Cole Sprouse: Working with ex-girlfriend on ‘Riverdale’ ‘really hard’
Cole Sprouse recently opened up about his relationship with ex-girlfriend Lili Reinhart and described his experience working with his “Riverdale” co-star after they broke up.
On the March 8 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Sprouse admitted it was initially “really hard” for both him and Reinhart to be on the set of the hit CW drama together after calling it quits in March 2020. The seventh and final season of “Riverdale” is scheduled to premiere later in
March.
The actors – who play onscreen love interests Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper in the teen mystery series – dated publicly for about two years.
“The work thing got difficult because it was hard to suspend all of the way we felt about each other, and it didn’t afford us the luxury of distance to really overcome that,” Sprouse told “Call Her Daddy” host Alex Cooper.
“We both did quite a bit of damage to each other. … We’re good friends now, which is awesome. We work really well together now.”
The former Disney Channel star explained that as a couple, he and Reinhart “leaned on each other” while navigating “a very intense” work schedule, “going through the elected trauma of this incredible overnight success” and dealing with “a ton of criticism.” He added that the relationship “absolutely” lasted longer because they were coworkers.
“That was exactly where we both need to be,” he continued.
“And I think we did the best we could. … I’m very grateful in very many ways I was able to go through it with someone who was going through the exact same set of circumstances as me. But also in very many ways, all the cliches about dating someone you work with are very true.”
After the breakup, Sprouse “took a moral stance” and vowed that he “was never going to talk about it.” But when paparazzi photos of a newly single Sprouse mingling with other women ignited a wave of cheating rumors, he realized his error.
“I probably should have said something almost right away,” he mused.