The Kissing Booth 2’s Taylor Zakhar Perez reacts to those Joey King dating rumors

Are The Kissing Booth 2 co-stars Taylor Zakhar Perez and Joey King actually dating in real life? The two had a brief romance during the new Netflix sequel, and though King’s character Elle ended up with Noah (Jacob Elordi) in the end, many fans totally shipped her with Marco (Perez).

So what’s the possibility of Taylor and Joey sparking up a romance? Fans became all but convinced they were more than platonic after the two Netflix actors took a trip together and documented it on Instagram.

Are Taylor Zakhar Perez and Joey King dating?

Taylor took to social media on August 1 to share a handful of photos featuring Joey and some friends. “Recalculating route,” he wrote in the caption, also adding, “*disclaimer* we all tested negative [heart emoji].” Of course, seeing the co-stars together off-screen totally set fans off.

But now, the Marco actor is weighing in on the dating rumors, and his answer might disappoint you.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDdRlZ0gwE3/

“I love her. I love her dearly. I’d do anything for her,” Taylor told Entertainment Tonight this week. “We’re not dating. I’ll end it with that.” He also explained how the two got so close in real life, saying, “We just kind of hit it off. When we were in South Africa, we had dinner together. I cooked for her, she cooked for me. We just became kind of like the best of friends.”

Taylor even went on to acknowledge that Joey and Jacob had previously dated, adding, “I’m sure it was odd for her to go back into a production with someone that she dated. And so me being this new cast mate and Joel [Courtney] being there and Meganne [Young], we kind of just all meshed really well together.”

Taylor Zakhar Perez girlfriend

So if Taylor and Joey aren’t together, who is the hunky actor dating? Well, according to Taylor himself, he’s single. The star explained to Glamour recently that he’s not seeing anyone, and when asked if he would date a fan, he didn’t turn the question down. Here’s what he said (which was one of the first times he sparked romance rumors with Joey):

"You know, that’s a good question. Hmm. Like, I’m a fan of Joey [King] and wish that she would date me, you know what I mean? [laughs]. I feel like it’s different if you’re in the same industry with each other and a fan of each other’s work. I don’t want to say no, because you never know. What if you date someone that doesn’t know who you are but then becomes a fan of your work."

So that’s that, folks! Taylor and Joey are not dating, so it looks like fans still have a chance!