Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke's Relationship Timeline

Mar. 15, 2025

Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley.Photo: Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Penn BadgleyandDomino Kirke’s family is growing!

In February 2025, the couple announced that they are currentlyexpecting twins. Badgley and Kirke are already parents to a son, whom they welcomed in 2020. Kirke is also a mom to son Cassius from a previous relationship.

Badgley and Kirke have been together since meeting in 2014. In addition to their shared passion for music and family — Kirke is extremely close with hertwo sisters,GirlsactressJemima Kirkeand singer-actressLola Kirke— Badgley and Kirke also found a connection through their faith.

“I don’t think I could truly value human love until Ideveloped divine love,” Badgley told PEOPLE. “[Domino and I] very much had a romantic beginning, and I think that you discover in marriage that what sustains a marriage for decades — there are less and less people who can tell us this — but I think it has something to do with [divine] love.”

From their early connection to starting a family, keep scrolling to see the full timeline of Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke’s relationship.

July 2014: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke start dating

Domino Kirke Instagram

Badgley and Kirke were firstseen out togetherin New York City in July 2014. They reportedly began dating sometime before their outing.

In a since-deleted interview with HeyMama, Kirke revealed that when they began dating, she wasn’t serious about the budding relationship.

“I was sort of getting used to being a single mom, maybe a little too used to it,” she said. “I had a really good thing with my kid and we were like this little team. Penn and I were dating, but it wasn’t nearly as serious as it is now, of course. I didn’t think marriage was in the cards for us.” (Kirke has a son, Cassius Riley, from her previous relationship with musician Morgan O’Kane.)

TheGossip Girlalum deepened his Baha’i faith after the CW show ended in 2012. Soon after he began dating Kirke, they bonded over their religion.

Badgley said that being a public figure led him tocontinue his study of his religion. “I’m really grateful for [the notoriety], but also, you struggle with things,” he told PEOPLE. “The phenomenon of fame is literally invisible, but it influences and dominates your life if you aren’t careful. Learning how to accept it and accept that lots of people think they know me is ultimately what led me to seek out such a spiritual perspective.”

The actor went on to say that his faith helped prepare him for marriage. “I don’t think I could truly value human love until I developed divine love,” he said.

September 2014: Domino Kirke supportsPenn Badgley’s band

Kirke showed her support for her new beau, the frontman ofMOTHXR, at his band’s show. She captioned a since-deleted Instagram snap with a simple red heart, marking the first time she had posted about Badgley on social media.

December 2014:Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke attend the Millions March

In December 2014, the coupleattendedthe Millions March in support ofBlack Lives Matterin New York.

Early 2015:Penn Badgley watchesGossip Girlwith Domino Kirke

Penn Badgley Instagram

In an “Actors on Actors"interviewforVariety,Badgley confessed to his formerGossip GirlcostarChace Crawfordthat he watched the series with a special someone.

“It would be very interesting to watch it now,” he later shared in 2020. “I watched with my wife, with Domino, before we got married. It must’ve been six months after we met. She had never seen it, and that’s the last time I can remember seeing an episode.”

November 12, 2015: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke attend a gala

In 2015, the couple attended theLoveEMC fundraiserat The Bowery Hotel in N.Y.C. The event benefited Every Mother Counts, a charity whose goal is to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for everyone.

January 21, 2017: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke attend the Women’s March in NYC

In January 2017, the couple attended the Women’s March in New York together. Kirke shared a photo of Badgley at the march before later deleting the snapshot.

He was seen holding up a sign that read, “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.”

February 27, 2017: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke legally wed

Badgley and Kirkelegally marriedon Feb. 27, 2017, in an intimate courthouse ceremony in Brooklyn, New York. Kirke opted for a short white lace dress while Badgley donned a navy blue suit. Theycelebrated with some close friendsand family at Maison-May, a French-American restaurant in Brooklyn.

June 24, 2017: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke throw a second wedding

August 2017: Penn Badgley appears in Domino Kirke’s music video

TheYoustar appeared in Kirke’s self-directed music video for her song “Half Blood” off the albumBeyond Waves. Kirke wrote the song about her experience having a half-sibling. “I wanted to understand that connection in other half siblings too, so I invited friends and strangers alike to take part and tell their stories,” Kirke toldPAPER. In the video, Kirke speaks to her half-brother, while Badgley talks with his half-sister, Jen, about their relationship.

September 1, 2017: Domino Kirke makes her debut on Penn Badgley’s Instagram

Though Badgley is mostly private about his personal life on social media, heposted a photoof Kirke’s album cover from her full-length record,Beyond Waves."@dominokirke has released an album of gorgeous music that will stand the test of time,” he wrote.

2018: Domino Kirke reveals why she andPenn Badgleyhad a second wedding

Having two weddings made sense for the musically inclined couple. In 2018, Kirke told HeyMama in a since-deleted interview why they decided to hold two separate celebrations.

“My first wedding was more of a civil ceremony with about 40 people that were able to join us in a pinch,” she explained. “The second one was more planned. 200 people came from all over the world. It just felt necessary to have both.”

September 3, 2019: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke attend the U.S. Open

Gotham/GC Images

In September 2019, the couple made an appearance with Kirke’s sonCassiusat the 2019 U.S. Open Tennis in New York.

December 17, 2019: Penn Badgley pays tribute to Domino Kirke on her birthday

Badgleycelebrated his wife’s birthdayin an Instagrampostfeaturing a video of her in the snow and a photo of the pair.

February 2020: Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley announce they’re expecting

Domino Kirke/Instagram

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Kirke announced that the couple wereexpecting their first childtogether. In her announcement, she revealed that they endured “two miscarriages in a row” and were “ready to call it.”

