Seems like just yesterday that the internet (gonna go ahead and @ myself here) was thirstily speculating that Emily in Paris star Lily Collins and Zac Efron were dating—you know, after finding love on the set of their, uh, Ted Bundy movie? Yeah, well, not so much! Turns out Zac and Lily were just friends, and now she’s straight-up married to director Charlie McDowell (who, I might add, proposed with the most gorgeous “one-of-a-kind rose-cut diamond” by Irene Neuwirth).
Lily and Charlie are exceedingly cute and it’s obviously vital that Not. One. Moment. is missed of their VIBES, so here’s a timeline of their sweet relationship (in reverse chronological order for your easy consumption). But first, we gotta take a moment to appreciate the sparkles, sorry:
January 31, 2025
Lily and Charlie shock fans by announcing the birth of their first baby together (!!) in a joint Instagram post.
"Welcome to the center of our world Tove Jane McDowell," they caption the photo. "Words will never express our endless gratitude for our incredible surrogate and everyone who helped us along the way. We love you to the moon and back again…"
And when trolls start to attack Lily for using a surrogate to expand their family, Charlie comes to her defense.
"Thank you for all the kind messages and love. We are overjoyed and very grateful," he wrote. "In regards to the unkind messages about surrogacy and our path to having a baby— it's ok to not be an expert on surrogacy."
He continued, "It's ok to not know why someone might need a surrogate to have a child. It's ok to not know the motivations of a surrogate regardless of what you assume. And it's ok to spend less time spewing hateful words into the world, especially in regards to a beautiful baby girl who has brought a lot of love into people's lives. That’s all for now because she just pooped and I need to change her diaper."
December 31, 2024
The lovebirds ring in the new year in London.
December 1, 2024
The two roll up to the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical looking faaaaab.
![the devil wears prada the musical](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/charlie-mcdowell-and-lily-collins-attend-the-devil-wears-news-photo-1738784200.pjpeg?resize=980:* ""The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical" World Premiere - Arrivals")
October 30, 2024
Charlie joins Lily at the press night after-party for her play, Barcelona.
![barcelona after party](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/charlie-mcdowell-and-lily-collins-attend-the-press-night-news-photo-1738784331.pjpeg?resize=980:* ""Barcelona" Press Night - After Party")
September 4, 2024
The pair celebrates their third wedding anni with some cute snaps on IG:
July 31, 2024
Another day, another cute selfie. ❤️❤️❤️
July 8, 2024
Lily posts a cute snap of herself and Charlie on a getaway (swipe for a must-see dog cameo):
May 14, 2024
The duo's travels continue as Lily uploads this sweet video of the two of them exploring Italy:
February 27, 2024
Lily and Charlie attend Paris Fashion Week and look as in love as everrrrrrr. Check 'em out for yourself:
September 4, 2023
The lovebirds celebrate two years of marriage, and, yes, Lily's heartfelt Instagram tribute makes us totally emo.
"Two years today and a lifetime to come. I remember this moment, this day, this excitement as vividly as if it were yesterday. And I feel the love, the support, and the magic 100 times more," she captions a gallery of snaps from their wedding day. "I adore you @charliemcdowell and I couldn’t be more grateful to be your other half in life and in love."
"You make me a stronger, bolder, and brighter human. Thank you for being the greatest partner I could ever imagine and for making me smile like no other. Here’s to another 365 days of memories ahead, wherever in the world we find ourselves. I’d walk into the unknown with you any day and every day. With you by my side, it’s always an epic adventure," the actor continues.
Charlie, for his part, comments that he's the "luckiest guy in the world." S'cute!
May 6, 2023
In a truly terrible incident, Lily ends up having her engagement and wedding rings stolen from a locker at the Edition Hotel spa in Los Angeles. According to TMZ, there was no sign of forced entry.
February 8, 2023
Fans of the couple get a sneak peek at a trip they take to Scandinavia early in the year. Ahem:
October 16, 2022
The celebs attend the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles and look i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e.
October 13, 2022
Lily and Charlie show up at the Ralph Lauren show in Marino, California, looking v v v fancy:
October 8, 2022
Charlie and Lily walk the red carpet at the GO Campaign Gala, and Lily fully gushes about Charlie.
"We can kind of conquer anything," she tells E! News. "We've been through so many changes globally, personally, and to be able to have a partner next to you that makes you laugh in times when you need it the most and helps you emotionally get through things, like moving to a foreign country for four months. I just feel so grateful that I have someone next to me to be able to accomplish that and your best friend with you all the time."
September 30, 2022
Lily thanks Charlie for being her "rock" and her "constant source of love and laughs" while filming Emily in Paris. I'm not okay!
July 10, 2022
It's Charlie's birthday! And Lily lovingly muses on him looking like a Danish fisherman.
May 1, 2022
Lily and Charlie show up at a Netflix brunch!
