Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

Thanks to non-stop rumors and are-they or aren't-they-together headlines, it felt like Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse had been together for decades. In reality, the couple dated for three years after first meeting on the set of Riverdale in 2016. During their time together, it was rare for the couple to explicitly discuss their relationship; instead, their love would manifest via romantic Instagram photos and poetry. In fact, Reinhart released a book of poetry, Swimming Lessons: Poems, with stanzas dedicated to her beloved (talk about young love going old school). 

"I write poems for Cole. But to be honest, I don't really write them for anyone else. I think it's a romantic thing. It can be quite intimate," the actress told InStyle.

Since the fateful day when Betty met Jughead, it has been a ride with everything from head-scratching interviews, poems, and Met Galas to give the Sprousehart/Bughead stans plenty to talk about — including the pair's 2020 split.

Here's a look back at Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse's relationship.

March 2016: Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse first meet

Reinhart and Sprouse met as co-stars on the set of The CW series Riverdale when they were 19 and 23, respectively.

As for their first impressions of one another, "I thought [Cole's] voice was annoying," Reinhart told Glamour in 2018. 

According to Sprouse, "Lili was a tough egg to crack. She's very shy at first and reserved. I think it was about halfway into the first season she started letting people in truly."

March 18, 2017: Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse spark dating rumors

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum posted his first photo of Reinhart on Instagram in March 2017. A month later, he tagged her in a second post. In what became their M.O., the caption was a poetic mystery, giving fans all the material they needed for speculation.

He wrote, "That crow is clicking at us, can you hear it? The wind is so strong, the bird is practically hovering. They say time moves faster for corvids. Years and decades are seconds and minutes to the black bird. That's why they click, to see if they can match our clocks. It's true! Shame it should be hovering, it must be so confused. Motionless and untethered by time. Don't worry for the crow, in mere moments it'll all pass. In mere moments this will just be one of many clicks had while hovering."

June 12, 2017: Lili Reinhart comments on Cole Sprouse's tweet

Reinhart posted a comment, or more accurately, a string of thirsty emojis, on one of Sprouse's tweets. It was a different kind of poetry.

November 22, 2017: Cole Sprouse addresses rumors about his relationship with Lili Reinhart

Sprouse told People that he would never confirm or deny his relationship with Reinhart.

"Whether you dismiss those rumors or whether you encourage those rumors, it's giving people who are, in my opinion, a bit entitled to your personal life more power," he said. "You have to have spaces for reverence in the industry. The more you let people in on that, the more people feel entitled to it and the more it becomes problematic with whoever you end up being with in the future, so I take that very seriously. So I just never talk about it because it's not anyone's right to know."

However, Reinhart posted an adorable photo of Sprouse and a dog.

January 1, 2018: Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse are first spotted together

At the beginning of the new year, Sprouse and Reinhart took a trip to Hawaii together. However, they still did not confirm their boyfriend-girlfriend status.

According to Refinery29, that March at PaleyFest, a fan asked the big question during a Riverdale panel: "Cole and Lili, there's been a lot of rumors that you guys are dating. Are you dating?" 

Sprouse's answer? "No comment."

April 3, 2018: Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse show some PDA

The first official paparazzi pics of the two popped up online during a visit to Paris, where they were spotted locking lips in public. Did this mean they were a couple? Fans could only speculate.

May 7, 2018: Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse make their debut as a couple at Met Gala

It was Met Gala official. The Riverdale co-stars certainly looked like a couple when they walked the event's red carpet together.

By July, Reinhart continued to brush off any questions about her relationship, even though the Met Gala photos seemed to tell the world all it needed to know. "I'm not okay talking about my relationship ..." she told Harpers Bazaar. "I'm not going to tell you my love story. That's just not appropriate right now."

November 2018: Lili Reinhart introduces Cole Sprouse to her family

The couple took their relationship to the next level when Sprouse spent Thanksgiving with Reinhart's family in North Carolina.

July 2019: Breakup rumors swirl around Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse

Us Weekly was one of the first outlets to report the couple had called it quites. However, Sprouse sent a clear message on Twitter: "Don't believe everything you read on the internet, kids."

In February, fans panicked again after it looked like the two stopped following each other on Instagram. Reinhart assured fans that it was something on Instagram's end since she and Sprouse didn't do anything. "Don't freak out," she wrote in an Instagram Story.

April 2020: Lily Reinhart and Cole Sprouse respond to cheating allegations

After rumors emerged that Sprouse cheated on Reinhart with Kaia Gerber, the Hustlers actress posted this now-deleted message on Twitter, per Metro: "Twitter is actually the most toxic form of social media. People are assholes for the sake of being assholes. Do you not understand karma? It's fine if you don't, you'll understand when it bites your miserable ass." On Instagram, she wrote, "Dear everyone on social media, Don't put down people for the sake of putting them down. Don't be a f**cking asshole. The world doesn't need anymore of that shit."

As for Sprouse, his Instagram post read as follows: "When I first stepped into a public relationship this was one of the foreseeable consequences. And while I truly never intended to indulge any part of my private life to the ravenous horde, it's clear my restraint in updating them has allowed them to push their own agenda onto my habits and lifestyle. So in conclusion- please eat my delectable plump ass. (Making me post a goddamn white font insta story like a twice divorced mother of three)."

May 2020: Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse reportedly split

Over Memorial Day weekend, reports claimed that Reinhart and Sprouse had split once again. A source told E! News that the separation during quarantine did it this time.

"Lili and Cole were in a good place when Riverdale was shut down due to the Coronavirus outbreak, but they isolated separately, and distance has never been a good thing for their relationship," the source said. "When Cole and Lili are around each other often, things are very good. Their relationship is very intimate and affectionate, but things become much more complicated when they're apart." 

Another source added, "Distance is never good for their relationship."

August 19, 2020: Cole Sprouse confirms breakup with Lili Reinhart

Sprouse confirmed that he and Reinhart had been separated since January 2020 and made the breakup official in March. In an Instagram post that showed Reinhart during a hike in what appears to be Disney princess-worthy woods, he wrote that he wishes her nothing but love and happiness moving forward. He also made it very clear that he wouldn't be speaking about the relationship anymore and that any speculation about the situation "doesn't matter."

He captioned the photo, "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. All I'll say about it, anything else you hear doesn't matter."

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