Riverdale fans around the world have been left broken-hearted following the latest news about Betty and Jughead's real-life counterparts. Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart met when filming the teen comic-book melodrama and have been dating for two years. But a representative for the two announced that the pair have finally called time on their relationship. The reasons for the split are not yet known, with sources simply claiming that the two have split and are no longer living together.
It's safe to say that since the news surfaced, it's spread like wildfire.
However, the pair have finally responded to the breakup rumors and it certainly wasn't what we were expecting to hear...
Cole Sprouse had an early start in the world of acting.
Sprouse had a pretty illustrious child acting career.
His best-known role may be alongside his twin brother, Dylan, in popular Disney Channel series, The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody.But Sprouse is now synonymous with another role.
Based on characters from the original Archie comics, Riverdale is a super successful teen-drama television series by The CW.The series opened to a fair amount of critical acclaim.
Alongside Sprouse, the series features an ensemble cast.
KJ Apa plays the role of Archie Andrews, Camila Mendes plays Veronica Lodge, and Lili Reinhart made her television debut in the role of Betty Cooper.And there was one aspect of the show that kept viewers coming back.
The blossoming relationship between Betty and Jughead was something that Riverdale fans were here for - even giving the two the "ship name" of Bughead.But that's not all.
Riverdale fans were also intrigued as to whether the real-life counterparts of these loved-up characters were also falling for one another. The rumors began when Sprouse started posting beautiful snaps of Reinhart on his Insta.Some even had pretty gushing captions.
Which many believed pointed at the real-life relationship between the pair - although both Sprouse and Reinhart remained tight-lipped on the situation.But shippers make the best internet detectives.
@colesprouse @DamonBaker 😍🔥💦💦— Lili Reinhart (@Lili Reinhart)1497321397.0
For many, this was the first real piece of evidence.
At Comic-Con in 2017, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the pair seemed to be gently caressing one another's hands - presumably assuming that they were out of sight.For a long time, the pair refused to confirm or deny.
Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart with a fan today in Hawaii! https://t.co/G9Dbk71zSO— Riverdale News (DAILY) (@Riverdale News (DAILY))1514865362.0
And the same year, the two made their first public appearance.
Though it wasn't always plain sailing for the couple.
"Lili was a tough egg to crack, she's very shy at first, reserved, and I think it was about halfway into the first season she started letting people in truly," Cole told Entertainment Tonight. "And she's one of those people that consistently pushes me to be better at the arts that I'm pursuing, and that's just the kind of person she is, she inspires excellence out of everybody she works with."Reinhart had a similar level of reservations.
"I thought his voice was annoying," Reinhart shared. "That was my first impression, I was like, 'That guy's got an annoying voice.' And now it's grown on me I guess." "Cole is, one of the smartest...the smartest person that I'm friends with. He's incredibly passionate about art, about photography, about acting that."While the pair were private, they did start to share more about their relationship.
But it seems that the love between the two couldn't last.
After two years, the relationship was reportedly confirmed to be over.
Since their reported split, the pair had been "intentionally keeping their distance from each other."
And the two have been seen in public appearance as recently as July 21st.
So, what is going on with the pair?
Well, we won't have to wonder for much longer as the pair have finally broken their silence on the split.
They took to Instagram to shed some light on the recent split rumors.In the Instagram snaps, the two are starring together on the latest front cover of W Magazine.
The pair were interviewed by the magazine back in May, though it's only just being released now.In fact, the interview in question is where some of the rumors began...
After publishing the piece, the magazine claimed that the stars insisted on being interviewed separately.Reinhart posted this snap on Instagram, addressing the breakup rumors.
The star shared a picture of her and Sprouse's W front cover with the caption, “BREAKING: A reliable source has confirmed that none of you know shit."At the exact same time, Sprouse posted this image:
The actor posted the same image to his Instagram, captioning it with a bit of a weird message, writing: "UNPRECEDENTED: Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart consume the flesh of ‘reliable sources’ to fuel their bacchanalian sex cult."Reinhart also took to Twitter to settle the rumors.
Don’t believe everything you read on the internet, kids. And news sources should try a little harder to be less vil… https://t.co/L7yr2kZyBO— Lili Reinhart (@Lili Reinhart)1564098459.0
Their cryptic responses are the ultimate trolling.
While many will be left confused by the pair's vague and, in Sprouse's case, slightly weird, Instagram captions, the fact that it's not clear which part of the catalog of breakup rumors they're actually denying is evidence that we're well and truly getting trolled.And fans don't really know what to do.
@lilireinhart Wait what happened? Is this about her and @colesprouse? Are they actually still together?— bubbles (@bubbles)1564099738.0