Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale’s Complete Relationship Timeline

THE RUNDOWN

• Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale started dating in 2012 and first sparked engagement rumors in November 2016.
• The couple has two children and has spoken about why they still haven’t had a wedding.
• Byrne and Cannavale keep their private life mostly to themselves but have also discussed acting together in projects.

Actors Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale have been together for over a decade and share two children. But they tend to keep their private life pretty private. Byrne told Vanity Fair in a 2019 interview that though they’ve both been in high profile and beloved films and TV shows, they limit sharing personal stuff while doing press.

“I mean, [press is] not something we do all the time, but we’re trying to go with the flow,” she explained. “We’re generally pretty private.”

Here’s what there is to know about Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale’s relationship so far.

According to a 2019 profile with Vanity Fair, the pair first met in the fall of 2012. Byrne was working on her hit show, Damages, and her co-star Glenn Close shared, “The chemistry between them, it’s just so remarkable,” adding that they’re “both kind of universally loved.”

Rumors of their relationship started circulating, and a source told Us Weekly, “They've been dating for a few months. I think Rose is a good match for him.”

The publication shared that they’d been spotted at the Killing Them Softly after-party at No. 8 on November 26.

“They were sitting in a booth, and he had his arm around her, and they would kiss from time to time,” shared an eyewitness. “They definitely tried to keep a low profile and left at separate times.”

They made their red carpet debut in June 2013 at the CFDA Fashion Awards.

A few months later, they were seen enjoying an evening at Hinoki & the Bird in Los Angeles with friends Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who were a couple at the time.

“They were very nice and cordial,” an eyewitness told People. “They seemed to be having a fun double date night, and Jen told the server they’ll definitely be back.”

The pair was seen filming Annie, released in 2014.

They acted alongside one another again in Adult Beginners, attending the premiere in September 2014.

In an interview with People while promoting Spy, another movie they co-starred in, Byrne said working with Cannavale is “very intense.”

“[Acting together] is a very intense thing you can experience together,” Byrne said. “It’s not for everybody, but I think he’s such a great actor.”

It was reported by E! that the Australian actress was expecting her first child when they published a picture of her at LAX in a dress that seemingly revealed her pregnancy.

February 2016

They welcomed their son, Rocco Robin, on Feb. 1, 2016.

Talking to People, Cannavale shared, “We just love the name. His middle name is [Byrne’s] dad’s name, Robin, and we liked the way it rang together.”

The couple was rumored to be engaged in November 2016 when Byrne was seen wearing a ring on her left hand during a trip to Australia.

In a 2017 interview with InStyle, Byrne gushed about how her and Cannavale’s different backgrounds have combined to make them stronger parents.

“He is one of a kind, man! He’s endlessly interesting and entertaining. When something is special, it’s hard to articulate it, but I feel really lucky. We couldn’t be from more different parts of the world, you know?” Byrne said.

She also talked about working together on Annie, Spy, and Adult Beginners.

“[It’s] a little bit [intention and coincidence],” she shared. “A happy coincidence in some ways, and also, ‘Let’s really try to get these parts so we can be together and working.’ We did, like, three projects in a row, and I enjoy collaborating with him.”

In an August 2017 interview with Australia’s Jones magazine, Byrne revealed she and Cannavale were expecting a second child.

“I’m a little tired but feeling good,” she said. “Everyone was very sweet on set today, and you always get a little bit more attention when you’re pregnant, which is fabulous.”

Their second son, Rafael Cannavale, was born in November 2017.

“I hadn’t given one of my children a Latin name yet, so I wanted to honor my mom’s side of the family,” Cannavale, whose family is from Cuba, told Entertainment Tonight. “And, you know, Rafael Nadal had such a great year, and we were constantly keeping up with him and watching all his matches so we were like, ‘How about Rafa? That goes well with Rocco.’ And that was it.”

Byrne spoke to People about life as a mom to two boys.

“Every day, every hour, I’m like, ‘What is happening?’ I am learning on the job,” she said. “I have no business telling anyone what to do. Being a mother changes everything. I feel like it informs everything I do, particularly for a job like this.”

October 2019

The couple shared their Halloween with the kids in Brooklyn, posting a shot from trick-or-treating.

“Happy Halloween from the cast of Coco!” Cannavale wrote.

In a joint interview with Stephen Colbert to promote their play Medea, the couple talked about married life. Colbert asked about the “dorkiest” thing they do as a pair, and Byrne admitted, “We go to bed pretty early, that’s very dorky.”

Cannavale added, “Like 9:45.”

“It’s not a crime to go to bed that early,” Byrne said.

“The kids, they just don’t care that we’re doing a play,” Cannavale continued. “You come home, you can’t bring anything home with you because the kids just wanna eat, they wanna play.”

Of their personalities, Cannavale joked, “We call the 2-year-old Seal Team Six ’cause he’s crazy, and he’s a killer. The first one, Rocco, he’s very sensitive. He’s always singing and dancing, and the little one is just tough.”

Later that month, they celebrated the limited run of Medea at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, per Playbill.

A review from Observer stated, “Spouses in real life, [Byrne and Cannavale’s] chemistry comes across onstage, and a scene where they tumble from an angry shouting match into a passionate post-divorce tryst is an inspired sequence.”

In an interview with Vulture that month, the couple shared that they call each other “husband and wife” though they had not yet tied the knot.

“I hate all the other words! It’s just easier to say ‘husband and wife,’” Cannavale said. “‘Boyfriend and girlfriend’ feels so young. ‘Partner’ feels so sterile.”

“What else could we say?" he asked Byrne, adding, “My lover!”

“Sure, my lover, Bobby,” Byrne responded.

“Who gives a shit?!” Cannavale continued. “It’s just funny what people care about.”

On Variety’s The Big Ticket podcast, Byrne shared an update on how her family was dealing with the COVID-19 shutdown.

“Just alcohol,” she joked. “Drugs. Porn. Listen, I feel lucky. We’re safe, and we’re okay, but it’s scary. We have two little kids. We’ve just been inside, but I have friends who are working in the health care system.”

October 2020

Cannavale and Byrne were seen enjoying a beach day in Byron Bay, Australia.

March 2021

On InStyle’s Ladies First with Laura Brown, Byrne was asked who the first person she calls is when something important happens.

“Oh, Bobby, I call Bobby,” she said. “[I can’t call him now] he’s always here. We’re always together.”

While talking to The Sydney Morning Herald in July 2021, Byrne explained why she and Cannavale still haven’t said an official “I do.”

“I keep going, ‘Let’s get around to it, let’s do it,’” Byrne said. “And then, you know, you have a baby, and then, oh, there’s another baby. It was kind of like that for us. I love weddings, and I know people [for whom] it’s an important thing, and I respect that totally. I guess for us it’s just been, we didn’t do it, we’ll do it, then—no! Pandemic.”

The couple was seen on the red carpet at the 2022 SXSW Conference & Festival in Austin, Texas for their film Seriously Red.

In September 2022, Variety shared that Byrne and Cannavale were working together yet again, this time on a film titled Inappropriate Behavior with Robert De Niro, playing ex-spouses.

Byrne gave People a marriage update, joking, “I’m more married to him than anybody I’ve ever been with my whole life. Definitely something that we will do. We’ll get around to it.”

A trailer for the movie was released in March 2024, now renamed Ezra.

The couple enjoyed a day at Universal Studios with their kids.

That same month, they attended David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross in New York City.