Hayley Kiyoko and Becca Tilley Celebrated Their Engagement With Matching Piercings, and Cosmo Got an Invite

If you have two thumbs that can scroll through your social feeds, you don’t need us to tell you that Hayley Kiyoko and Becca Tilley are still so in love, even seven-and-a-half years into their relationship. How do we know? The newly engaged couple recently brought Cosmo along for the ride during an intimate piercing party, which went down in Studs’ vintage wedding-chapel-inspired studio at the Venetian Resort’s Grand Canal Shoppes in Las Vegas.

Somewhere in between the Elvis impersonators and casinos is a splash of spontaneity that keeps Sin City alive—and what better way to commemorate a milestone like an engagement than with a spur-of-the-moment piercing at Studs? The new Vegas location hosts private piercing parties for any occasion—from birthdays to bachelorettes—and after visiting with Hayley and Becca, it is very much Cosmo-approved!

Hayley and Becca caught up with Cosmopolitan after they got matching piercings to chat through their adorable and aspirational love story (which, btw, inspired Hayley’s new novel, Where There’s Room for Us) and what they’re looking forward to as a soon-to-be married couple.

Congratulations on your engagement! How does it feel to be celebrating this milestone in Vegas?

Becca Tilley: It’s so exciting. We’ve been to Vegas once since our engagement, but this trip feels more geared toward marriage.

What inspired you to have a piercing party at the Studs chapel?

Hayley Kiyoko: I’ve gotten a piercing at Studs in L.A. before, and then we saw they had an opening in Vegas. We’ve been wanting to go to Vegas for the weekend to get away, so it worked out perfectly.

Piercings are so personal, especially in queer culture, where they can mean so much more than just style. Is there one that feels symbolic of your journey or who you’ve become? When did you get it?

HK: I got my first piercing in middle school, and I felt very edgy when I did it because I was like, “I’m expressing myself.” I remember just wanting to be my most authentic self, and piercings were always a really great way to do that. But this experience has been cool—we got midi piercings at Studs with matching earrings. It’s really nice to get to share that.

BT: I think about jewelry and how it makes people feel like a certain version of themselves, no matter where the location is or where you’re wearing jewelry on your body. People love to express themselves through jewelry. Even the sign of an engagement ring and what it means, it’s fun to decorate with jewels.

Weddings—and relationships in general—often make space for rewriting traditions, and queer couples typically celebrate a lot of these milestone moments, like bachelor and bachelorette parties, together. Is there anything you’re excited to reinvent or make your own?

BT: It took me a long time to get to a place where we were public about our relationship. Hayley’s willingness to wait for me to be comfortable and her patience with me through that is one of the most beautiful things about our connection. I had to get to a place where celebrating our love—which is the greatest thing that ever happened to me—was more impactful than what anyone said and thought about it.

HK: Growing up, I could never dream about marriage because it wasn’t legal. To be in this place where I’ve found my partner and I’ve been able to celebrate that love and do something that so many other people have dreamed of has been fun, in the sense of opening that treasure chest of, “Oh, what would my wedding be?” It’s about rewriting traditions and celebrating your love, however you want to do that. Whether it’s the proposal, the wedding, or the bachelorette. Becca and I have joked that we want to have the bachelorette together, but I don’t know if that’s too codependent. We have a lot of crossover in our friend groups, so we’re flirting with that idea.

BT: We’ve definitely talked about the bachelorette party, doing it together or apart. It’s also been fun because we get to walk down the aisle the way we want to—it’s a new world. It should be about the couple and their preference, no matter their sexuality, gender, or anything. It should just be about what represents them.

Over the years, your relationship has represented queer joy and visibility for members of the community. How does it feel to know that your love story resonates with so many people?

HK: I’m just really honored to have found someone who I love so much and that I get to share it with other people, because representation is lifesaving. Being open and authentic with who we are and our truth…I needed that growing up. Whenever I saw two queer people holding hands [when I was younger], I’d be like, “Oh my gosh, me too!” It’s a secret language where you see each other. Representation is everything, and I’m so grateful that people are able to see our love and know that there is hope you can find your person. It might take your own time and your own journey to get there, but you will get there, even if it’s just self-love.

