Joey King and Jacob Elordi: The Way They Were

Credit: Blair Raughley/Invision/AP/Shutterstock; Marcus Cruz/Netflix (2); Broadimage/Shutterstock

Joey King and Jacob Elordi: The Way They Were

Not like the movies. Joey King and Jacob Elordi fell for each other while filming The Kissing Booth, but their offscreen relationship did not outlive the one fans adored onscreen. The onetime couple starred as Elle Evans and Noah Flynn in the 2018 Netflix film. Their characters engaged in a forbidden romance, while the actors’ spark translated into a real-life pairing. “There wasn’t one moment,” King told Seventeen in June 2018. “When we first met, me, him and Joel [Courtney] went out to dinner and we had the best, most fun night ever. By the end of dinner, we had like six inside jokes. We were so close and throughout filming, I was just best friends with Jacob. I guess there was no moment, but I feel like the friendship kind of naturally was like, ‘Oh, hey, this person is super frickin’ awesome. We have so much in common and we really love spending time together. Maybe there’s something more there.’ It was never like this moment of ‘OMG, I can’t let him see me like this.’ You know what I mean? We were open books with each other. There was nothing we wouldn’t talk about. He’s just so great. After the first month, I was like, ‘Hmm, I think I like him.’” [jwplayer 4dUZYtfM-l3ahXupL] Fans of The Kissing Booth were thrilled to discover the Emmy nominee and Elordi were dating, but in November 2018, rumors surfaced that they had split. King moved on with producer Steven Piet, whom she worked with on The Act. The pair were first linked in September 2019. Us Weekly confirmed in February 2020 that Elordi, for his part, is dating his Euphoria costar Zendaya, but the two broke up later that year. While Zendaya has since reunited with Spider-Man costar Tom Holland, the Kissing Booth star moved on with model Kaia Gerber, daughter of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. The two got together in fall 2020, making their relationship public with PDA-filled outings in New York City. “It’s actually crazy how much they have in common,” an insider told Us in April 2021. “It was like the universe brought them together! They’re both models, modeled for Calvin Klein — very into fashion, of course. They love going shopping together and even working out together. They’re truly some of the kindest people you will meet.” Hear the Us Weekly editors break down the most surprising celebrity births during the pandemic in under 2 minutes! Amid their new romances, King and the Australia native reunited for 2020’s The Kissing Booth 2 and 2021’s The Kissing Booth 3, reprising their roles as lovebirds Elle and Noah. Scroll down to revisit King and Elordi’s relationship — from costars to boyfriend-girlfriend to exes.

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2017

Elordi and King met on the set of The Kissing Booth and began dating after hitting it off. “I remember the first time I had to kiss Jacob! That was crazy. I was so nervous,” she recalled to Seventeen in June 2018. “So Jacob and I were in our director’s office rehearsing the scene. He was like, ‘OK, we’re going to rehearse today, blah, blah, blah, and we’re going to rehearse this scene.’ I flip to the page and it’s our gazebo kiss, the super passionate, intense one. I was like, ‘OMG! I just met this guy. I have to make out with this person in an office.’ He was nervous. I was nervous. It all worked out, but it was hilarious because I was in a small square office, trying to figure out how to run up to him and grab his face and kiss him. And, you know, he’s pretty tall. Figuring that out the first time was a bit challenging. I think we hit heads a couple of times.”

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August 2017

The duo made their red carpet debut at WordTheatre’s In the Cosmos: Where We Come From, Where We Are and Where We Are Going event in Hollywood.

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

April 2018

Elordi and King only had eyes for each other at the 2018 Daily Front Row Fashion Los Angeles Awards in Beverly Hills.

Credit: Courtesy Joey King/Instagram

May 2018

The costars frequently posted on social media together during their relationship, but most of their pics vanished after their breakup. One of the only photos with Elordi that remains on King’s Instagram account shows them holding hands. 

“On set of #TheKissingBooth me and the boys would try and squeeze in cuddly naps together….but right nowwwww we are NOT napping we are CELEBRATING that the trailer hit over 5 million views!!” she captioned the shot.