“As a birth attendant, I’ve seen and heard it all. It takes everything I’ve got to detach lovingly from the losses I’ve been present for and be in my own experience,” she wrote.

“When I was pregnant at 25, I knew nothing. I had no community. I dove in blissfully unaware about birth and its mysteries,” she added. “Now, with 10 years worth of experience to pull from, I treasure my birth community and the knowledge I have.”

Kirkegave birthto her and Badgley’s first child on Aug. 11, 2020. The new mother shared her son’s birth with the world in September 2020 via Instagram.

“His heart shaped home ❣️ #40dayspostpartum,” she wrote, alongside a photo print of the placenta.

October 2020: Domino Kirke shares the first photo of Penn Badgley and their son

In October 2020, Kirkeshared the first photoof her and Badgley’s then-two-month-old son. She posted a snap of Badgley holding the newborn and looking into their son’s eyes.

In an interview withVulture, Badgley shared that he and his wife hadn’t yet watched theGossip Girlreboot, as they had only recently found time forSchitt’s CreekandTed Lasso.

“The truth is I barely watch anything,” he said. “We want to watch something that’s hopeful.”

October 2021: Penn Badgley says his “joyful” fatherhood experience made filmingYouharder

“The funny thing is I was curious what my new fatherhood, how that wouldinfluence my experience with Joeand acting with him, and sometimes it was almost not helpful because I was having such a light and joyful experience — still am — and Joe is so petrified,” he explained.

“He’s so scared, and of course I can identify with the fear,” Badgley continued, “but he’s just so morbid in his obsessive, sort of like self-preservation, primal instinct that sometimes I almost found it harder as a result, you know what I mean? It really depended on the scene.”

November 1, 2021: Domino Kirke celebrates Penn Badgley’s birthday with aYoucake

The cake was shaped in a “3” and “5” and was adorned with flowers, fruit and images of Badgley as his infamous character.

January 2022: Domino Kirke reveals how she deals with Penn Badgley’s fame

Cindy Ord/Getty

In January 2022, Kirke toldGlamourUKthat she was “still getting used to” Badgley’s fame, even though they had been together for eight years.

“I didn’t watchGossip Girl, so I didn’t really know what all the fuss was about when I met him,” she said. “So I’m still sort of — getting used to this, and I think he is too, because he was always part of this ensemble. So this is new for him. He’s the star, the shining star of all of it. I think it’s a learning curve for us, for sure. It’s very unnatural to be known as well as he’s known right now. It feels kind of strange when we’re out and about to have the amount of people come up to us — it’s pretty crazy, actually. So, I don’t think it ever feels normal or healthy, so we’re all just getting used to it.”

October 12, 2022: Domino Kirke appears on Penn Badgley’s podcast

Badgley, along with Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari, hostsPodcrushed— a podcast that focuses on conversations about middle school, among other things.

“You are definitely our most special guest,” Badgley said to Kirke when she appeared on the show. “I’m trying to be in host mode, and then I’m looking at you, who I look at every day, thank god.”

While chatting with the hosts,Kirke shared how she met Badgley.

“Penn and I met at a meatball shop,” she said. “I had never seenGossip Girl, so I had no context for Penn.”

At the time, Badgley was couch surfing — and, ironically, Kirke had a room for rent at her apartment. She boldly offered it to him at the meatball shop.

“I got his number because I was really interested in him living with me, and I thought he was cute,” Kirke continued. “And it would have been nice to have a little winter, you know, fling with my roommate.”

November 1, 2022: Domino Kirke celebrates Penn Badgley’s 36th birthday

In honor of Badgley’s birthday, Kirke posted about her husband onInstagram.

January 16, 2023: Domino Kirke shares throwback photo from wedding to Penn Badgley

Roughly a month before their sixth wedding anniversary, Kirke shared a throwback photo from the day she and Badgley tied the knot. The photo showed Kirke flashing a goofy smile for the camera as she stood next to theGossip Girlstar.

“How marriage always feels to this child of divorce 🤪 Thank God @pennbadgley is one too!” she captioned theInstagrampost.

February 10, 2023: Penn Badgley says “fidelity” is “really important” to him

On an episode ofPodcrushed, Badgley shared that he askedYou’s creator, Sera Gamble, toscale back his character’s sex scenesin season 4 of the hit Netflix series.

“I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?’ This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead?”

Badgley went on to add that the request was also out of respect for his marriage with Domino Kirke.

“Fidelity in every relationship — especially in a marriage — is important to me,” he said.

February 14, 2023: Penn Badgley shares that he almost turned downYoubecause of intimacy scenes

Badgleyspoke further about his decisionto no longer shoot intimate scenes during an interview withVariety.

“It’s not a place where I’ve blurred lines,” he explained. “There’s almost nothing I could say with more consecration. That aspect of Hollywood has always been very disturbing to me — and that aspect of the job, that mercurial boundary — has always been something that I actually don’t want to play with at all.”

The actor then revealed that he initially wanted to turn down his role inYoudue to the intimate scenes. “I didn’t tell anybody that. But that is why,” he said.

February 27, 2023: Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley celebrate six years of marriage

In honor of their anniversary, Kirke shared a throwback photo from the couple’s wedding day onInstagram.

“🌹6 years🌹Thank you, @pennbadgley, for helping me understand that it’s not just about the person you’re marrying but the fortress of well-being that a marriage can create,” she captioned the post.

February 28, 2025: Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley are expecting twins

Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke in 2023.Ilya S. Savenok/Getty

Ilya S. Savenok/Getty

Kirke announced her pregnancy onInstagram, revealing that she and Badgley are both “stunned” and “in awe” about having twins.

“Babies #3 and #4 coming this Summer! Talk about a PLOT TWIST! Spontaneous twins are beyond magical. Can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be on this ride with @pennbadgley,” she added.

source: people.com