Cara Delevigne and Ashley Benson had one of those relationships that people will never forget.
While Cara has dated quite a few A-listers over the years, her romance with Ashley seemed different from all the rest, and she admitted that it was.
We couldn’t help but take a trip down memory lane, so get comfortable while we tell you everything that you need to know about Ashley and Cara’s love story and why they kept their romance away from prying eyes for so long.
Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson met on the set of the 2018 film, ‘Her Smell,’ and the pair seemed to hit things off almost immediately.
It wasn’t long before the pair were spotted hanging out off-set, and fans quickly began to speculate whether or not there was perhaps something more than a casual friendship blossoming between them.
Though Cara has always valued privacy around her relationships, fans instantly became obsessed with the idea of these two becoming an item.
After Cara and Ashley were seen at a bowling alley around May of 2018, relationship rumors quickly started to swirl around the couple.
Benson had even shared a photo of her and Delevigne on social media which only left fans asking more questions.
Just a few months later, it was clear that things were beginning to heat up between the two after they were spotted kissing at London’s Heathrow Airport.
For Cara’s 26th birthday in August, Ashley was there to celebrate with her amongst some of her closest friends like Margot Robbie and Sienna Miller.
That same month, Benson also took a selfie wearing necklaces with the letters A and C, which many people thought referred to her and Cara.
That same month, Cara opened up about why she valued privacy in a relationship.
She admitted that “it’s hard” as a person who’s in the public eye, and it’s difficult to keep things away from prying eyes.
The new couple may have been trying to be low-key about their budding romance, but the signs were pretty clear.
In September 2018, Delevingne and Benson both attended the Toronto International Film Festival to premiere their film ‘Her Smell’.
Although they posed on the red carpet separately, photographers captured them hanging out with some of their co-stars at a cocktail party later.
That month they also attended Paris Fashion week together.
In December, a couple of months later, it was reported that Cara had rented out the Natural History Museum in London for Ashley’s birthday.
However, in their usual private fashion, neither of them officially confirmed it.
But when it comes to making a grand gesture for someone that she loved, Cara clearly knew what she was doing.
While they preferred to keep the details about their relationship to themselves, the couple was often spotted together and it was pretty clear that they were more than just friends.
It wasn’t that they wanted to keep their romance a secret, it was more than they wanted to savor the intimate details.
They were enjoying their time together as any young couple should, and they wanted to keep it to themselves as long as they could.
However, their decision to keep things private didn’t stop them from standing up for themselves after numerous trolls on social media blasted the couple for being together.
Benson clapped back to the hateful online comments by saying,
Delevingne chimed in with her own statement, claiming that the commenters had a problem with “true love.”
In June 2019, after almost a year of rumors, the couple finally confirmed their relationship with the public.
Cara shared a clip of the two of them kissing on Instagram and wrote in the caption, “#PRIDE.”
Later, Cara explained why she decided to confirm the relationship after keeping things private for so long.
She shared that since it was pride month, and around the time of their one-year anniversary, she just figured, “Why not?”
The model also explained that she didn’t "want to be so secretive” that people would assume that she was ashamed of who she was dating.
At the same time, she’d never been in a relationship that had been so public or been comfortable sharing pictures on social media.
She added, "This seemed different." Cara shared that she and Ashely were now comfortable enough to share some insight into their relationship, while still keeping some things to themselves.
She took the time to gush over the impact that Ashley had made on her life, saying,
Just one month later, the couple sparked more rumors after they were spotted vacationing in Saint Tropez with identical gold bands on their fingers.
Some immediately think this is a sign that the couple is engaged and/or planning a secret wedding.
The rumors only intensified when it appeared Benson had gotten the letters C.D. tattooed to her side.
Around August of that year, it was reported that Cara and Ashley had tied the knot during a ceremony in Las Vegas, but a friend close to the couple quickly shut down the rumors and explained,
During an interview with Elle U.K one month later, Cara explained why her relationship with Ashley was so sacred, saying,
At the end of 2019, the couple proved that their relationship was still going strong after Delevigne shared a sweet and heartfelt tribute to Benson on her birthday.
She wrote a long message that came with a bit of good-natured teasing over a photo that shows Benson wearing a crown with the words birthday girl on it.
Cara expressed her gratitude for Ashley allowing her to “be silly” and “be wild” and keep her “free, secure and curious.” Adding,
But that wasn’t the only way Delevingne commemorated Benson’s big day. She also surprised her girlfriend with a trip to Morocco.
Ashley shared some snaps of the grand gift on social media, thanking Cara for the experience they got to share together.
In February 2020, the couple made a rare public appearance together at Milan Fashion Week for the Boss show.
Unfortunately, just three months later, it was reported that Cara and Ashley had broken up after almost two years together.
According to an insider, the couple had broken up in April, and Cara was seeking comfort from her close friends while self-quarantining.
Neither Delevingne nor Benson initially confirmed the news, however, in May Cara posted a statement to her Instagram Stories, seemingly in response to photos of Benson hanging out with musician G-Eazy.
A fan account on social media also posted a video that appeared to show Benson and the singer kissing.
This sparked a major backlash among fans online who started to bully Ashley on social media.
Cara took the time to share a comment in order to discourage those who were speaking against her now ex-girlfriend.
While the former couple never disclosed the details of their break up, an insider revealed, "Cara and Ashley always had their ups and downs before but it's over now. Their relationship just ran its course."
As of now, it was reported that Cara may be romantically linked to musician Minke, since June of 2022. The pair were spotted sharing a passionate kiss while on holiday in Portofino.
Unfortunately, not much is known about their relationship, and given Cara’s preference to keeping things private, it’s possible that we won’t know more about their potential romance until she’s ready to share more details.
It’s unfortunate that Cara and Ashley's romance didn’t last, but it’s no doubt that their relationship was epic.
Most importantly, they brought out the best in one another and made each other feel truly loved.
Ashley clearly made a huge impact on Cara’s life and made her realize that she can be loved for just being herself and that there’s no better feeling than being accepted for who you are.