Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson have reportedly split up after two years of dating. “Cara and Ashley always had their ups and down before, but it’s over now,” a source told People magazine in May 2020. “Their relationship just ran its course.”
It’s been a long road for the two, who met on the set of the 2018 film Her Smell. We’re sad to see this relationship end, but let’s take a look back on how it started. Here’s a complete timeline of Ash and Cara’s romance:
May 2018: The relationship rumors kicks off when Delevingne and Benson are seen out and about together. Someone saw them at a bowling alley, and another fan noticed them near a parking meter in Hollywood.
Benson posts her first photo with Delevingne, but doesn’t say anything that implies a relationship.
August 2018: Things heat up when a photo circulates of the couple kissing at London’s Heathrow Airport. Benson also hung out at Delevingne’s 26th birthday party alongside Margot Robbie and Sienna Miller. That month, Benson also took a selfie wearing necklaces with the letters A and C, which many people thought referred to her and Cara.
September 2018: Delevingne and Benson both go to the Toronto International Film Festival to premiere Her Smell, which they appeared in together. Although they posed on the red carpet separately, photographers captured them hanging out with some of their costars at a cocktail party later.
Toronto Film Festival 2018.
Sonia Recchia/Getty Images
That month they also attended Paris Fashion week together.
Paris Fashion Week
Claudio Lavenia/Getty Images
December 2018: Delevingne reportedly rents out the Natural History Museum in London for Benson‘s birthday. The news was never directly confirmed, but Delevingne did post a shot on Instagram later and wrote that she “had a whale of a time @natural_history_museum… it was over-whale-ming.”
March 2019: Stylist Jami Mizrahi shares one of the most public photos seen of the couple, apart from paparazzi snaps. The shot sees them cuddling in the back of a career after Karl Lagerfeld’s final Chanel show during Paris Fashion week.
That same day Benson posted a picture with Mizrahi and Delevingne’s sister Poppy.
April 2019: Despite still not speaking directly about the dating rumors, both Delevingne and Benson stand up against trolls on Instagram. Two people suggested that they shouldn’t be together, and Benson chimed in by saying, “You need to mind your own business. Stop making things up.”
Delevingne had a lengthier comment and said the commenters had a problem with “true love.”
“You are fucking disgusting!” she wrote. “If you have a problem with true love then come and say this shit to my face instead [of] pathetically hating through Instagram. I genuinely feel sorry for you both, you are clearly not happy with your lives and have far too much time on your hands. Maybe get a hobby that doesn’t involve being homophobic and hating others for being happy.”
May 2019: The tabloids swarm the couple after pictures emerge of the two of them hauling a “sex bench” into their L.A. home.
June 2019: The rumors finally get a confirmation. Delevingne shared a clip of the two of them kissing on Instagram and wrote in the caption, “#PRIDE.” Later she explained why she wanted to address the relationship.
“I don’t know because it is Pride, it’s been 50 years since Stonewall happened and I don’t know,” she told E! News while accepting an award at the TrevorLIVE gala. “It’s been just about our one-year anniversary so, why not?”
“I also have another very special woman in this room to thank and you know who you are,” Delevingne said. “She’s one of the people who help me love myself when I needed it most and I really needed it. She showed me what real love is and how to accept it, which is a lot harder than I thought.”
Later they attended Zoë Kravitz’s wedding in Paris together. The paparazzi got a few shots of the couple heading into Kravitz’s rehearsal dinner.
July 2019: Fans collectively freak out as the two are spotted vacationing in Saint Tropez with identical gold bands on their fingers. Some immediately think this is a sign that the couple are engaged and/or planning a secret wedding.
The rumors intensify when it appears Benson has gotten the letters C.D. tattooed to her side.
August 2019: The Sun reports that Delevingne and Benson tied the knot during a ceremony in Las Vegas. A source shuts that down and tells E! News, “Delevingne and Benson are not legally married but did have a fun friendship ceremony about a year ago.”
September 2019: The couple exchange PDA while watching the U.S. Open.
Cara and Ashley at the U.S. Open
Gotham/Getty Images
Delevingne also talks to Elle U.K. about why her relationship is sacred: “People make their own assumptions, and that’s what worried me. Because if it is something that is so good, you don’t ever want anyone to ever change it, even though people shouldn’t have that power.”
December 2019: Delevingne proves the relationship is going strong with a sweet and heartfelt tribute to Benson on her birthday. She wrote a long message that came with a bit of good-natured teasing over a photo that shows Benson wearing a crown with the words birthday girl on it.
“There is so much I could say but something I love and cherish most about us is that I don’t need to because YOU KNOW and that’s all that matters,” Delevingne wrote, echoing feelings she’s expressed in the past. “It’s you and me which is my favourite. My safe place. You let me be silly, you let me be wild, you keep me free, secure and curious. I feel like I’ve known you my entire life and I am so proud of watching you grow into the woman that you always dreamt of being. I love you beyond words my sprinkles, choonchi, angel face, grumpy ass, sweet cheeks, never boring, buttmunch, Benson.”
But that wasn’t the only way Delevingne commemorated Benson’s big day. She also surprised her girlfriend with a trip to Morocco. On December 21, the Pretty Little Liars alum revealed the big gift in a sweet social media note, thanking Delevingne.
“I was surprised on my 30th birthday,” Benson penned alongside a gallery of photos, including one of the couple enjoying a hot-air balloon ride and another of Delevingne kissing Benson’s motorcycle helmet.
“Morocco has always been a place I’ve wanted to visit,” the actor continued in the caption. “I faced so many fears and took on new adventures with my best friend by my side. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I love you @caradelevingne. Thank you for making my birthday the best yet.”
February 2020: Benson shares the sweetest photo of herself and Delevingne kissing. There was a charitable reason she posted the snap. “A kiss with a cause. This Valentine’s Day when you share a photo of you and a loved one—a significant other, a friend, a pet—you can also raise awareness and help create a future with more survivors thanks to @su2c #KissCancerGoodbye campaign,” Benson wrote.
On February 23, the couple made a rare public appearance together at Milan Fashion Week for the Boss show. They sat front row, natch, and looked incredibly chic.
May 2020: After nearly two years together, People reports, Benson and Delevingne have split. According to at least one source, the breakup occurred in early April, and Delevingne has since been spending time with friends Margaret Qualley, Rainey Qualley, and Kaia Gerber while self-quarantining.
Neither Delevingne nor Benson has confirmed the news, but on May 5, Benson shared a couple of selfies with the caption “Bored in the house.”
Originally Appeared on Glamour