Cole Sprouse Calls Past Relationship with Lili Reinhart 'As Real As It Gets'

Cole Sprouse is opening up about his past relationship with his Riverdale costar Lili Reinhart.

In a new interview with GQ, Sprouse said despite all of the public interest that surrounding his romance with Reinhart, their relationship was "as real as it gets."

Sprouse, 29, and Reinhart, 25, dated on and off for several years after they were first linked in 2017. Though they were largely private about their relationship, Sprouse confirmed the former pair's split in August 2020.

Looking back, Sprouse told GQ he "felt forced" to address their breakup because of the "public currency" the relationship had generated over the years.

While Sprouse has since moved on with French-Canadian model Ari Fournier, the actor said his new relationship has become the target of fans who are still upset about his split from Reinhart.

"Followers report everything about Ari and me as bullying, and it gets taken down pretty immediately," he said. "Even on my other friends' accounts, it gets taken down."

When Sprouse addressed his split from the actress on Instagram, he said he wanted nothing but "happiness" for Reinhart "moving forward.

"Lili and I initially separated in January of this year, deciding to more permanently split in March," he wrote on Instagram at the time. "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."

Added Sprouse, "All I'll say about it, anything else you hear doesn't matter. Also her movie [Chemical Hearts] comes out soon! I'm sure she's just as incredible in it as everything else she does. Thanks guys ❤️."

His confirmation came amid speculation that the pair had parted ways, which was further ignited by Reinhart's interview with Refinery29 at the time. The Hustlers actress had opened up about how she was coping with the depression she experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The last couple of months have probably [been] the most emotional few months of my entire life and my therapist [told] me, 'Your body's going through withdrawal from love,'" she said.

"You're used to having this exchange of happy chemicals between you and the person that you're with," she continued. "In moments of my life, I have dropped every ounce of pride that I had just to be like, 'Love me. Please take the pain away for a day, a second, an hour,' just so I can feel that fix again."

Around the time their relationship ended, their Riverdale costars Camila Mendes and Madelaine Petsch had also become single again.

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E! News reported in March 2021 that Mendes, 27, had broken up with boyfriend Grayson Vaughan. Before that, she dated fellow Riverdale costar Charles Melton. Petsch, for her part, announced her split from ex Travis Mills in February 2020 after three years of dating.

"We all got out of relationships at the same time and then went through this pandemic together," Mendes told Paper in April 2021. "And now we've been bonded by how much change has happened. Me, Madelaine and Lili, specifically, we've never been closer than we have this season. It's really nice to have them, to feel like I do have friendships here — meaningful ones."

Riverdale airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.