Entertainment

Charles Melton's Nickname For Camila Mendes Has The Cutest Meaning Behind It

YouTube/Charles Melton on Instagram

It's not clear exactly how long Riverdale actors Camila Mendes and Charles Melton have been dating, but one thing that is crystal clear is that the pair is cute as hell together. Mendes recently appeared on Busy Philipps' new talk show Busy Tonight and opened up about a cute nickname her man calls her, and Charles Melton's nickname for Camila Mendes is pretty fitting for the woman who plays Veronica Lodge. Apparently, Charles Melton calls Camila Mendes "baby dragon." And no, it's not due to a love for Game of Thrones.

“I can be quite… I guess just ferocious is the only word, but it’s like a cute type of ferocious," Mendes said in her interview with Philipps that aired on Nov. 12. Mendes revealed that it's that "ferocious" side of her personality that inspired the baby dragon nickname. "I’m Brazilian," she said, "we’re like passionate, so sometimes it’s like a little baby dragon comes out.” Cute. This nickname is cute. And on top of all of this cuteness is that fact that their characters work together in Riverdale now too (Melton's character, Reggie Mantle, works for Veronica Lodge at her new speakeasy), so fans get to see the IRL couple on screen together as a fun bonus.

Mendes told Philipps that, being an open person naturally, she's figuring out how to set boundaries for herself when it comes to sharing things about her relationship. Being private and keeping intimate details about her life to herself is something, she said, she is having to teach herself now that she lives such a public life.

“It’s just really hard to be organic all the time when you feel like you can see the words on the page of everything that you’re saying," Mendes told Philipps. "Like as you’re speaking you’re like, This. Is. Going. To. Be. A. Headline. What I hate more is like the immediate, like, how some people online are so quick to make judgments on what you’ve said without a certain amount of information.”

Recently, Mendes faced a similar issue when an Instagram user who ran a Riverdale fan account posted photos of Mendes with Melton alongside a photo of Mendes with her ex-boyfriend, Victor Houston. Based on the looks on Mendes' faces in the two side-by-side photos (she's smiling with Houston and looks more focused with Melton), the fan felt that was proof enough that Mendes was happier in her previous relationship. Mendes shot that down real quick in the comments section of the since-deleted post.

"Sorry but I have to post it," the user said in the caption. "Cami looked happier with Victor." Mendes shot back, “I feel silly responding to this but I also feel the impulse to tell you that you’re wrong. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”

Her comment continued,

It’s absurd to me that you call yourself a fan yet, your entire page is dedicated to disrespecting my relationship and my boyfriend, both of which you clearly know nothing about. Charles and I were on our way to shoot a self tape, which he helped me with all day. Literally stopped everything he was doing to help me tape the perfect audition. I was running the lines in my head without even knowing there was a pap taking photos of us.

"Victor and I were at Comic Con, walking toward a huge line of fans, knowing there were cameras pointed at us," Mendes added. "See the difference? I hope you're young, because that seems to be the only justification for this kind of immaturity."

Mendes told Philipps she's had to come to terms with bolstering herself when she sees people online posting things about her life while not knowing most of the context. “It’s kind of I feel like just something we have to accept,” she said, adding,

For me it’s helpful to just acknowledge that like, there are going to be people out there who don’t like me, there are going to be people who are going to hate on me, and like, is it really worth trying to fight that or just kind of like staying confident and reassuring myself that I know who I am, I know what I meant when I said that, and like, that’s OK… Sometimes I feel like the internet is a lost cause, like it’s out of our control.

You can watch the rest of Camila Mendes' interview with Busy Philipps on Busy Tonight here.