The Romantic Thing Jake Paul Does For Julia Rose

In Elite Daily's series At The Moment, celebs dish on their current projects, pop culture hot takes, and everything taking over their group chats. In this piece, Julia Rose discusses her views on censorship, her relationship with Jake Paul, and more.

Julia Rose is a long way from small town Texas. “I wasn’t allowed to wear a bikini until I was in college,” she says. “[Not] until I was 18.” Rose studied for a year at a local community college and another year at Texas State University before packing it in for a life in Los Angeles, where she seemingly lives in a bikini full time.

For Rose, posting suggestive photos with her influencer-turned-professional-boxer boyfriend, Jake Paul, is just another day in the life. But while Rose’s father may still frown upon the model sharing swimsuit photos, flashing baseball players during the 2019 World Series, or getting arrested for helping turn the Hollywood sign into “Hollyboob,” Rose says challenging her dad’s opinion is part of her fight for freedom around women’s bodies.

“I’m a Southern girl at heart, who grew up in the middle of the country and on the back of the bayou,” Rose, 28, tells Elite Daily, “with a super-religious family and a really, really conservative dad.” Rose says she always wanted to respect her parents and their beliefs, but “there were definitely views I didn’t agree with,” she says. “A woman should be free in her own body.”

When she was 21, Rose tells me, she realized the power of social media to promote her own views. Flashing her friend before she took off on a flight, she posted a photo of the moment on Instagram (decorated with an emoji, of course), and by the time she landed, she had gained 200,000 followers. “No one was pushing the boundaries on social media [back then] or pushing the censorship around a woman’s body. That was what grabbed people’s attention,” she says. “I found this niche of being one of the first girls to post more risque content, like bikini photos, on Instagram. People either really loved it or really hated it.”

Rose launched Shagmag in 2019, a Playboy-style digital magazine providing women “a safe space to shoot sexy content.” But after building up 1 million followers on Shagmag’s Instagram and 6 million on her personal page, both accounts disappeared. “I did risky things, but no riskier than these companies like Playboy that still have accounts that exist,” she says. Rose says she plans to use remaining Shagmag funding to help similar women-owned businesses, since the magazine’s growth was heavily stunted by its account shutdown.

Although she’s rebuilt some of her following, these days, Rose — who splits her time between Puerto Rico and Los Angeles — reluctantly plays it safer with her social media content. She’s also mindful to not scroll on apps all day (“Life is so beautiful, and it needs to be lived”) and conscious of the mental toll being an influencer can take.

“[People] think they really know you and have the right to comment on your life. At first, coming from a small town in Texas, [I took] some of those things to heart,” she says. “Even with my relationship, people have a lot to say about it. But at the end of the day, they don’t see the hard work I put into it … and how big of a heart I have.”

Rose says she and Paul, 25, are closer than ever despite two pretty public breakups — one in 2020, the year they got together, and a second this past February. “Both of us obviously have options of other people we could date, but when you break up, you get to explore those options and then you’re like, ‘Nah, I appreciate what I had before,’” Rose says. “We grew an appreciation for the bond we had and realized we’re not going to find this anywhere else. … You’re my person and I’m yours.”

The two met when Rose starred in Paul’s 2019 music video for “These Days.” Sitting alone in a bathtub between takes, sparks flew. “People were following him around, snapping photos and video 24/7,” she says. “I asked, ‘Do you ever get tired of … constantly being surrounded by cameras and people?’” The two had a bonding moment over the conversation. “From that point, I’d see the different sides [of him] — the Jake Paul when the cameras were [rolling] and the Jake Paul from the night we sat in the bathtub, who I grew to appreciate and love.”

So, how would she describe Bathtub Jake? “A really big kid in a big man’s body. He has the biggest heart — like a little kid. Everything else is a show.”

Below, Rose answers some rapid-fire questions about what’s going on in her life at the moment.

This segment has been edited and condensed for clarity.

What are your sun, moon, and rising signs?

I’m a Capricorn. That’s all I know!

What’s your No. 1 tip for taking a good Instagram photo?

Captivate the audience. And obviously good lighting.

What’s your favorite app?

Instagram or TikTok. I love TikTok!

What kind of TikToks fill your For You page?

Mostly space-related TikToks because I kept liking videos from that telescope, so I’m in a black hole of that. I’m trying to get back to funny TikToks.

If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Chicken tenders. Jake says I’m like a 5-year-old because we’ll go to a fancy restaurant and I’ll order chicken tenders and fries.

What’s one thing you need to start your day?

Meditation.

What’s the last TV show you marathon-watched?

The Walking Dead. Jake and I are obsessed.

What’s your most used emoji?

The sad face with puppy dog eyes.

Who’s the last person you texted?

One of the boys [I live with] in training camp because I’m trying to do my laundry, but I live with literally eight guys, so it’s impossible to get the washer free! I texted one of them yelling at them.

What’s the last thing Jake messaged you?

He texted, “Can you get me out of the chamber?” He has a hyperbaric chamber for his recovery and can’t get out without someone’s help.

What’s your song of the summer?

Lana Del Rey’s “Born to Die” is one I’ve been listening to. I’ve been throwing it back!

What’s inspiring you right now?

My boyfriend, as cheesy as it sounds. Watching him train and get ready for a fight. His dedication — he’s doing two workouts a day — it’s inspiring. If I didn’t see how hard he trained, I’d be nervous watching his fights.

What’s your dream modeling job?

I loved when Emily Ratajkowski posed on a giant table full of spaghetti. I would love to shoot something like that! Just fully eating.

What's the most romantic thing Jake’s done for you?

He sets up this restaurant he calls Restaurant De Paul, and he will randomly make dinner and set up candles and lights. He basically turns our house into a restaurant and we get to enjoy a candlelit dinner, just the two of us. He goes all out and makes the menus and everything, and he’s the chef and the waiter. It’s hilarious and really romantic.

Maybe he can cover the table in spaghetti for your dream shoot?

Best idea yet!