Riverdale fans have been shipping Betty and Jughead pretty much from day one, so it only makes sense that they've also been paying close attention to Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart's relationship from the beginning, too. It took just about an entire year of rumors that the two were together (which really came to a head with reports of them sharing some PDA at Comic-Con in San Diego back in 2017) before we finally got confirmation at the 2018 Met Gala that Sprouse and Reinhart are, in fact, an item.
In the meantime, however, fans everywhere were paying attention to every last little detail, trying to determine if the rumors were true — and despite the fact that both Reinhart and Sprouse seemed to do their best to avoid confirming any sort of romance between them, they weren't exactly the stealthiest at hiding it. Between posts on their respective Instagrams, other cast members dropping hints, and some of the sweet things they've said about each other in interviews, it's been pretty clear for a while now that something was going on, even if they tried to keep it under wraps. And as proven by this timeline of their relationship — starting from before the rumors even became a thing — the chemistry has been there between them from the beginning.
Back in August 2016, after Riverdale had already been in production for a few months, Reinhart shared this sweet selfie of the pair in honor of Sprouse's birthday. Her caption on the photo? "Wishing the happiest of birthdays to my pal, Cole," (accompanied by a dancing woman emoji, you know, for good measure). At this point, it seems like Reinhart and Sprouse were just good friends getting to know each other on set.
It's also worth noting that Sprouse has been sharing photos of Reinhart since 2016 (and the rest of the cast too, but a lot of them have been of Lili!) on his Instagram, where he posts his photography work.
While rumors that Reinhart and Sprouse were dating hadn't quite fully started making the rounds yet, their Riverdale characters shared their first kiss in the sixth episode of Season 1, which aired on March 2, 2017. Their on-screen chemistry only led more fans to believe they might be dating — or at least, made them hope they would be.
On May 3, 2017, Reinhart shared a funny clip on her Instagram of her and Sprouse on the Riverdale set inhaling helium from a balloon and running lines. There's not much to infer about their relationship (if there even was one beyond a friendship) at this point, but it's clear from this video that they were having a lot of fun together on set regardless.
In July 2017, when the Riverdale cast was at Comic-Con, rumors about their potential relationship really started flying. People reported that the two were seen kissing and holding hands after an Entertainment Weekly party. And, you can see them not-so-stealthily holding hands in a video from a cast interview with TV Line at Comic-Con, too, as Glamour reported. At this point, it's pretty hard to deny that they were together, but neither of them would actually confirm anything for a while.
In late July 2017, reports surfaced that Reinhart and Sprouse had gone on a movie date in Vancouver (though Reinhart's sisters and mom were present and there were no reports of PDA, so it's unclear if it was really a date date). A few weeks later, on Aug. 12, Skeet Ulrich, who plays FP Jones (Jughead's dad) on Riverdale seemed to confirm-but-not-really-confirm that the two were together in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. When asked about the rumors, he had this to say:
I know they spend time together because they're at work all the time together. I'm not surprised. They have great chemistry. They've been at our house with a lot of the Riverdale people, and they always enjoy each other's company, so I wish them the best.
He also responded to a question about Reinhart and Sprouse having a special connection, saying, "You just hear them talk like they've been best friends for 20 years. So that's a good sign."
In early September 2017, after a fan called out Sprouse for being rude to her when she approached him, Reinhart took to Twitter to defend her friend/co-star/maybe boyfriend.
"You do not have the right to approach STRANGERS and throw your arms around us like you know us. What you did was not cool and inappropriate," Reinhart tweeted. In two follow-up tweets, she wrote:
Cole's response to you was "do I know you?" After you rudely invaded our space and got in our faces. It's easy to make us look like the bad guys because you think there's no chance in hell we would ever call you out on it. Here you go.
After it was reported that the pair spent New Year's Eve together, Reinhart was on the cover of the February 2018 issue of Ocean Drive. In her interview, she had some sweet things to say about Sprouse — even though she didn't actually confirm anything about their rumored relationship.
"He really brings us down to earth if we’re feeling like something we’ve said is being taken out of context," she told Ocean Drive. "He’s always the one to be like, ‘Just ignore it. It will blow over.’ It’s a nice, calming energy he has because you know that he’s been through it."
In late March 2018, when the Riverdale cast was at The Paley Fest doing a Q&A, a fan in the audience brought up the rumors and asked Sprouse and Reinhart to confirm if they were actually dating or not. The crowd immediately started cheering, and the cast all got a little awkward. After the fan asked, "Are you dating?" Sprouse leaned in to his clipped-on mic and said, "No comment."
Just over a month later on May 7, 2018 — and about a year after rumors of their on-screen romance going off-screen started circulating — Reinhart and Sprouse finally confirmed that they were together. The Riverdale stars made their official debut as a couple when they showed up to the Met Gala looking very cozy — and stylish! — together.
A few days later, on Mother's Day, Sprouse tweeted "I can't wait to be a mommy someday." Reinhart's response, "You've admitted defeat," seems to be a reference to an inside joke between them — and it started a playful Twitter fight between the now-official couple that fans couldn't help but love.
While details of the couple's relationship may still remain a mystery to us all, Riverdale fans everywhere can now rejoice in knowing they were right all along — Bughead are real IRL (and pretty cute together, too).
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