Nicola Coughlan Goes Instagram Official with Boyfriend Jake Dunn on His Birthday

Nicola Coughlan is taking her relationship to the next level!

The Bridgerton star, 38, celebrated her boyfriend Jake Dunn’s 25th birthday on Wednesday, Feb. 12 with a sweet post, making their relationship Instagram official. Coughlan shared a photo of Dunn sitting on what appears to be a set and looking at the sky.

“Happy Birthday ♥️,” she wrote.

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The pair first sparked dating rumors in August 2024, when the Daily Mail obtained photos of them cozying up at Mitski’s performance at the All Points East festival in London. 

The following month, Dunn posted a photo of a friend wearing a hat that said “Nicola Coughlan” on it, along with a shirt that read “and her perfect breasts.” The outfit was a reference to a June 2024 clip of Coughlan saying “women with my body type” are “women with perfect breasts.”

Then, in October, Coughlan and Dunn were spotted leaving a date at an Irish pub. Photos from earlier this year also captured the two walking around London with their arms intertwined while holding hands.

Before becoming a couple, Coughlan attended the March 2024 premiere of Dunn’s show Renegade Nell. They didn’t walk the carpet together, but one of Dunn’s costars, Alice Kremelberg, later shared a throwback snap from the premiere that showed the Disney actor’s arm around Coughlan.

Coughlan has always kept her dating life private, although she did shut down rumors that she and her Bridgerton costar Luke Newton were an item during an interview with TIME in October.

“A lot of people really want me to marry Luke,” she told the outlet at the time. “We have this gorgeous friendship. We have such a love for one another and this experience that I’ll never have with someone else again. Isn’t it gorgeous that a man and woman can have that sort of relationship with one another?”

The Big Mood star has also spoken about the difficulties she has faced in searching for a partner, especially in the age of dating apps.

“[It’s] good because we have a choice now, but then there’s that thing of the paradox of choice,” she told Marie Claire Australia in September 2023. “We have too much choice, it’s not good. So, there’s probably good and bad things for both.”

She went on to reveal the one red flag that is a deal breaker for her.

“When guys want to do a joker impression,” she said. “Just don’t … do that. That’s just an immediate ick and it’s never good. I know that’s very specific.”