Getty Lili Reinhart (L) and Cole Sprouse arrive at the premiere of CBS Films' "Five Feet Apart."
After rumors circulated earlier this week that Riverdale stars and longterm couple Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse had broken up, Reinhart took to social media to prove that the allegations were nothing more than false gossip. Shortly after her post, Sprouse shared the same photo to further prove that they are still very much together.
The photo, which was taken for W Magazine, was shot and edited in a style that matches their hit CW show. Reinhart looks seductively at the camera as a shirtless Sprouse stands behind her with his arm wrapped around her and his hand resting on her neck and lower lip. In the caption, she wrote to her 18.7 million followers “BREAKING: A reliable source has confirmed that none of you know shit.”
Sprouse then shared the photo on his own Instagram account, on which he has 27.2 million of his own fans. He took a similarly sardonic approach when crafting his caption, which read “UNPRECEDENTED: Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart consume the flesh of ‘reliable sources’ to fuel their bacchanalian sex cult.”
The rumor spread on July 22, after the couple had been spotted at San Diego Comic Con with their Riverdale castmates. According to Us Weekly, the allegation was based on an observation that the two were “were spotted keeping their distance from each other at the Entertainment Weekly Comic-Con party in San Diego on Saturday, July 21. They both mingled with Riverdale castmates at different times, but were rarely seen together.” A source also claimed that they heard Sprouse telling a friend that he and Reinhart had broken up.
Fans of the couple analyzed both Reinhart and Sprouse’s every move on social media as news spread that they had called it quits. Sprouse turned Instagram comments off on his account, which many took to mean that the rumor was true and that he was trying to maintain a level of privacy while processing the split.
Once Lili and Cole had disproved their split, shippers of both the couple and their TV show characters were, unsurprisingly, excited and relieved to learn the news. Joining them in the comments sections of both TV stars’ photos were the couple’s friends and co-stars, who applauded their way of proving the gossip false.
The photo they shared is part of a shoot they recently did for W Magazine, and accompanies an article the magazine published Thursday afternoon in which they couple addresses their relationship and how they prioritize maintaining their separate identities. Ironically, the topics they discussed in their interviews, which they intentionally conducted individually, comment directly on the very things used as “evidence” that their breakup rumor was legitimate.
Reinhart told the magazine “We’re not fighting with the idea that people group us together, but we are paired up a lot… We’re acknowledging that we’re in a relationship, but it’s a small part of who we are as people. We want our own separate identities.” Sprouse echoed that sentiment, saying that any perceived distance between the two is motivated by the fact that “Lili is an incredibly talented individual who speaks for herself and deserves her own voice box in every single way.”