
and better things.
According to Playboy, the actress was linked to bisexual P.L.L. co-star Tyler Blackburn,
though they never officially dated.
After that came Delevingne.
According to Us Weekly, Delevingne is the very first woman Benson has ever dated, and
it's also the, quote, "first time she's been in a healthy relationship," proving that sometimes
the most unexpected thing is the best possible move.
As the months dragged on in Benson and Delevingne's undercover romance, the Pretty Little Liars
star took a page from the series that made her famous and dropped some serious clues
that would give the show's villain, "A", a run for her money.
In August 2018, the actress made headlines for wearing a personalized necklace with the
initials "C" and "A." Of course, what could "C" stand for but Cara?
Talk about leaving a breadcrumb trail for curious fans.
That same month, Benson was spotted wearing the dainty initials-necklace while cuddling
up to the Victoria's Secret model at Heathrow Airport.
According to People, there were, quote, "multiple smooches" while the pair waited for a taxi.
The strangest part about the whole Heathrow reveal was that Benson was actually spotted
kissing an unknown man at Kylie Jenner's birthday party just days prior even if Us Weekly claims
she ultimately left with Delevingne.
Was she just trying to throw us off their trail?
Before Benson and Delevingne went public with their romance during Pride Month in June 2019,
the British model more or less confirmed their relationship in the comments section of an
Ashley Benson fan's Instagram account in April 2019.
You may not expect so much drama to go down on an unofficial page, but nonetheless, one
homophobic troll needed to take a seat.
According to Elle, the troll revealed itself underneath a fan-posted video of the happy
couple, writing,
"I'm serious you need to stay away from the devil and never go back, I'm sure many strong
handsome religious [men] would take you back in a heartbeat.
You're not like [that] you aren't gay you love men and you need one."
Benson fired back and told the troll to, quote, "stop making things up," but Delevingne was
clearly seeing red and took the comments much more to heart, responding with,
"You are f---ing disgusting!
If you have a problem with true love then come say this s--- to my face instead [of]
pathetically hating through Instagram."
Considering Delevingne said "true love" underneath a video of her and Benson, fans were safe
to consider the relationship covertly confirmed.
In June, Delevingne and Benson finally, finally gave fans what they wanted.
They officially confirmed their relationship on the British model's Instagram account.
Delevingne posted a video of herself kissing the Pretty Little Liars actress with the caption
"[hashtag] PRIDE" and some rainbow and heart-eyes emojis.
It only took a year of fans following their exhausting trail of breadcrumbs.
Maybe Benson has learned a little too much from her time hanging around "A."
In an interview with E! News at the TrevorLIVE Gala, Delevingne opened up about why she made
the decision to publicly confirm her relationship after an entire year.
After all, it seemed like everyone already knew anyway.
"Um, I don't know, because again it is Pride, it's been 50 years since Stonewall happened,
and I don't know.
It's been just about our one year anniversary so, why not?"
The British model also gave Benson a super-cute shout-out during her speech at the gala.
"I also have another very special woman in this room to thank and you know who you are.
She's one of the people who help me love myself when I needed it most and I really needed
it."
Benson and Delevingne's romance certainly moved fast from kissing in a London airport
and holding hands in the ocean side paradise of Saint Tropez to making out on Instagram.
It seems like they've made enough romps around the world to rival that time Taylor Swift
dated Tom Hiddleston for what felt like two minutes.
The pair reportedly also reached a huge milestone sometime around the one-year mark: they officially
moved in together, according to Us Weekly.
Benson reportedly moved into Delevingne's house while their relationship was still relatively
secretive.
According to Variety, the Pretty Little Liars star put her Los Angeles home on the market,
which she was hoping to sell for a whopping $2.45 million.
This is a huge bump up from the $1.8 million she bought it for a year and a half prior,
but she did reportedly spend around $700,000 on renovations.
The fact that Benson is selling her home rather than keeping a back-up pad shows that the
star has a lot of confidence in her blossoming romance even if it's only been a year.
Then again, when you're ultra-rich, you can probably just buy a brand new multi-million
dollar home at the first whiff of trouble.
Cara Delevingne is one of those celebs who sometimes says stuff that people wish they
could un-hear and that includes sharing every juicy detail of her sex life.
Of course, knowing she's officially dating Ashley Benson gives everything she says a
whole new meaning.
"Favorite emoji: the tongue emoji."
In a March 2019 tell-all interview on RuPaul's podcast What's the Tee?, Delevingne opened
up about her current hobbies, claiming that even though she used to go out on the town,
now she'd prefer to just stay home and get it on with her partner.
She also opened up about her struggle with intimacy.
"I'm really good at giving love and not at receiving it.
