Just when she swore off dating actors, Paul Forman came in and changed her mind.

In a major case of life imitating art, Ashley Park and her Emily in Paris co-star Paul Forman are a bona fide item, taking the whole rom-com idea of falling in love in Paris into their real lives. In a new interview with Cosmopolitan, Park explained that when the two first met, they were just friends, because the actress could never imagine dating someone so hot and decided that she was done dating actors. Before Forman, who is an actor and a model, she reportedly dated Broadway actors Zach Adkins and Benjamin Tyler Cook and was rumored to be in a brief relationship with her co-star Lucas Bravo.

“In the beginning, we were just friends, because I was at a point where I was like, ‘I will never date an actor again,'” she said. “And one of the first things he said to me was, ‘I’ve never dated an actor.’ And I was like, ‘Amazing.'”

The two have made multiple appearances together off-screen since going public with their relationship in January 2024, attending this year’s Vogue World event in Paris together (appropriate!), as well as making the rounds at the couture shows at Fashion Week. Of course, Forman plays Nicolas de Léon, a high-powered executive at his family’s luxury conglomerate on Emily in Paris. On the show, he and Park’s character, Mindy, sparked a romance in season 3.

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“I mean, let’s face it, he’s eye candy. So, I was also like, ‘Oh my god, definitely not. I am past that. I would never fall for someone who looks that impeccable.’ So, we were just friends. Very platonically, we would hang out,” Park explained of their initial vibes. “Then, I was invited by the International Medical Corps to go and volunteer with Ukrainian refugees in Poland. It was going to be a whole week in Poland and I didn’t want to do it alone, so I thought, ‘You know who should come with me, because literally we are just good friends, is Paul.'”

Of course, things got steamy from there, but Park still wasn’t convinced. Even as he confessed his love for her, she chalked it up to him being so green and mixing up their on-screen romance with real feelings.

“I come from the theater! You want to bond with your co-stars, and I was like, ‘He’s my new scene partner,'” she explained. “So, I invited him. Fast-forward, we’re filming one of our last scenes together, and he said, ‘I am getting really attached to you.’ I felt so all-knowing and above it. I was like, ‘Oh, you poor man, let me explain. This is a show. You’re just excited about the whole thing.'”

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The rest is history, even as co-star and BFF Lily Collins saw everything coming, Park denying any feelings, and the two “practicing” kissing one another behind the scenes.

“We went on that trip to Poland. Watching him play chess with these children who did not have a home and acting like this father figure to them because their fathers were at war, watching him be so present, it was amazing. So, I had to do a little loss-of-dignity tour. I had to be like, ‘Lily, everyone, we are so in love.’ That was about two years ago,” Park shared. “One of the reasons I wanted to be friends with him, and eventually fell in love with him, is that he’s so generous and kind as a coworker and a friend. I’ve never been with a straight white male who has been more generous or better to work with on a set. Ever, ever, ever.”