Yahoo Finance Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke's Relationship Timeline
Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley
Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke are so in love that they had two weddings.
The couple have been together since meeting in 2014. In addition to their shared passion for music and family — Kirke is extremely close with her two sisters, Girls actress Jemima Kirke and singer-actress Lola Kirke —, Badgley and Kirke also found a connection through their faith.
"I don't think I could truly value human love until I developed 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 welcoming their first child together, 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 first seen out together in 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.)
The doula said that at the time she was just trying to get through each day by "chugging along," but once she realized that they were meant to be together she began "really living."
The Gossip Girl alum 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 to continue 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 supports Penn Badgley's band
Kirke showed her support for her new beau, the frontman of MOTHXR, 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 couple attended the Millions March in support of Black Lives Matter in New York.
Early 2015: Penn Badgley watches Gossip Girl with Domino Kirke
Penn Badgley Instagram
In an "Actors on Actors" interview for Variety, Badgley confessed to his former Gossip Girl costar Chace Crawford that 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 the LoveEMC fundraiser at 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 Kirke legally married on 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. They celebrated with some close friends and family at Maison-May, a French-American restaurant in Brooklyn.
June 24, 2017: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke throw a second wedding
On June 24, 2017, the couple had a larger outdoor wedding in upstate New York. The event was attended by numerous family and friends, including celebrity pals Mariska Hargitay, Heidi Klum, Zac Posen and Debra Messing.
August 2017: Penn Badgley appears in Domino Kirke's music video
The You star appeared in Kirke's self-directed music video for her song "Half Blood" off the album Beyond 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 told PAPER. 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, he posted a photo of 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 and Penn Badgley had 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 son Cassius at the 2019 U.S. Open Tennis in New York.
December 17, 2019: Penn Badgley pays tribute to Domino Kirke on her birthday
Badgley celebrated his wife's birthday in an Instagram post featuring a video of her in the snow and a photo of the pair.
"Happy birthday, Dom," Badgley wrote. "A super-brief review of your invisible qualities: A truly radiant soul, you seem to spark alight almost everyone you meet, like a 99% success rate. It's really impressive, and quite mysterious. You encourage others to be honest, and brave, and gentle, and expansive. Your great capacity for empathy is obvious, something anyone can get warm by like a glowing stove. Your desire to be of service to others is miraculous. It is in your DNA. In pictures as a very young child, you exude it—a great care and sweetness; an invitation."
Badgley concluded the post by saying that it has been a "joy" for him to see her happy. "For you, I always hope to be a source of joy," he continued. "I'm really glad we're married."
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 were expecting their first child together. 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."
Kirke concluded her post by addressing her child on the way. "You're already teaching us how to stay in the day in a way we've never had to, little one. Thank you," she wrote.
August 11, 2020: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke welcome their first baby together
Kirke gave birth to 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
Domino Kirke Instagram
In October 2020, Kirke shared the first photo of 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.
August 2021: Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke reveal their favorite TV shows
In an interview with Vulture, Badgley shared that he and his wife hadn't yet watched the Gossip Girl reboot, as they had only recently found time for Schitt's Creek and Ted 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 filming You harder
Speaking with Access, Badgley opened up about how playing his serial killer You character, Joe Goldberg, became harder after welcoming a baby with Kirke.
"The funny thing is I was curious what my new fatherhood, how that would influence my experience with Joe and 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 a You cake
Kirke celebrated her husband's 35th birthday by surprising him with an elaborate cake that honored his Netflix character.
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 told Glamour UK that she was "still getting used to" Badgley's fame, even though they had been together for eight years.
"I didn't watch Gossip 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, hosts Podcrushed — 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 seen Gossip 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 on Instagram.
"An oldie but a goodie…kinda like you @pennbadgley 🌹Here we are at my Dads wedding 😐 Thank you for making the weird life moments a little less weird. HBD 🎈," she captioned a video of the You star singing "Ain't Nobody" by Diana King.
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 the Gossip Girl star.
"How marriage always feels to this child of divorce 🤪 Thank God @pennbadgley is one too!" she captioned the Instagram post.
February 10, 2023: Penn Badgley says "fidelity" is "really important" to him
On an episode of Podcrushed, Badgley shared that he asked You's creator, Sera Gamble, to scale back his character's sex scenes in 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 down You because of intimacy scenes
Badgley spoke further about his decision to no longer shoot intimate scenes during an interview with Variety.
"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 in You due 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 on Instagram.
"🌹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.