When you think back to when you first met, what’s one thing that drew you to each other that still holds true today?

HK: When I first met Becca, she was shining and a bright light. I was very obviously mesmerized by that energy, and she still has that today. I love that because I can tend to be a little more serious when navigating my mental health. She’s a light.

BT: Hayley has this confidence and knows exactly who she is. Meeting her and then falling in love with her, knowing how hard it is to come out and love yourself so fully, I’ve always admired that part of her. She is who she is, no matter who she’s talking to or what she’s doing. It’s really rare, especially in the industry that she’s in. She has been so vulnerable with who she loves and who she is, and it’s made other people feel brave to be themselves. She’s a trailblazer.

Hayley, “Girls Like Girls” started as a song and evolved into a book and film. Is there anything you could share about the upcoming adaptation that will surprise longtime fans of the story?

HK: I’ve been working on this film for 10 years, trying to get it made. The fact that it just exists is a celebration in itself for our community. I feel very confident that people who’ve been waiting for this film will be very pleased, and I do think there’ll be surprises. It’s been a really beautiful creative experience for me to not only write the song, direct the music video, and write the book but to then direct the film. It’s cool to also challenge myself in making this story and film new for me. I’m so overjoyed and excited to share more in the coming months. It’s a celebration. This film is for my community and all of my fans, because I wouldn’t be here without them.

You’ve also announced a new book, Where There’s Room for Us, inspired by your relationship with a period piece twist. What inspired you to bring your real-life love story into fictional territory?

HK: It was so fun to develop this story, which was inspired by our meet-cute [but takes place] in the Victorian era. My purpose in life is to create hopeful content, and I was like, “Well, it’s just not possible for this book to end in a hopeful way, if we’re really in the Victorian era.” That’s why I decided to give it a little twist of hyper-realism, where two gay men can inherit land and continue the family line, but two gay women can’t. So women are still not equal in society, but you can be queer.

In the story, there’s a place called the Bridge and it’s like the WeHo of that universe where they once a month and get to be their authentic selves. It was an exciting challenge of asking, “Okay, what would it look like if I existed in this time? How would we not only exist, but take up room and take up our space and thrive in that space?” That’s where the title comes from.

Becca, were you involved in the process at all? Is there anything in the novel that stood out to you?

BT: She has a lot of ideas, and sometimes we riff and talk about concepts. She brought the idea of Where There’s Room for Us to me because it was inspired by us. She wanted to check in and make sure I was cool with that, like “I have this idea, and I want to have something that’s inspired by our story but tell it in a different way.” She loves period pieces, and her favorite is Pride and Prejudice.

HK: I am Darcy.

BT: She thinks she’s Darcy. But every time there’s a new idea or new music, I always get a sneak peek. It’s really fun.

What’s it like seeing your relationship come to life through Hayley’s writing? Do you remember the first time you read her work or listened to a song inspired by your love?

BT: Doesn’t everyone dream of being a muse in some way? We have such a great story of how we met and started dating, and we both love it so much. Anything associated with that, I’m like, “Tell everyone you know.” I’m so proud of our love. The first time was in 2018 when we started dating, and she sent me a voice memo of “Hungry Heart.”

HK: It was released with Steve Aoki and Galantis years later.

BT: But at first, it was just a voice memo she wrote when I was on a trip in Vegas. She was sad that I was gone. It’s one of my favorite songs, and knowing it was made in that time of our lives when we were falling in love is just so special.

And here we are, seven years later. What are you most looking forward to about married life?

HK: I’m just so happy that I get the opportunity to get married. I’m grateful to have that commitment with Becca and get to do all the things that heterosexual people get to do, like have a bachelorette, be obsessed with our love, and post photos a bajillion times. I’m excited to celebrate us and our journey. We’ve been together for seven-and-a-half years, and it’s going to be a wonderful experience.

BT: We’ve always known that we were each other’s person, forever. We questioned whether we needed marriage and this whole process, but there’s this feeling of a deeper commitment after she proposed to me. I do feel that difference, and I’ve always heard people say that. There’s this sense of security and commitment and choosing each other through the symbolism, which is so beautiful.

HK: And we get to rewrite what marriage looks like.

Parts of this interview have been edited and condensed for clarity.