They say Paris is the City of Love, but Ashley Park initially did not want to find love with him Emily in Paris co-star-turned-boyfriend Paul Forman.
Home from next season four of Emily in Paris33-year-old actress dished to Cosmopolitan in an interview published on August 6 about her on-and-off-screen Beau.
“In the beginning, we were just friends, because I was at a point where I was like, ‘I’m not dating actors anymore,'” she told the outlet. “And one of the first things she said to me was, ‘I’ve never dated an actor.’ And I was like, ‘Amazing.'”
In the Netflix series, Park stars as Mindy Chen, a singer and best friend Lily Collins‘ fashionable character, Emily Cooper. Forman joined the cast in the third season where he portrayed Nicolas de Leon, a wealthy businessman who becomes Chen’s love interest.
“I mean, let’s face it, he’s eye candy,” Park continued. “So I was also like, ‘Oh my God, of course not. I’m over it. I’m not going to fall for someone who looks perfect.’ So we were just friends, we would hang out and then I was invited by the International Medical Corps to volunteer with Ukrainian refugees in Poland and I didn’t want to do it alone, so I thought, You know who should join me, because we’re really just good friends, that’s Paul.”
He added, “I came from theater! You want to bond with your costars, and I was like, ‘He’s my new scene buddy.’ So I told him to fast forward, we were shooting one of the last scenes, and he said, ‘I really like you.’
But Park doesn’t really believe in Forman’s attachment to her.
“I think I understand everything and beyond,” Park told the outlet. “I was like, ‘Oh, you poor thing, let me explain. This is a show. You’re just excited about everything.
While Park had tried to convince himself and Forman that there was no chemistry between them, he couldn’t fool Collins.
“Lily saw the chemistry. She was like, ‘Ashley, what’s going on?’ And I replied, ‘I never said that I didn’t date an actor.’ It was the first time I really stood up for myself,” Park said. “I said to him, ‘Lily, you don’t believe in my growth, because he is the right person that I told him that I would not leave. so believe in me.’
Now, Collins teases Park about everything.
“But at that point, he just asked, ‘So why are you kissing at practice?’ I was like, ‘That’s because we’ve been doing scenes all week.’ And he said, ‘Well, you really like it,'” Park recalled. “Then that night, we got together. We went out, and I thought I was going to be third-wheeling on a date with someone, and it turned out it was just us. And I was like, Oh god, I’ve lied to my friend. I really like this guy. What did I do?“
It was a trip to Poland that really opened Park’s eyes — and heart.
“Seeing him playing chess with these homeless kids and acting like his father because his father was at war, watching him become what he is now, it’s amazing,” he said. “So I had to do a little dignity tour. I had to be like, ‘Lily, everybody, we love you so much.’ That was about two years ago.”
The couple first sparked romance rumors in October 2023 when they were spotted holding hands at The Hollywood ReporterBeauty Dinner at Holloway House in West Hollywood, California.
A few months later, the couple left Instagram officially in January. In Park’s post, she praised Forman for supporting her during that time her tonsillitis turned into “critical” septic shock..
“Most importantly thank you to @peforman for being unconditionally on my side through all of this,” Park wrote in the caption of the post. “You calmed my fears and held me through an ambulance, three foreign hospitals, a week in the ICU, a scary ER, countless scans and tests and injections, a lot of pain, and a lot of confusion when we were just on the other side. away from that we know each other, i love you paul.
At the time, Forman left a comment on her post, writing only, “My love ❤️.”
Next medical fearForman shared a sweet selfie of the two posing together and one of him holding Park’s hand in her hospital bed.
“By your side, no matter what ❤️ @ashleyparklady,” she captioned it Instagram post.
But Park explained Cosmopolitan that he and Forman originally wanted to launch hard in the Maldives.
“It’s been a year and a half. Now it’s funny: The Maldives trip will be a difficult launch,” he said. “Literally, if you ask my friends, if you ask my assistant, I’m like, ‘We’re hard-launching.’ Then I had sepsis, we joked that the next vacation was just littering, it would be amazing.
She added of Forman, “One of the reasons I wanted to be friends with him, and ended up falling in love with him, was that he was so generous and kind as a colleague and friend. I’ve never been with a straight white man who was more generous or nicer. to work on the Ever, ever, ever set.
Since going public about their relationship, the couple has been out and about together a lot. In February, the two attended London Fashion Week before attending Paris Fashion Week in March.
“First public date with @jw_anderson ♥️ Congratulations @jonathan.anderson on an amazing event,” Forman captioned and Instagram carousel in time.
In May, the couple recorded time in Rome, which is the new season of Emily in Paris was filmed in.
In June, the couple went to Vogue World: Paris together.
“Date night for 📚 #vogueworldparis,” Park wrote in the caption Instagram post with Forman taking a stylish date night.
Part 1 of season 4 of Emily in Paris will drop on Netflix on August 15. Then, less than a month later, the second half of the season will debut on September 12.
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