dating rumors

A Deep Dive Into Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson’s Relationship

Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne.
Ashley Benson and Cara Delevingne. Photo: Getty Images

More than ten months ago, model Cara Delevingne, 26, and Pretty Little Liars actress Ashley Benson, 28, were first spotted leaving a concert together — an incident that at first seemed insignificant, but is now regarded as the start of the pair’s relationship. But for nearly ten months, they have done the impossible: refuse to confirm what’s going on between the two, despite being caught making out and cuddling and grabbing each other’s butts. At this point, do we really still have to refer to the celebrities as “rumored” girlfriends?

Below, an exhaustive timeline of their relationship.

May 1: This is where it all apparently begins. On a Tuesday night, paparazzi catch Delevingne and Benson leaving a Lauryn Hill concert at the Apollo Theater in New York City. One notable person who’s not present: Paris Jackson, Delevingne’s rumored girlfriend at the time. (Delevingne and Jackson apparently became close at the 2017 MTV Movie and TV Awards, and in March 2018, they made out while on a double date with Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song.)

May 3: Benson posts a selfie of herself and Delevingne to her Instagram Stories, which is captured by a number of her followers.

May 18: Delevingne and Benson are spotted holding hands after leaving Lucky Strike in Soho, New York City. The images that surface of them elicit countless tweets from fans who “ship” the relationship “so hard.”

May 20: Just weeks after the Lauryn Hill concert, it’s pretty clear that there’s something romantic going on between Benson and Delevingne, but neither of them confirm the relationship. At a Saturday Night Live taping, a number of people catch the two “making out” in the audience, though no pictures exist, as phones aren’t allowed in during filming.

May 27: Delevingne gives Benson one of those romantic hugs from behind as she pays a parking meter in West Hollywood. Around this time, Australian teen magazine Girlfriend publishes an enthusiastic story proclaiming that the pair are “officially dating and WHAT.” There’s still no official confirmation from either Benson or Delevingne, though.

July 27: More than two months go by without the pair appearing in public together. Was something up, or did the Delevingne and Benson simply seek some privacy? Who knows. But by the end of July, they’re seen with Canadian dancer Tati McQuay at the Millennium Dance Complex in Los Angeles.

August 7: Per the Daily Mail, Delevingne and Benson enjoy a “low-key outing,” including a trip to the spa and an “iced beverage” run in West Hollywood.

August 12: Delevigne throws herself a star-studded 26th birthday in Hollywood, where Zoë Kravitz, Kate Beckinsale, and Margot Robbie show up to party. According to an Instagram of the event that she posts on August 26, she’s “still giggling with MERmazing memories.”

August 14: We arrive at what the Daily Mail describes as a “passionate kiss” at Heathrow airport. While Delevingne’s hair is truly unfortunate, the pictures that surface are undeniably cute: The model has her arm wrapped around Benson, who’s wearing a necklace with a “C” pendant, which the Daily Mail attributes to her love for Delevingne.

August 24: When asked by People Now to either confirm or deny the relationship, Benson says she has “always been private,” and that she believes that’s “the best way” to be. (So … they’re dating.)

September 9: The two go together to the Toronto Film Festival, where The Standard reports that they party together.

September 28: Benson heads to Paris to sit front-row at the Balmain runway show, which Delevingne just so happens to be walking in. Following the show, the two leave together.

January 4: The couple hits a relationship milestone: Benson publicly grabs Delevingne’s butt.

February 14: On Valentine’s Day, Delevingne is photographed helping Benson — or, at the Daily Mail refers to her, “her girlfriend” — load her luggage.

March 5: Following Karl Lagerfeld’s final Chanel show in Paris, stylist Jamie Mizrahi posts a photo of Delevingne and Benson having a “post show cuddle puddle” in the backseat of a car. The emoji Mizrahi includes in the caption — the one of two women kissing — says it all.

A Deep Dive Into Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson Dating