Freeform’s Cruel Summer is known for its toxic relationships — but its cast has faired much better when it comes to their offscreen love lives.
The teen thriller, which debuted in April 2021, told a story over three years: 1993, 1994 and 1995, and followed kidnapped Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) and Jeanette Turner (Chiara Aurelia), who was accused of taking over Kate’s life after she goes missing.
While the anthology series is filled with high-stakes drama and complicated dynamics, the characters’ real-life counterparts have been far less problematic. Barrett Carnahan — who played Aurelia’s brother Derek Turner on season 1 of the show — dated his wife, Nina Kubicki, for over a decade before the pair tied the knot in June 2020.
“Ten years ago I took a shot in the dark and sat next you on a bus. One of my favorite things to do is close my eyes, vividly remember that moment, then open them to look at this image. My favorite thing to do,” the One of Us Is Lying alum wrote via Instagram in January 2021 alongside a photo of his bride from their wedding day.
While the lovebirds initially had to put their nuptials on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they wound up only holding off for a month before saying “I do” in front of close family and friends in June 2020. “Ten years ago, I took a risk and sat next to you. Ten years later, I married you,” Carnahan captioned a sweet snap of the pair on their romantic day.
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Less than one year after exchanging vows, the couple announced they were expecting their first child. “Kid … Can’t wait to teach you everything I know. And after five minutes, Nina will teach you everything else,” the Alexa & Katie actor quipped via Instagram in January 2022. They welcomed son Henry five months later.
Since their little one’s arrival, Carnahan and Kubicki have both often taken to social media to gush over their journey as first-time parents — and laugh over its unexpected chaos.
“Motherhood is having a precious moment, then immediately taking an elbow to the eye socket. Thank you. For everything,” the Ohio native wrote in an Instagram tribute to his wife in May 2023, which featured a photo of the new mom getting knocked in the face by her toddler.
Carnahan isn’t the only Cruel Summer cast member to tie the knot. Sarah Drew, who portrayed season 1’s Cindy Turner, wed husband Peter Lanfer in 2002. The twosome went on to welcome son Michael and daughter Hannah in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
In November 2022, the Grey’s Anatomy actress opened up about how motherhood has changed her — and explained why it’s affected how she approaches her career.
“I’m more selective about the jobs I take. Every job takes me away from my kids — sometimes out of the country even. I think about the fact that they will probably watch all of my work at some point, so I am sure that I’m making art that I’m proud of and that I’ll be proud to share with them,” she told In Between magazine at the time. “It was an extra bonus getting to make a show that was designed to be watched together as a family.”
Season 2 of the Freeform hit, which premieres in June 2023, centered around a whole new group of teens during Y2K. The show tracks the early friendship between Megan (Sadie Stanley), Isabella (Lexi Underwood) and Megan’s best friend Luke (Griffin Gluck) as a love triangle — and a mystery — impacts all of their lives forever.
While little is known about season 2’s up-and-coming cast’s love lives, Gluck was previously linked to Sabrina Carpenter in 2019. The pair dated for over a year after meeting on the set of their film Tall Girl before calling it quits one year later. At the time, fans speculated that the twosome ended their relationship due to a series of Gluck’s old controversial tweets resurfacing online.
“Hello friends, I realized there’s simply no way to have the truth be perceived the way you want. Some of you will believe me, some of you won’t, so I have to accept that, but I am so terribly sorry that someone I have associated with had done things in the past to make you question my character in the present,” Carpenter wrote via Instagram in 2019, seemingly referring to Gluck. “I didn’t know them at that time. That’s not who I know them to be now. … I’m sorry some of you felt personally victimized I understand you were hurt or confused but, as it wasn’t my actions, I didn’t feel it was my place to explain other than what I’ve already said which is, I’m not in support for those past actions.”
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Take a look back at all the Cruel Summer cast’s dating histories below: