The 'Riverdale' star gave credit to his girlfriend of two years, Ari Fournier, for 'improving' his life, saying 'it’s in no small part thanks to her.'
Cole Sprouse opened up about his journey to sobriety and thanked his girlfriend, Ari Fournier, for helping him with the process. The Riverdale actor said he reached a sober milestone during his very candid appearance on the March 8 episode of Call Her Daddy. “I’ve been sober for a year and some change now, which has been really great for me,” Cole detailed. “It allowed me to do the self-work and the professional work that has allowed me to really ask myself questions as an adult for the first time in my life.”
The Hollywood heartthrob went on to say that since he’s started living a healthier lifestyle with the help of professionals, he is a big fan of “cognitive behavioral therapy and psychiatry and all that stuff.” He also gave major props to Ari, whom he started dating in 2021. “As a consequence of our relationship, my life has just improved. I’ve gotten sober. I’ve questioned my existence like I never had before,” he explained on the podcast. “I’ve had my best financial years. My career is doing better. When the private sphere is locked in, everything else comes from that foundation and it’s in no small part thanks to her.”
With Ari being such an important part of his life now, Cole went on to dish on how they met! “[We met] through friends of friends,” he began. “First time I met her, she was actually in a five-year relationship. We didn’t speak again for like two years. And by the time we met again, she was single.”
The romance blossomed from there and now Cole calls Ari his “best friend.” He added, “We get along so well. We do everything together. Honestly, it’s been two years and some change, and it feels like a week. It’s incredible. I’ve never experienced this level of compatibility and it makes me look back on my youth and go…you really didn’t know.”
It’s unclear if Cole, 30, was referencing his not-so-distant youth, which would include his former relationship with his Riverdale co-star, Lili Reinhart, whom he dated from 2017 to 2020. However, he did dish on that romance as well! “I think the work thing got difficult because it was hard to suspend the way we felt about each other,” Cole shared. “It didn’t afford us the luxury of distance to really overcome that. I think we both did quite a bit of damage to each other.” But Cole said that he and Lili are “good friends now.” He also confirmed that they “work really well together” now that years have gone by following their split.
