Cara Delevingne opened up about her “sacred” relationship with Ashley Benson

One of Hollywood’s best-kept relationship secrets is now out in the open. Model and actress Cara Delevingne has been dating Pretty Little Liars star Ashley Benson for the better part of a year. And now, she’s letting fans into their inner world. In an interview with Elle U.K., the star of the highly anticipated new series Carnival Row shared intimate details about their relationship.

During the interview, Delevingne addresses why she and Benson chose to keep things under the radar for as long as possible.

“Because it’s sacred. I get why people care so much, and I don’t want to be so secretive that people think I’m ashamed of anything. But I’ve never been in a relationship where things are so public, or where I posted pictures of someone else. This seemed different. We had gotten to the point where we had kept it a secret, or at least not wanted attention, and now I feel like I’m not going to not be proud. Which isn’t the same thing as wanting to pose on a red carpet together, either. People make their own assumptions and that’s what worried me. Because if it is something that is so good, you don’t ever want anyone to ever change it, even though people shouldn’t have that power.”

Earlier this summer, when accepting the Trevor Project’s Hero Award, Delevingne thanked Benson in her speech. She called her “one of the people who helped me love myself when I needed it most, and I really needed it.” They met on the set of the movie Her Smell, and since then, they’ve made multiple cameos on each others’ social media profiles.

For Benson’s part, privacy seems to be of equal concern.

"I try to keep myself as private as possible," she told People Now in August. "And that's one good thing about living in New York, too. I can live more of a normal lifestyle here. I think in L.A., the paparazzi are really bad. Here, I can kind of just walk anywhere and not be bothered."

Still, she’s opening up a bit more. Over the course of 2019, Benson has let more information about their relationship hit social media, including a tattoo of the letters “CD” featured prominently on her ribcage.

These little glimpses into what we hope is an epic, long-lasting romance between two talented women give us hope that true love is real.