I'm the same in bed.
I find it quite difficult to receive pleasure and love and things like that."
Though Delevingne struggles to let love in, the star did admit that Benson has helped
her with the process.
During her speech at the TrevorLIVE Gala, the star hinted that a special lady in the
audience had taught her about real love.
"She showed me what real love is and how to accept it, which was a lot harder than I thought."
According to the Daily Mail, the ladies were snapped by the paparazzi back in May carrying
in a saucy bondage bench that would find itself at home in Christian Grey's mansion.
The bench reportedly came with 10 different kinds of restraints.
The tabloid described the pair as:
"Giggling girlfriends [who] couldn't keep the smiles off their faces."
Vice pointed out that the whole thing might have been a PR stunt.
But whether they're playing a prank or proudly living their best lives, the whole thing is
still glorious.
It turns out Delevingne might just be a different person around Benson than she was in some
of her other relationships.
In her interview on RuPaul's podcast What's the Tee?, the model-slash-actress admitted
that she has always been submissive in her relationships with men.
In the past, the bisexual star has been linked to her Tulip Fever co-star Jack O'Connell
though nothing was ever confirmed, as well as singer-songwriter Jake Bugg, and possibly
even Harry Styles though the pair might have just been friends.
Delevingne admitted that she thinks, quote, "the courting process [is] very interesting"
because of the power games that can be involved.
"And again it is different with men and women.
Because for me, I'm always very submissive with men.
Always.
But with women, I'm the opposite.
So it’s always...
So it's weird."
In other words, Delevingne probably takes charge in her relationship with Benson, or
at least she did while trying to win her over.
But it also sounds like the couple may see more of the couch than they do the bedroom
because of their packed schedules.
Delevinge added,
"I work a lot!
It's tiring and [sex] takes energy."
Sometimes Netflix and chill really does mean chill.
In an interview with E! News where the star was asked if she was "Insta-official" with
Benson, Delevingne admitted that she's not a big fan of the term "official."
"Sure.
I don't know, I don't like the 'official' thing, but you know, it's a little something."
Strangely enough, the star doesn't seem to have a problem with the official nature of
a tattoo which takes a lot more effort to delete than an Instagram post.
The British model and Pretty Little Liars actress might not be tying the knot quite
yet, but they've certainly tied themselves together for as long as it takes them to get
laser tattoo removal.
According to Harper's Bazaar, the pair got matching tattoos of their initials.
Delevingne has an "A" underneath her left breast, which was visible to some on both
the Met Gala red carpet and the red carpet for the TrevorLIVE Gala.
Benson revealed her tattoo explicitly in an advertisement for her sunglasses collaboration
with Privé Revaux.
She has "CD" tattooed on her ribs next to her left breast.
Let's just hope these ladies don't go the way of Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder after
he got a "Winona Forever" tattoo.
"I mean I could add things to it, I could subtract, I could make it 'wino forever'."
Just when everyone thought Delevingne and Benson couldn't possibly get any cuter, fans
learned that the British model has a totally cute pet name for her Pretty Little Liars
love.
During Delevingne's speech at the TrevorLIVE gala, the star proudly proclaimed her love
for a special gal who was seated in the crowd.
"I love you, Sprinkles."
Of course, no one could be totally sure she was referring to Benson, but Benson, who was
supporting from the audience, posted an Instagram story of her girlfriend from the stage and
wrote,
"Love you [Cara Delevingne].
Proud of you."
Despite the couple's A-list status and the fact that they do things like speak at galas
and gallivant through Europe they're actually just like everyone else in love.
According to a source who spoke to E! News,
"[They do regular couple things] like get coffee, walk the dog or go to the movies.
They like to stay home together a lot and just chill.
They are very sweet and loving together.
They are always doing simple nice things for each other and it all comes very easy and
naturally.
They are committed to one another and very much in love."
Any engagement rumors out there might be false for now, but it's clear Ashley Benson and
Cara Delevingne are ready for a real commitment one that can't be lasered off and must be
negotiated painstakingly through an attorney upon its demise.
In just a year of dating, the pair already ran through a number of major relationship
milestones like becoming Instagram official, moving in together, going on a European vacation,
and getting matching tattoos.
Okay, so this is the millennial version of milestones.
After running through all of these major moments, it seems like Delevingne is looking to settle
down.
According to Life & Style, the British model implied that she wanted to tie the knot with
Benson during the C.T.A.M.
TCA Summer Press Tour for her Amazon series Carnival Row.
When asked if she's ready for a lifelong commitment, Delevingne reportedly replied,
"Oh my God, yes.
I mean always.
Love life."
Maybe wedding bells actually are on the horizon for the pair.
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