Ready for romance! Rachael Leigh Cook didn’t give up on falling in love again following her 2019 split from Daniel Gillies — and might have found her perfect match.
“He’s really great. I did good, if I do say so. Definitely hitting out of my league there,” the She’s All That actress, 40, told Us Weekly exclusively of boyfriend Kevin on Monday, August 24, while promoting her upcoming Netflix film Love, Guaranteed. “I met someone really nice, and I adore him. He’s fantastic.”
Cook was previously married to Gillies, 44, from whom she split in June 2019 after 15 years together. “This decision isn’t one we have come to easily or lightly,” the estranged pair wrote in a joint statement shared to Instagram at the time. “We love and respect each other as parents, people and artists and look forward to maintaining the best parts of our relationship for many years to come.”
The Minnesota native and the Vampire Diaries alum share two children, daughter Charlotte, 6, and son Theodore, 5. According to court documents obtained by Us earlier this year, Cook is seeking joint custody of her little ones in her divorce. While the actress is still adjusting to a coparenting routine with Gillies, she’s still waiting for the perfect moment to introduce them to her new flame.
“I feel like what’s the rush, you know what I mean? I don’t want to get it wrong. We’re going to take it beat by beat,” she told Us. “If they ever Google deep dive this time in their parents’ life and they see this interview in the future and they’re like, ‘What the hell, mom?’ we’ll have that discussion then. But in the meantime, I’m just going to take small steps and they can be on a need to know basis.”
Though Charlotte and Theodore “don’t get the full gravity” of their parents’ divorce, Cook and Gillies are working hard to show them that they “still have a great family dynamic in place.” Despite the challenges of working through a split amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Psych alum is trying to find ways to make date night with her producer boyfriend as exciting as ever.
“QCT: quality couch time,” she teased, adding that the pair bonded over their shared love for “good trash TV” like 90 Day Fiancé. “It’s just one of our favorite things to do to escape.”
Cook’s journey in her own love life helped her find inspiration for her latest project, Love, Guaranteed, which begins streaming on Netflix on September 3.
“My character’s name is Susan Whitaker and I don’t mean to be a rom-com trope, but she’s definitely someone who’s given too much of her life to her work and has put all of her clients first and herself largely last — and definitely her relationship life last,” she explained. “When it comes walking through her door she doesn’t quite know what to do with it.”
With reporting by Marc Lupo