Credit: Marcos Cruz/Netflix

May 2018

The Kissing Booth premiered on Netflix on May 11, 2018, and quickly became a runaway success. In the film, King’s Elle and Elordi’s Noah hide their relationship from her BFF and his brother, Lee (Joel Courtney), thanks to a set of rules that forbids her from dating any of Lee’s relatives.

Credit: Blair Raughley/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

August 2018

The Act star gushed to Us in August 2018 about the Euphoria actor. “You know what, actually it does help,” she said of dating a fellow actor. “It helps to have somebody by your side, cheering you on, who knows what you’re going through and who’s been through it themselves.”

King also detailed the couple’s go-to date ideas at the time: “I love rollerskating, I love to read [and] I love the beach — but I don’t like the sun, so that’s an oxymoron.”

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August 2018

The two were last spotted on a red carpet together in August 2018 when they showed PDA at Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event in West Hollywood.

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

November 2018

Fans speculated that Elordi and King split after he announced a break from social media. He subsequently deleted his Instagram account, while she cryptically tweeted, “Thank god I have my dog tho.” Instagram users also noticed the actress deleted old photos of them from her page.

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October 2019

King and Courtney teamed up in February 2019 to announce The Kissing Booth 2 was officially happening. Elordi confirmed in an October 2019 Instagram video that he would reunite with his ex for the follow-up film. “I’m returning as Noah Flynn in The Kissing Booth sequel,” he revealed.

Later that month, the Ramona and Beezus star explained what it was like to work with the 2 Hearts actor after their split. “Going back, and doing that, and making the sacrifice, obviously, what everyone is thinking about,” she noted on the “Mood With Lauren Elizabeth” podcast. “I’m not outwardly addressing, but what I’m kinda on the sly addressing, making those sacrifices was totally worth it.”

Credit: Marcos Cruz/Netflix

July 2020

Netflix released The Kissing Booth 2 on July 24, 2020. In the sequel, Noah and Elle deal with their long-distance relationship issues that arise after his move to college. In real life, King and Elordi avoided doing press together for the project.

Credit: Courtesy Netflix/Instagram

July 2020

Two days after the debut of The Kissing Booth 2, King and her costars — minus Elordi — announced The Kissing Booth 3 had already been filmed and would drop on Netflix in 2021. The cast confirmed that the Deep Water star would be returning, and he thanked fans for their support in a prerecorded video shared during the YouTube livestream. Netflix also released a teaser clip that featured a loved-up Elle and Noah. The Kissing Booth 3 follows Elle as she weighs where to go to college the summer after graduating high school.  

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August 2020

After Elordi claimed to have not seen The Kissing Booth 2, King responded in a since-deleted tweet: "Jacob watched it. He's capping."

Days later, the Slender Man actress revealed on The Howard Stern Show that she received permission from Elordi to post the tweet but took it down after receiving criticism from fans. 

"I said, ‘Jacob watched it. He’s capping.’ Which, ‘capping’ means lying. I heard the term ‘capping’ on, like, TikTok and Twitter and Instagram, through friends, and I was like, ‘I guess this is the new thing,” she explained. “Apparently, it’s not. It’s something I should not have used as a white person. I took it down … two accounts on Twitter called me out for it, that’s why I deleted it.”

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

August 2020

King shared in an August 2020 interview on The Howard Stern Show that she didn't regret her relationship with Elordi. “I think it’s a good thing we dated in the first place," she said. "I learned the most I’ve ever learned in my life from him."

Credit: Marcos Cruz/Netflix; Courtesy of Jacob Elordi/Instagram

August 2021

Elordi honored his ex when their final movie together, The Kissing Booth 3, was released on Netflix in August 2021. He shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos from the trilogy, but he saved his ex for last. “And one from the start @joeyking,” he added alongside a promotional photo from the 2017 film. He continued, “Thank you all of you,” alongside a red heart emoji.