With its steamy love story — and even steamier cast — Netflix's teen rom-com, The Kissing Booth, flipped the world upside down upon its premiere in May 2018. Based on Beth Reekles' young adult novel of the same name, the film follows the story of likable high schooler Elle Evans (Joey King) who has a crush on bad boy player Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi). Noah just so happens to be the older brother of her best friend Lee Flynn, portrayed by Joel Courtney. When a kissing booth for charity forces Elle and Noah to lock lips, what seemed like a hopeless infatuation turns into a forbidden romance. And that’s just the first movie!
While critics may have panned the film, audiences couldn’t get enough, with Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos telling Vulture that the film was “one of the most watched-movies in the country, and maybe in the world.” It was only fitting that the movie inspired two sequels which were filmed back-to-back in 2019, introducing new characters, including the charming Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and flirtatious Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) into the fold. While we’re obsessed with the love stories of Noah, Elle, and Lee, how do the actors bringing their romances to life fare offscreen? These are the real life partners of The Kissing Booth cast.
Joey King 'couldn't' date another actor after Jacob Elordi
Rachel Murray/Getty ImagesAfter The Kissing Booth wrapped, it was happily ever after for Noah and Elle in real life — for a while. Joey King was instantly attracted to Jacob Elordi, although it wasn’t quite love at first sight on set in 2017. “I thought he was very cute when we first met, but it started as friendship,” King told Bello. “But before long I started to realize, 'Hey, I think I kind of like this person!'” Somewhere in between onscreen smooches and “spending 17 hours a day together,” a romance sparked.
The couple made it social media official in April 2017 in since deleted Instagram posts, per PopSugar, and while Elordi was on hand to support his gal at the August 2018 premiere of Slender Man, by November it seemed the two had called it quits, with King writing, “Thank god I have my dog tho” in a since deleted tweet. While it didn’t work out, King and Elordi made the decision to keep it professional filming the sequels in 2019. “Elle Evans needs her Noah Flynn, and whatever that means for my personal life, I’ll do anything to make sure the story... is complete,” King told Cosmopolitan in August 2020. She also mentioned on The Howard Stern Show that she “learned the most [she's] ever learned” from their relationship, although she “couldn’t” date another actor again as “it’s really tough.”
Jacob Elordi went from Joey King to Cindy Crawford's daughter
BackgridWith the success of The Kissing Booth films and HBO's Euphoria, Jacob Elordi certainly has a lot more eyes on him — though that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a huge romantic. In 2020, he told Vanity Fair that his ideal date is “a night in Paris with wine... dressed to the nines,” but being an A-list celebrity under constant scrutiny means it’s tough to achieve his admittedly lofty goal of “having all the feelings of what you read in 1920s literature.” Though the Australian actor has been coy about his romantic life since splitting with Joey King, that hasn’t stopped him from trying his hand at love again.
As this writing, Elordi is dating model Kaia Gerber, who also happens to be the daughter of famous supermodel Cindy Crawford. According to E!, the two started dating sometime around September 2020, stepping out together in Los Angeles and New York City. We got the social media confirmation we were waiting for at Halloween when Gerber shared snaps of their flawlessly executed Elvis and Priscilla Presley costumes on Instagram. Although they’re keeping things low key, the paparazzi hasn’t had trouble snapping the absolutely adorable pair. But don’t expect either of them to speak at length about their relationship anytime soon. “When people are watching and talking about [your relationship], it makes it a little bit difficult,” Elordi told Vanity Fair. We’ll take what we can get!
Joel Courtney got married at 24-years-old
Emma Mcintyre/Getty ImagesWhile his Kissing Booth character Lee Flynn seems to struggle with the ladies, Joel Courtney is happily off the market. According to People, at 24-years-old, Courtney married his "longtime love" in September 2020: Mia Scholink, who was 23 at the time. While it “moved really quickly,” Courtney has known the Beautycounter entrepreneur his whole life. “My parents knew Mia’s parents before either one of us were born,” Courtney told People. “By the time Mia and I were born, we hung out for three or four years running around in diapers and play dates.”
Although the two fell out of touch, they “reconnected in 2015” and began dating two years later, splitting up “for a little bit of time” before getting back together in 2019. When the couple tied the knot in an outdoor ceremony in Phoenix, Ariz., the Super 8 actor said he had “never experienced such joy” as watching his bride walk down the aisle. “My chin was trembling and I had tears in my eyes,” he told People. “It was everything I could do to keep them from pouring down my face.”
This Brat Pack member is a proud mama
John Lamparski/Getty ImagesMolly Ringwald portrays Lee and Noah Flynn’s mother in The Kissing Booth, a fitting role considering she skyrocketed to fame starring in John Hughes’ iconic teen comedies in the ‘80s. In 1999, she married her first husband Valery Lameignvère, a French writer, although they divorced in 2002. According to People, she married writer Panio Gianopoulos in 2007. “I was definitely wondering if I was able to find love again,” she recalled. “There was a lot
