Lucy Hale and Skeet Ulrich Spark Dating Rumors After PDA-Filled Outing

It's the 'Riverdale'-'Katy Keene' crossover that never happened.

In a turn of events that reads like something out of a Riverdale script, Lucy Hale of Pretty Little Liars fame and Skeet Ulrich, who played Riverdale’s FP Jones, father to Cole Sprouse’s Jughead, are seemingly an item. Page Six published photos of the duo out to lunch in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 21st, and the internet is abuzz regarding this new pandemic-era pairing.

People’s eyebrows are raised at this new couple mostly due to the fact that there is an exactly 20-year age gap between them. Hale, though she primarily plays teens, is 31, and Ulrich is 51. Ulrich was previously dating model Megan Blake Irwin, 29, whom he split from in mid-2020. Hale was most recently linked with former Bachelor star Colton Underwood, though relationship rumors surrounding them were murky.

Page Six notes that Hale and Ulrich may have met due to their involvement with CW shows—Hale was the star of the since-canceled Katy Keene, which was a spinoff of Riverdale.

In a January 2020 interview with Cosmopolitan, Hale said that she used to be “so deathly afraid of being single or by myself,” adding, “Now, I’m at the point where if I meet someone, they better really elevate my life, because I love being single.”

In July 2020, Hale was even more firm on her stance that being single (especially during the pandemic) has taught her so much. She told Entertainment Tonight, “If anything during this time it’s taught [me]—because I’ve done the whole thing basically alone and I used to hate being alone—I feel the only way I’m gonna date someone next is if they make my life better because I’m so happy right now having my own routine.”

So, it appears as though Ulrich is enriching Hale’s life—and there’s no way we (nor anyone else online) can be mad at that.

This is certainly a wildcard of a relationship (that is, if they are in fact dating—neither have confirmed), but as long as both Ulrich and Hale are having a good time and enjoying each other’s company we’re here for it—it’s the RiverdaleKaty Keene crossover we were hoping for.

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