‘Riverdale’ Star Cole Sprouse Calls Co-Star Dating Rumors Both ‘Offensive’ and ‘Flattering’
He’s currently rumored to be dating his co-star, Lili Reinhart.
Attention all Bughead fans! Riverdale star Cole Sprouse is finally addressing his love life… well, sort of.
The 25-year-old former child actor has certainly sparked his share of rumors since his hit Archie Comics-inspired drama first rocked The CW.
“The core four of the Riverdale [cast] are now engaged in dating scandals beyond our wildest anticipation,” Sprouse recently joked to People magazine. “Everyone has something to say about one of us dating our costars, I’m rumored to be dating KJ [Apa], Cami [Mendes], Lili [Reinhart], Madelaine [Petsch], everyone on this show. And I am flattered!”
The main rumor surrounding Sprouse is that he’s privately dating Reinhart, who plays the Betty Cooper to his Jughead Jones. Onscreen, the two characters are currently back together and in the throes of passion.
“Lili and I are constantly talked about in the public eye, and for me, I think that it is being deeply informed by the love of the characters and wanting to see us together,” he said of the Bughead stans. “I think that in many ways it’s offensive and an invasion of privacy, but it’s also a badge of honor because it means you’re creating a chemistry onscreen that is so understandable that people want to see it in real life, which is flattering from a professional perspective.”
As for whether or not he’s actually dating Reinhart, who has shared several clues that they are, in fact, a real-life couple, Sprouse firmly says, “No comment.”
“Whether you dismiss those rumors or whether you encourage those rumors, it’s giving people who are in my opinion are a bit entitled to your personal life more power, and you have to have spaces for reverence in the industry,” he explained. “[Ryan] Gosling is a perfect example. Gosling has been in a much more sexual or romantic side of the industry than many actors have to be, and his marriage is not publicized and talked about and beaten over people’s heads because people respect that he set those boundaries early.”
Noting that he takes privacy in his personal life “seriously,” Sprouse added, “I just never talk about it because it’s not anyone’s right to know. People can speculate all they want, people speculate about me with every member of the cast practically, but it’s really no one’s right to know. It’s also sexy, these parts of the relationships that are just yours.”
As for what he looks for in a partner, Sprouse is interested in more than aesthetics.
“We place an extreme precedence on personal appearance, which is a fleeting thing and it loses itself pretty quickly,” he said. “The things that truly stick around at the end of the day are personality and intelligence and comedy.”
For more from Sprouse, watch the clip below!
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