Actor Glen Powell has risen rapidly on fan crush lists since his huge role in Top Gun and subsequent turn as a romantic lead in Anyone But You. Naturally, the general public is curious about his dating life, which he has talked about candidly. In a recent interview with CBS Mornings, Powell admitted he’s currently career-oriented and not focused on dating.
“This is a time where life is moving so fast that I don’t even know if I could bring someone into it … in a healthy way, even if I tried,” he explained.
“You could for the right person,” host Gayle King suggested, to which Powell replied, “For the right person, I think that’s right.”
The actor added that he is “not chasing love” but is open to it.
“If love comes and hits me in the face and knocks me over, I welcome it with open arms because that’s something I really want,” Powell said. “You know, it’s like—even just being with my niece and nephew today, it’s like, I really want kids.”
He continued, “I really want that phase of life. It’s not far away. And at the same time, I realize [that] it’s going to take a very specific type of person to navigate this [lifestyle]. It’s a lot.”
With his rise in the industry, Powell said he’s come to “realize there’s new aspects and new complexities to this life and this job.”
“So to bring someone into that and to make them feel comfortable, to make them feel seen, to make them feel loved, when a lot of the elements around that can really eat at someone’s self confidence or worth or any of that stuff… I’m not willing to have somebody sign up for that if they’re not ready for it,” he explained.
There will likely be a new stage ahead, but in the meantime, here’s a look back at Powell’s romantic past and his full dating history.
Nina Dobrev
In January 2017, Powell and Vampire Diaries’ Nina Dobrev were rumored to be dating after they spent New Year’s Eve together in Texas.
Shortly after, Powell was in attendance at the Los Angeles premiere of Dobrev’s film xXx: Return of Xander Cage. They were then seen at a Golden Globes after-party, and he was the Ryan Gosling to her Emma Stone at Dobrev’s La La Land-themed birthday party.
In July of that year, they were one another’s date to Julianne Hough’s wedding to hockey player Brooks Laich. But by November, things were cooling off. Dobrev went back on set and they had less time for one another, according to a source speaking with People.
“She’s filming a lot,” said the insider.
Another source told E! at the time that there hadn’t “been an official ‘split’” or any major conflict, adding that Powell is a “very easy-going dude.”
“They are still seeing each other,” they added. “But have cooled things off a little because of busy schedules.”
They seem to have remained friends, and Dobrev attended the London premiere of Powell’s film Top Gun: Maverick. That was also where she went red-carpet official with her current boyfriend, Shaun White.
Renee Bargh
One year after his November 2017 split with Dobrev, Powell was linked to Australian TV host Renee Bargh. But Us Weekly reported that they had been dating for six months already by the time they were photographed together at his 30th birthday party in November 2018. Dobrev was also there as a supportive ex.
They never commented on why they split nor when exactly that went down. But about a year later, Bargh told Daily Mail she was single and still looking for a “good Aussie boy.”
Gigi Paris
In early 2o2o, Powell was linked to model Gigi Paris after they were photographed on a trip to Mexico. They broke up after about three years together when Powell was filming romantic comedy Anyone But You in Australia. In April 2023, a source told People that things had actually been off and on since Powell’s role in Top Gun.
“Gigi and Glen had broken up several times,” the insider said. “They had been on the rocks since Top Gun came out. Gigi was never happy with the long-distance filming, and when she came to Australia, they both decided to break up for good.”
Another source said, “It wasn’t about infidelity. She’s on different coasts modeling, he’s on different coasts filming. When she left, they were on great terms.”
Soon after their breakup, Paris posted a video clip of herself walking down the street with the caption, “know your worth & onto the next”
She then reportedly unfollowed him on the app.
The infidelity rumors stemmed largely from the noted chemistry between Powell and his co-star Sydney Sweeney, who played up the flirtation for promotion. In an interview with Business Insider, he said he and Sweeney planned it together.
“I’ll pretty much give Sydney all the credit for this,” Powell said. “I don’t have the mental capacity to pull anything like this off, but she’s very smart. She’s very smart. I had such a wonderful journey with her on this thing.”
But he shared that his breakup with Paris was happening in conjunction with the press tour.
“The only reason it made things harder for me to lean into that stuff was that I was going through a very real breakup amidst a promotional tour,” he explained. “I was with someone that I really loved and cared about and was trying to kind of make sense of a lot of stuff. It was a lot easier for Sydney to lean into something like that because she’s in a very committed and wonderful relationship, and she’s very happy. So it was a little harder for me.”
He later told Men’s Health the speculation about him and Sweeney “felt disorienting and unfair.”