When Phoebe Dynevor began dating Pete Davidson at the height of her Bridgerton fame, she wasn’t prepared for the frenzy that would follow.
“It just goes back to being naïve — I didn’t think anyone would care,” Dynevor, 28, confessed in her October 2023 Elle cover story, which was published online Tuesday, September 26. “I was just being a young woman and dating and somehow that provokes a conversation. There were lots of hard lessons I had to learn through basically just having a personal life.”
Reflecting on the “very surreal” six-month romance, Dynevor added, “You realize, ‘Oh, I can’t live my life in the way that I used to. I have to keep my cards slightly closer to my chest.’ There was a time, for example, when I’d post anything on my Instagram, and now I’m very, very careful about what I put out into the world.”
The heightened attention on her personal life was an adjustment. “This whole world that I was opened up to was really intimidating,” the Fair Play star said.
Us Weekly broke the news in April 2021 that Dynevor and Davidson, 29, were dating, one month after they were spotted spending time together in the U.K. At the time, a source told Us the twosome were bonding “over text and FaceTime” while focusing on their respective careers.
“He makes her laugh,” the insider added. “Pete is a good guy and definitely a charmer. He’s easy-going and fun to be around.”
Dynevor and Davidson didn’t publicly address their romance while they were together, but they made their debut as a couple at Wimbledon in London that July. One month later, however, Us confirmed they called it quits.
Though the relationship was brief, Dynevor still took away some valuable lessons. “I had to learn to let things go and let it wash over my head instead of the normal reaction, which is to be like, ‘But that’s not true, and that didn’t happen,'” she told Elle. “You have to let it go and focus on the work. I really am just here to act; I love my job so much, and it was weird for me that the attention was being taken away from my work.”
To get “away from it all” and calm her anxiety, Dynevor made a home for herself in a quiet section of northern London. “As a woman in this business, all those anxieties are heightened because of other people’s opinions. My brain can so easily spiral, and I just have to bring it back to, What do I want to do? What do I want to say? Where do I feel happy and cozy?” she said. “The more you prioritize the simple things in life, the easier the outside noise becomes.”
Following her fling with Davidson, the actress was briefly linked to Shameless alum Cameron Fuller, but she’s largely kept her dating life under wraps. Davidson, for his part, moved on with Kim Kardashian in October 2021. The twosome dated for less than one year, with Us confirming their split in August 2022.
Along with Kardashian, 42, Davidson has dated A-listers such as Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale, Margaret Qualley and more. Us broke the news on Friday, September 22, that Davidson is currently dating Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline. According to a source, the couple “hoped to remain low-key for a while” but “have built a strong bond in a short period of time.”
