Why Did Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart Break Up? Cole Shared New Details
Updated March 8 2023, 2:21 p.m. ET
Amid Riverdale’s seventh and final season on CW, its star, Cole Sprouse, spoke out about his relationship with his co-star, Lili Reinhart. The couple started dating after meeting on the set of the Archie Comics drama, and their on-screen chemistry became a three-year love affair that combined business and pleasure.
Lili and Cole seemingly mastered maintaining a professional and personal relationship until July 2019. After two years together, they broke up for the first time.
The couple continued their on-again-off-again relationship until 2020 and moved on to new relationships. However, in March 2023, Cole gave more insight into what led to him and Lili calling it quits. So, why did Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse break up? Keep reading to find out!
Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse dated on and off for three years.
Cole and Lili’s breakup reportedly happened during their press run for Riverdale in 2019. According to Us Weekly, the exes did their best to distance themselves from one another during the cast’s ComicCon gathering that July. Cole reportedly confirmed the breakup to one of his friends during the function.
In September 2019, Lili confirmed to Coveuteur that she and Cole were back together and working on their couple’s Halloween costumes. The following February, they attended the Vanity Fair Oscars party together, signaling they were still on good terms. Unfortunately, the reunion didn’t last long.
In August 2020, Cole posted a photo of Lili and wrote to his followers that they had decided to “permanently split” in March 2020. The Suite Life of Zack & Cody alum also wrote that he wished her “nothing but the utmost love and happiness moving forward.”
Why did Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart break up?
Cole and Lili gave several interviews after their breakup, though they never shared what led to the split. In March 2023, Cole appeared on Call Her Daddy Podcast, further dissecting his and Lili’s relationship. During his sit-down chat with Alex Cooper, Cole admitted prioritizing the relationship over his desires. Cole also said he felt obligated to stay with Lili because the public was watching.
“I think if I had loved myself a little more, I probably would have left [my relationship with Lili] a little earlier,” Cole admits on Call Her Daddy with a cigarette in hand. “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.”
The former child star also alluded to infidelity being the cause of his and Lili’s breakup. Although he didn’t name her directly, Cole told Alex one thing most of his exes have in common.
“[I’ve been cheated on] by almost every single one of my girlfriends,” he told Alex.
Cole Sprouse said he and Lili Reinhart did “quite a bit of damage” to each other.
While Cole and Lili’s romantic relationship ended in 2020, the exes still had to work together on the Riverdale set. The couple continued playing lovers Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper for the show, which Cole says was difficult to endure during the seasons after their split.
"It was hard to suspend all the way we felt about each other, and it didn’t afford us the luxury of distance to really overcome that,” Cole admits on Call Her Daddy. “I know we both did quite a bit of damage to each other.”
Thankfully for the exes, they won’t be working with each other for much longer. Riverdale Season 7 airs on March 29, 2023, and will be the show’s last. So far, Lili and Cole aren’t slated to work on further projects.
The co-stars have also moved on to other relationships since their breakup. In January 2021, Cole started dating his current girlfriend, Ari Fournier. Lili also reportedly is with actor Spencer Neville, and they have been together since their whirlwind trip to Coachella in April 2022.
