Katy Perry and Robert Pattinson officially started dating in October 2015 after months of speculation. The pop icon tweeted in October 2015 that she’s “in love” with her boyfriend, and she hasn’t stopped talking about their blossoming romance since. But how did they meet? What do their friends think about the relationship? And what is Katy’s take on marriage in general? Here, we answer these questions and more about the budding love story.
How Did They Meet?
The 39-year-old singer first encountered the English actor at a Hollywood party in October 2014. Katy had just finished shooting her video for “Swish Swish” at the time, and Rob was there to present the video’s director with a trophy. According to Katy, “We literally just ran into each other.”
The following month, Rob showed up unannounced at Katy’s house in Los Angeles. She was in the middle of rehearsing for the musical Beautiful when he arrived, and her mother answered the door. Her friend, Isabel Lucas, was also in the house at the time, and she witnessed the awkward encounter first-hand. “When Katy’s mom answered the door, there was no doubt in my mind that was the last time he was going to show up,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I have never seen such a nervous guy. He was super-scared that he was going to ruin something.”
After their first awkward meeting, Katy and Rob kept in touch via text message and shared a mutual connection as a result of their celebrity. In March 2015, they attended a celebrity-packed dinner at the Skyline Room at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. The event, which was sponsored by luxury goods brand Balmain, featured famous faces like Uma Thurman and Eva Longoria. Though the dinner was a celebration of women in business, the event was actually organized by PR firm Crosby, Lang and Co. to boost the Chateau Marmont’s image as a hub for A-list celebs.
Do They Get Along With Their Friends?
Yes, they do. In fact, just as with many other celebrity couples, Katy and Rob’s relationship seems to be inspiring love among their friends. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Katy’s friend and stylist Jessica Alba praised her for her “maturity” and said that she’s “seen flashes of the old Katy — the playful, fun-loving, free-spirited Katy” in the new year. “I’m not going to lie, I think everyone in her inner circle is having a really good time,” Alba said. “They are connecting on a more personal level, which is so important at this time in their life.”
Katy and Rob have kept a low profile since dating, and they haven’t held any red-carpet events or been seen at social gatherings since before Christmas. But that didn’t stop their friends from celebrating their blossoming romance. In October 2015, a source close to the couple told Hollywood Life that Katy’s friends “can’t get enough” of her new beau. “They are completely head-over-heals in love with Robert Pattinson,” the source said. “They had to hide their affection during the Golden Globe Awards last month, but everyone around them knew how much they loved each other.”
What Is Katy’s Opinion On Marriage?
Katy has said that she wants to wait until she’s an established singer before she gets married. “It’s not something I’ve thought about that much,” she told US Weekly in February 2016. “I want to wait until I’m a little more established as an artist, just so I can enjoy my freedom and be able to express myself more.”
But she also admitted that being a singer has its perks. Before she started dating Rob, she was “surrounded by women” and didn’t particularly have to think about dating or finding a husband. “I definitely had an opportunity to be with someone I knew would treat me well and be there for me,” she said. “Now that I’m dating someone whose career is taking off, it’s a little more complicated.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rob noted that he and Katy haven’t discussed marriage, and he doesn’t want to get “locked down” to anything before their time. “I’ve met so many amazing women in my life, and I’ve got so many opportunities,” he said. “I don’t want to miss out on any of this because I got married.”
What Does Katy Think About Rob’s Family?
The pair have been together for almost a year now, and they’ve been spotted at numerous events and activities with friends and family. Some people are noticing that Katy isn’t just a one-person show anymore, and she’s adding more dimensions to her personality as a result of her evolving relationship with Rob. In other words, she’s growing as a person and a woman — and so is he.
When asked in an interview with GQ what she thinks about Rob’s family, Katy replied, “I think they’re lovely. I mean, his sisters are amazing, and his mom is a saint.” But she also added, “I don’t know that much about his dad.”
When Rob’s dad, Bruce, passed away in 2013, he was reportedly “shocked” and “disappointed” that his son didn’t want to continue the family business. Bruce was a producer who helped launch the careers of superstitions, Meat Loaf, and Alice Cooper, among others, and he was deeply ingrained in the music industry. His daughter, Tabitha, now runs the family business and helped raise Rob after his mom, Kathy, died of cancer in 2012. (More on Time) Bruce was also reportedly annoyed that his only son didn’t want to follow in his footsteps, and he disowned him for a while. In the wake of his dad’s death, Rob wrote an open letter to him apologizing for not being interested in the family business and promising that he will “always be there for [him] and take care of [his] girls.”
Is This Relationship Netflix’s “The Get Down”?
If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past year, you know that Netflix premiered the high school musical–inspired comedy, The Get Down, in January 2016. The show follows a group of teenagers as they navigate their way through New York City’s underground club scene in the mid-1980s. Though many of the clubs featured on the show are real-life places, the staff members and patrons were all composites — created by writer/director Tom Berberian for creative purposes. (Berberian has said that he based the characters on real people in his life.)
But did you know that the show’s biggest inspiration was, in fact, Katy Perry and Robin Thicewell’s relationship? When you consider how much time the pair spent together during the early days of their romance — and how closely their friendship and romance mirrored that of the young lovebirds on-screen, it’s hard to avoid the comparison. (Thicewell is shown in the show as a love interest for Richie Hawtin, and Perry is shown as a love interest for Ethan Hawke.)
Thicewell and Perry have both said that they didn’t want their romance to be compared to that of the TV show, but it’s hard not to see their story as a modern retelling of “Barney and Betty” — the charming couple in the classic 1950s sitcom — except with a few key differences.
For one, Barney and Betty never had to worry about security or protection issues — especially not when they were out on a date. Their story seemed to be an exercise in romantic comedy, and they went on numerous dates before Barney finally proposed to Betty. (Their engagement was so fashionable that it’s been recreated as a board game called “Dress to Impress” — and now you can buy the game too.)