Dove Cameron, 26, is an actress and singer best known for her hit song “Boyfriend”, which she released in 2022. And despite the fact that she famously sings about how she can be a “better boyfriend,” Dove has actually dated some seriously accomplished men herself. Keep reading to meet the singer’s boyfriends over the years!
Ryan McCartan
The Disney Channel actress dated her former costar Ryan McCartan, 29, from 2013 to 2016. Despite the pair being very publicly in love with each, they ultimately called it quits in October 2016. Ryan and Dove first met on the set of Liv and Maddie in 2012 and quickly became enamored with one another.
By April 2016, Dove and Ryan were officially engaged, which he announced via Instagram. Ryan wrote, “Dedicating my 1,000th post to my fiancée. I can’t believe I get to call you that. Thanks for saying yes.” But just six months later, the couple seemed to have fallen out with each other when they announced their split. On October 5, 2016, Ryan took to Twitter to reveal the details of the breakup. He wrote, “Dove has decided this relationship isn’t what she wants. We still love each other very much. Please be sensitive, as this is painful.”
And it seems there was bad blood after their breakup, as Dove later wrote via Instagram that her ex-boyfriend “Was terrible to me“. Ouch! Later, Ryan took no time to clap back via Twitter, writing, “Take the high road, there’s less traffic.”
Thomas Doherty
Despite Dove’s messy first public split, she soon moved on and found love again with Gossip Girl actor Thomas Doherty, 27. Dove and Thomas met while working together on the set of the 2017 Disney Film Descendants 2. The singer confirmed the news to PEOPLE at the time and said, “We’re dating. I’m keeping it sort of… we’re keeping it to ourselves, because everything is just so more romantic and real when it’s yours and it’s private.” She also added, “So we are keeping the details to ourselves, but yeah, we’re dating.”
Two years later in 2019, Dove gushed to Entertainment Tonight that she had considered marriage. When asked about it, she said, “I go back and forth on whether that is a thing that I even want to do,” while adding, “I think, if I’m going to marry anyone, it’s going to be him.”
But sadly, their romance didn’t last too much longer, as Dove announced their split via Twitter in December 2020. The “Breakfast” singer wrote, “hi all. In October, @thomasadoherty and I decided to part ways. The decision was incredibly difficult, but we still have love for each other, and will remain friends. Thank you for allowing us our privacy in this time.” Thomas did not address their split publicly.
Dove Cameron’s Sexuality
Although Dove’s public relationships have been known to be primarily with men, the singer is, in fact, queer. She spoke to Gay Times about the time that she came out and said, “I’ve hinted about my sexuality for years while being afraid to spell it out for everybody.”
When she spoke about her sexuality online the singer said, “I went on Instagram Live and said ‘Guys, I really needed to explain something to you. Maybe I haven’t said it, but I’m super queer. This is something I want to represent through my music because it’s who I am.’” And since then, Dove has released some hit LGBT songs like “Boyfriend”, which is about a woman she wants to “steal” from a man.
The lyrics to “Boyfriend” include, “I could be a better boyfriend than him / I could do the sh*t that he never did /Up all night, I won’t quit /Thinking I’m gonna steal you from him / I could be such a gentleman.” Dove also released the music video to her song “Breakfast”, in which she flips the script and creates a world without a patriarchy. The lyrics to the song include, “I eat boys like you for breakfast /One by one hung on my necklace.” Dove’s relationship status now appears to be single, as she is focused on her music career.