Kaia Gerber is living her sweetest friends to lovers dream.
Indeed, the model confirmed that she’s dating Top Gun: Maverick star Lewis Pullman, and hinted their romance took off as they worked on building a strong friendship.
“A lot is being healed in this relationship,” Kaia, 24, said in the Oct. 1 episode of Jake Shane’s Therapuss podcast. “I really feel like if you have the opportunity to date a friend, do it. It’s just so much better.”
“I never wanna fight with my friends,” she continued. “I never wanna be mad at my friends. I respect my friends. It just is like a whole other thing, and I think sometimes you forget you like someone when you love them.”
While the Bottoms actor—whose parents are Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber—didn’t reveal when she and Lewis’ bond started, she noted that “in relationships, you get to a place where it’s almost impossible to understand how love can get you there.”
It’s a beautifully complex feeling, one Kaia believes is better explored with a close friend than a stranger she can’t connect with.
“If you can date your friends, you should, or date someone that you would be friends with anyways,” she continued. “Don’t just date someone because you’re sexually attracted to them or in lust with them. You should sleep with those people, for sure, but you don’t need to make them your partners.”
Kai and Lewis, 32, first stirred dating rumors in January, just weeks after her and Austin Butler’s 3-year romance ended. At the time, she and the Lessons in Chemistry star were cozied up at his birthday dinner in Los Angeles.
“They arrived and left together,” an eyewitness told E! News that month, adding that the Kaia and Lewis were “holding hands and very affectionate.”
And while Kaia recently opened up about her relationship with Lewis—the son of Bill Pullman—he’s had a more cryptic approach about their connection. In fact, the actor dodged any romantic questions at the April 28 premiere of Thunderbolts.
“No, I don’t have a date tonight. My family’s my date,” Lewis told Entertainment Tonight at the event before brushing off a comment about a “certain brunette” fans would have liked to see with him. “We’re all just lucky to be here on the carpet, hanging, looking forward to Thunderbolts.”
Keep reading to see more stars who have fell in love this year…
Tom Cruise & Ana de Armas
Fans are looking to solve the mystery of where Ana de Armas and Tom Cruise stand.
While the Knives Out actress has spoken only about her working relationship with the Top Gun alum since they first sparked dating rumors in February, the pair's subsequent outings—including a hand-in-hand stroll through Vermont in July—raised questions of whether a new romance was taking flight.
E! News has reached out to their reps for comment but has yet to hear back.
Jessica Alba & Danny Ramirez
While fans know Jessica Alba played Sue Storm, they might not be as caught up on the romance rumors that have been brewing.
Six months after her split from husband Cash Warren, the Fantastic Four actress was spotted hanging out with Top Gun: Maverick’s Danny Ramirez. In fact, they were seen boarding a flight from Cancun to Los Angeles on July 13, per a video shared by TMZ. Neither Jessica nor Danny has commented on the dating speculation. But on July 26, the outlet published photos of the two sharing a kiss.
Jennifer Aniston & Jim Curtis
The one where Jennifer Aniston sparked romance rumors with Jim Curtis.
Reports spread that the Friends star and the hypnotist are dating after they were photographed vacationing together in Mallorca in early July. And while they've yet to comment on if they're more than friends, Jennifer has dabbled in Jim's area of expertise to help with her fear of flying.
"I have been doing some hypnosis lately," she told Travel + Leisure in April, "and one of the requirements is to remove all of those superstitions."
Megan Thee Stallion & Klay Thompson
Megan Thee Stallion is having a Hot Girl Summer with someone special by her side: Klay Thompson.
Days after the Grammy winner and the basketball player made their romance Instagram official, they made their red carpet debut as a couple at her Inaugural Pete & Thomas Foundation Gala in New York. But even though they've gone public, they still want to keep some details of their love story private—including how they first huddled up.
"We met and it was such a meet-cute," Megan told People at the July 16 event. "It was like a f--king movie. I won't tell you how and I won't tell you when, but it was a movie."
And when it comes to Klay, she added "that he's the nicest person I've ever met in my life."
Reese Witherspoon & Oliver Haarmann
Reese Witherspoon isn’t objecting to a romantic getaway with Oliver Haarmann.
While the jury was out on whether the Legally Blonde actress and the financier were dating after they were first spotted together last fall, the verdict came in after People published photos of the duo kissing on a yacht off the coast of Saint-Tropez, France, July 13.
Anna Kendrick & Alex Edelman
Could this be an aca-awesome romance?
Anna Kendrick and Alex Edelman fueled dating speculation after they were spotted hanging out together on multiple occasions. For instance, the Pitch Perfect star and the comedian were photographed driving together in Studio City, Calif., July 6 and shopping at an outdoor market in L.A. July 13.
Elliot Page & Julia Shiplett
Elliot Page and Julia Shiplett ended Pride Month with a big announcement. The Umbrella Academy actor debuted his relationship with the Overcompensating star on June 28 by posting a selfie of the pair and adding rainbow and heart emojis.
JoJo Siwa & Chris Hughes
At first, JoJo Siwa and Chris Hughes seemed to be dancing around their connection.
After growing close on Celebrity Big Brother and insisting for weeks that they were just friends, the Dance Moms alum and the Love Island star finally confirmed their relationship had evolved to something more.
"It’s not platonic any more," JoJo admitted to The Guardian in an interview shared June 2, "and it’s been a beautiful development, a beautiful connection, and I’m absolutely head over heels for him and he’s the same way."
In fact, Chris says they've already thought about next steps.
"I’d love to marry her," he told The Sun's Fabulous. "I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I run through scenarios of our wedding day. We’d have a proper English wedding and I can imagine her in a full wedding dress. We both want kids. We come from loving families. My mum loves her. She’s my best friend. I love that she’s the person I have to do nothing with and still have the best time. That’s everything to me."
Katurah Topps & Sabiyah Broderick
Katurah Topps and Sabiyah Broderick have found a love that will outlast their run on season 45 of Survivor.
"On Survivor, we both struggled with fire," Katurah wrote in a June 22 Instagram post. "I couldn’t make it and she went a week without it. But what we’ve built together? That’s a fire that finally lit itself!"
And they'll never feel like they're alone on an island as long as they have each other.
"From Players to Partners, from Castmates to Co-dreamers…" Katurah continued. "Meet Survivor’s FIRST Black Queer Woman Couple."
Connor Newsum & Carmen Kocourek
Connor Newsum and Carmen Kocourek recently dropped this bombshell: They're dating!
The Love Island USA season six star revealed his relationship with the season five alum on Instagram July 2, notifying his fans he had an "update" and proceeding to post a series of snapshots of the pair.