It was a breakup heard around the world when Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart’s three-year
on-again-off-again relationship ended for good. The Riverdale co-stars were affectionately known
as Bughead as their characters Jughead Jones, and Betty Cooper had an on-screen romance. And
it wasn’t long before the sparks flew off-screen. For a couple that was seemingly a perfect match,
what went wrong? From mental health issues to Lili coming out as bisexual, to why they
remained so private, to Cole moving on rather quickly after the split. It’s quite the journey.
The minute Riverdale premiered in 2017, the cast of young stars became hot news. In a matter
of months, rumors started swirling that Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse, who has met on the set,
were dating. It wasn’t long until these rumors were inadvertently confirmed. Eagle-eyed fans
spotted the pair sneakily caressing on another’s hands in an interview during Comic Con.
The couple eventually shared their first impressions of each other.
The actor revealed it took time for him to really get to know Lili. She was shy and reserved at
first. It was only halfway into the first season that the actress started letting people in.
"She’s one of those people that consistently pushes me to be
better. That’s just the kind of person she is. She
inspires excellence out of everybody she works with,” he said. How sweet is that?
When it came to Lili sharing what she thought of Cole,
she had something a little bit different to say. "I was like, 'That guy's got an annoying voice.'
And now it's grown on me, I guess. I think he is such an incredible photographer. Sometimes
he’s inspired by a location, and he’s like, 'I want to shoot you here.'
Our photo shoots are very intimate, just him and me; no one else is there ever," she said.
The Riverdale co-stars never actually confirmed their relationship themselves and loved to keep
people guessing. Sprouse suggested that their real-life relationship was all in fans’ heads.
“Since the show began, people have wanted Lili and I to be together. It means that
we’re resonating so strongly that people really want that to be true,” he said.
But he couldn’t always keep things this coy. During an interview,
the Five Feet Apart actor admitted that he loves kissing Lili on screen. Sprouse joked that they
are contractually obliged to give him as many kissing scenes as possible with the actress.
“I wrote it into my contract,” he joked. Eventually, long after they confirmed their
relationship, Cole admitted it didn’t take them long to realize their connection with each other.
Finally, at the 2018 Met Gala, fans questions were answered when they accompanied one another
on the red carpet. But even after the public moments at the event, when the
actress was asked about their relationship in an interview, she wasn’t having it.
“I’m not okay talking about my relationship. I’m not going to tell you my love story. That’s just
not appropriate right now,” she said. Their need for privacy and why they
didn’t speak publicly about their relationship was an ongoing topic.
For Cole, he has always been extremely protective over his life being discussed in the media.
"The more you let people in on that, it’s giving people who are a bit entitled to your
personal life more power to it. It’s not something that we hide or show off. It’s
just something that exists. It’s also sexy, these parts of the relationships that are
just yours," he reflected. Well said, Cole! Reinhart later shared that her fame just comes
with the job but it’s not something that defines her, she didn’t act to be famous.
“At first, I didn’t want things private. I do appreciate the privacy that he’s encouraged
me to take. No one knows how long we’ve been together, and no one will until we’re ready
to say it. No one knows how we fell in love, except for us. It’s really special,” she said.
Lili went on to speak about how if she lets anyone in, it stops being about them
and becomes about everyone getting involved where they shouldn’t. The actress said she
was at a point in her life where if she's ready to openly confirm or deny something,
she will. It isn't something she owes the world. Despite their need for privacy, this didn’t stop
the couple from giving fans glimpses inside their romance on social media. And man,
did it get saucy sometimes! Sprouse shared a photo of Reinhart in a bra and captioned it,
"Someone let this girl know I'm interested." Is it getting hot, or is it just us?
Birthdays were the perfect chance to indulge in their relationship. The actor didn’t hold back
for his other half’s birthday. Sprouse shared a revealing shot on his Instagram that read,
“Lil was born on a Friday the 13th, and haven’t I just been so lucky ever since? My little muse,
happy birthday my love.” Can it get any cuter? The answer is yes. The actress didn’t hold
back for Cole’s 26th birthday. She shared an adorable Instagram post!
"To the man who has showed me more beautiful places in this past year than I have ever
seen in my whole life. It seems as if the world would still be a stranger to me, if not for you.
I’m so thankful that our paths intertwined to form this beautiful adventure," the caption read.
This post set the scene when Reinhart had an interview with Teen Vogue and let us into
their relationship a little more. It turns out she is not much of a gift-giving person because
it’s more romantic to give someone an experience. "I like to go on adventures with Cole. He takes
me to places where I’m like, ‘How did you find this?’ It’s escapism, which is so beautiful and
wonderful. If I can pay for a trip, that’s better than a physical gift,” she said.
But things got slightly rocky for the pair in July 2019 when they attended Comic-Con.
Days after the event, reports emerged that they had broken up. Allegedly, a reliable source
said their personalities were very different and their lifestyles clashed. The young couple weren’t
having any of it though. Reinhart posted to social media, “BREAKING: A reliable source has confirmed
that none of you know shit. Don't believe everything you read on the internet, kids.”
But this didn’t seem to stop fans from getting riled up a few months later when it was rumoured
that Cole had cheated on Lili with Kaia Gerber . And this time, the stars hit their breaking point.
During the pandemic, Kaia posted a story to her Instagram and Lili recognised the background
as Cole’s house. Allegedly, they broke up. Well, this was at least what the reliable source said.
This time Reinhart went off saying Twitter is a vile place and called
everyone out about how easy it is to say things from behind your phone.
She refused to keep her mouth shot because she felt this was a form of abuse. She finished off
by saying there is no excuse for this and you need help if you participate in cancel culture.
Cole, of course, had a lot to say on the matter in a post. "I tolerate a lot of slander from
people online claiming to be my fans. When I first stepped into a public relationship this was one of
the foreseeable consequences. So in conclusion — please eat my delectable plump ass,” he said.
But eventually, the breakup rumours would prove to be true. In August 2020, it was confirmed that
after three years together, the couple called it quits. According to close friends of the pair,
forced time apart due to social distancing rules influenced the split between the two actors.
Many thought they would reconcile once filming resumed, but alas this was not the case.
Cole felt forced to address their breakup because of the public currency
the relationship had generated over the years. "Lili and I initially separated in January of
this year, deciding to more permanently split in March. What an incredible experience I had,
I'll always feel lucky and cherish that I had the chance to fall in love. I wish her nothing but the
utmost love and happiness moving forward. It was as real as it gets,” he said. Wait, January?!
At the same time of her relationship ending, the Hustlers actress was also battling depression.
"The last couple of months have probably been the most emotional few months of my
entire life. I have dropped every ounce of pride that I had just to be like,
'Love me. Please take the pain away for a day, a second, an hour.' It was fucking rough,” she said.
Since the breakup, Lili has opened up about a lot of difficult aspects about her life.
One of which was the factors at play when she decided to come out as bisexual. The actress
was attracted to women from a young age, but she waited until she was single to come out.
She was afraid the media would vilify her and accuse of her of faking it to get attention.
"I didn't want to put my ex in a position, it seems like it would have been a little
strange to come out when I was in a hetero relationship," she said.
As for the actor after the breakup, in March 2021, Sprouse sparked romance rumours with Ari Fournier
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu8Eo6Kj6Vg 0:02). Although fans should be happy that he
has healed after the split from Reinhart, the actor said his new relationship has
become the target of fans who are still upset about the Sprousehart breakup.
Followers report every post about him and Ari as bullying, and it gets taken down immediately.
Even on his friends’ accounts, the posts are taken down and not by choice obviously.
Since they went their separate ways in real life, their on-screen relationship also fell
apart as their characters said goodbye to each other before going off to college.
This doesn’t mean that the exes aren’t friendly enough to work together. And despite not following
each other on social media, they seem to have a friendly and professional relationship.
Either way, we wish the young stars nothing but the best. We are glad that Cole has found
love again and we are so happy that Lili is coming into her own and living her truth.
Even though they may not have worked out romantically, who knows what the future holds.
Maybe these exes will eventually be best friends? Let us know in the
comments below what your thoughts are on this couple. This has been Rumour Juice.