Never Have I Ever's Darren Barnet And His GF Made Their Red Carpet Debut

My apologies to anyone who’s Team Paxton, but it appears Never Have I Ever’s resident thirst trap is officially off the market. On Aug. 2, just a few weeks after becoming Instagram official, Darren Barnet and Mikaela Hoover made their red carpet debut at the Los Angeles premiere of The Suicide Squad, and they looked good. And while this hot new couple may be a total surprise to you, the actors have reportedly been dating for “around a year,” per the Daily Mail. At least there’s no doubt about where these two actors stand now (especially after their PDA on the red carpet).

While it’s unclear how the two first met, fans suspect Barnet and Hoover first connected on the set of their forthcoming Netflix holiday rom-com, Love Hard, which is set to debut later this year. In May 2021, Barnet raised eyebrows when he shared some snaps of himself and Hoover on a trip to the Global Wildlife Center in Louisiana, and fans became even more sus after Barnet posted a gushy IG tribute to Hoover on her 37th birthday in July. “Happy birthday, love. Today is for you,” he captioned the pic, and she slid into his comments section to reply, “Thank you baby! I am so grateful for our little life we created.” Um, cute!

Before getting together with his Love Hard co-star, Barnet was previously in a relationship with model and actor Ali Rose for just about a year, and though it’s unclear when they split, their last photo together is from February 2019. Before that, Barnet dated E! producer Cassie Maynard for at least two years before going their separate ways sometime after January 2017, when their last pic together was posted.

Hoover was previously engaged to actor Nathan Fillion, who reportedly proposed to Hoover after a few months of dating back in 2013. However, the two ended up calling things off in 2014.

Never did I ever think I’d be happy to see Barnet boo’d up, but he and Hoover are too cute together not to love.