Everything Riverdale’s Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart Have Said About Their Relationship and Split

Fan Backlash

During an August 2023 interview with Vulture, Cole revealed he had received extreme backlash from fans after he and Lili broke up.

“I get a lot of stuff sent to my house or my loved ones’ houses,” he explained. “Death threats, really nasty, honestly criminal stuff. And I do think it’s because at least four of us at this table have dated our coworkers. Is that just a consequence of an incredible love? Or is that what fanaticism looks like? Perhaps because those lines were blurred to our audience, it’s hard to break those things up when life moves on.”

What Went Wrong?

“It was hard to suspend all the ways we felt about each other and it didn’t afford us the luxury of distance to really overcome that. I know we both did quite a bit of damage to each other. We’re good friends now, which is awesome,” Cole shared on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in March 2023, speaking about his and Lili’s past romance, noting that they “did the best we could” and “leaned on each other” while they were together.

“I think if I had loved myself a little more, I probably would have left [my relationship with Lili] a little earlier,” Cole admitted, saying they felt “a lot of pressure” during their romance. “I just felt like I had to take care of a lot of people around me, which was not good for me. I probably should have exercised a bit more selfishness in that situation.”

Reflecting on Their Love

Cole noted that his relationship with Lili had “all this public currency,” while speaking with GQ Hype in March 2022. He went on to say that what they had was “as real as it gets.”

The Disney alum also admitted that the only reason he announced their split on social media was because “he felt forced to.”

The Final Word

“I’ll always feel lucky and cherish that I had the chance to fall in love,” Cole wrote about Lili while confirming their breakup in August 2020. “I wish her nothing but the utmost love and happiness moving forward. [That’s] all I’ll say about it, anything else you hear doesn’t matter.”

Support System

“Quite actually the only thing keeping me sane is [Lili Reinhart],” the Revelation author wrote about his then-girlfriend on Instagram in February 2020. She added her own sappy post with the caption, “You make me very happy. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.”

They’re Two People

Lili told W Magazine in 2019 that there’s more to her and Cole than their romance. “We’re not fighting with the idea that people group us together, but we are paired up a lot,” she said. “We’re acknowledging that we’re in a relationship, but it’s a small part of who we are as people. We want our own separate identities.”

For the Best

In the same interview, Lili spoke about how fame heightened her anxiety but keeping her relationship under wraps was for the best.
“Now that I’m X amount of years in, I do appreciate the privacy we have, that he’s encouraged me to take,” she said. “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 our close friends and us. It’s really special.”

Indescribable Love

“I tried to find a poem that I could send to you. / Because my words were failing me. / But I searched and found nothing that did you justice. / All of these love poems can’t get it right. / No one else’s words could ever fit. / They haven’t known the fortune it is to love you,” Lili wrote for Cole’s birthday in August 2019 amid split rumors. The post has since been deleted. 

Feeling Lucky

“Lil [Lili Reinhart] was born on a Friday the 13th and haven’t I just been so lucky ever since?” Cole wrote for her birthday in September 2019.

All the Love

“Both the birthday and the gift. My little muse, Happy Birthday, my love,” Cole captioned a topless photo of Lili to celebrate her 22nd birthday in 2018.

Hot, Hot, Hot

“My 2018 sexiest man alive,” Lili gushed about Cole after Idris Elba was named People’s Sexiest Man of the Year.

His Vibe

While speaking about Cole as a friend, Lili gushed over the perspective he brought to the Riverdale set.
“He really brings us down to earth if we’re feeling like something we’ve said is being taken out of context. 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,” she said during an interview with Ocean Drive in 2018.

The Road Less Traveled

“It seems as if the world would still be a stranger to me, if not for you,” the Hustlers actress wrote while wishing Cole a happy 26th birthday on Instagram in 2018. “I’m so thankful that our paths intertwined to form this beautiful adventure. Happy Birthday, my love.” 

Under Wraps

“People are just dying to know information about if I’m in a relationship or not. I understand the interest, but it’s called a private life for a reason. And it’s not something that I owe the world,” Lili told V Magazine in January 2018 after she and Cole were seen vacationing in Hawaii. “But I’m not at a point in my life where I’m ready to openly confirm, deny or talk about a relationship that I’m in because I think it’s brutal to have a relationship in the spotlight where I can be scrutinized by anyone and everyone.”

Just the Two of Them

“People can speculate all they want,” Cole told People in November 2017. “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.”

We’re Blushing

There are some hot scenes between Betty and Jughead on Riverdale, and Cole was the first to admit that he doesn’t mind. 
“[There will be] a little bit more of that, which is going to be good,” he joked on Live With Kelly and Ryan about sexy Bughead moments on the upcoming season. “They’re contractually obliged to give me as many kiss scenes as possible this season. I wrote it into my contract.”

So Sweet

“To the man who has showed me more beautiful places in this past year than I have ever seen in my whole life,” Lili wrote to celebrate her beau’s 25th birthday in 2017. “Thank you for all of the adventures, and here’s to many more.”