March 22, 2022
Lily’s new Netflix movie Windfall comes out and the film is directed by none other than her husband, Charlie! She talks about working with him to CBS Mornings, saying, "Weirdly, there were moments when I forgot that we were together, because the way in which he directs, he’s such a communicative and collaborative director that is all about how the actor feels and grounding it in truth and someone that you feel very safe with in an environment where you’re the most vulnerable. That’s what you want in a life partner and it is what you want as an actor in your director. Sometimes I would forget that it was my Charlie as opposed to Charlie-my-director. It was so fun."
September 4, 2021
Lily and Charlie tied the knot over Labor Day Weekend in Dunton Hot Springs, Colorado! Lily announced their nuptials on Instagram a few days after with a pic of her and her hubby sharing a smooch against a rustic, scenic backdrop and the love is literally oozing through the screen.
"I’ve never wanted to be someone’s someone more than I do yours, and now I get to be your wife. On September 4th, 2021, we officially became each other’s forever. I love you beyond @charliemcdowell…" reads the caption.
And get this: That was just the first one! The actor gave her loyal followers two more wedding photos and at this point we need to send a thank you card. I mean, just look at all the love here…and that dainty lace hood! 😍
In her most recent post, Lily writes, "What started as a fairy tale is now my forever reality. I’ll never be able to properly describe how otherworldly this past weekend was, but magical is a pretty good place to start…." Seriously, we can’t stop gushing.
February 14, 2021
If you’re wondering, Are these two the type to do public Valentine’s Day posts that annoy all their friends while simultaneously making said friends "awww"? the answer is one thousand percent yes:
January 1, 2021
That New Year’s Day light though:
December 25, 2020
If you and your S.O. don’t dress up in matching Grinch outfits for Christmas, are you even dating?
November 30, 2020
Lily opens up about getting engaged during an interview with Extra, saying she and Charlie are "totally soaking in being engaged and still celebrating with people that we can, in a way that is safe."
She adds, "I never would ever wear a ring on that finger. It wasn’t like I was superstitious; I was just like, ‘I’m saving that finger.’ Even in photo shoots, I’d be like, ‘No, no, no….’ I was always saving it, so now it’s like, ‘Oh, right, like, it has its place, it’s finally found the right ring to put on.’"
November 26, 2020
Good to know they were out here taking cute pics on Thanksgiving while I was hoarding pie.
October 9, 2020
I mean, Lily said it best: Couples who vote together stay together.
September 20, 2020
Lily and Charlie get engaged and the photos are gorgeous/a reminder that I haven’t been outside in weeks. It apparently went down while they were on a road trip in Sedona, New Mexico (according to her interview with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, which you can watch below).
August 6, 2020
Lily devotes an entire post to how Charlie rocks her world, conveniently complete with him on an actual rock.
July 10, 2020
Lily posts her contender for World’s Best Birthday Insta, writing, "You’re a true gift of a human @CharlieMcDowell. An incredible boyfriend and the best dog dad to @RedfordDog. You’ve opened my eyes and deepened my heart. You constantly inspire me to dream big and go outside of my comfort zone. Every day is an adventure with you and I can’t wait to explore more of the world together (when we can). I love you so much…."
April 14, 2020
Lily shares their very first pic together!
March 18, 2020
Just Charlie’s birthday post to Lily, don’t even worry about it (*patiently waits for someone to photograph me looking moody by the ocean*).
January 17, 2020
Charlie adopts a dog, but let’s be real, it’s Lily’s dog too:
January 13, 2020
Lily and Charlie make their first public appearance together at a Lakers game!
January 1, 2020
Lily and Charlie ring in 2020. Little did we all know, sigh.
November 23, 2019
Lily calls Charlie her "happy place," and the timing has me convinced they spent Thanksgiving together.
August 20, 2019
Lily and Charlie go Insta official with this sweet photo captioned, "Always got your back…."
She also posts this to Insta Stories:
July 17, 2019
Lily and Charlie prompt dating speculation for the first time when they’re photographed by Metro UK arm in arm in Los Angeles (see the pics over here). We don’t know when exactly they met—the internet is convinced it was in early 2019—but we do know that it was pretty much a love-at-first-sight type of vibe: "It was kind of one of those situations where I knew the second that I met him that I wanted to be his wife one day and so it was just a matter of when, really," Lily told Kelly and Ryan in the interview below:
Aw, cute. That’s it for now but check back in for more updates, bye!
![apple original films & warner bros. pictures "f1" world premiere](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/brad-pitt-and-ines-de-ramon-attend-the-apple-original-films-news-photo-1766080344.pjpeg?crop=0.668xw:1.00xh;0.167xw,0&resize=360:* "Apple Original Films & Warner Bros. Pictures "F1" World Premiere")
![los angeles, california august 14 paul forman and ashley park attends premiere of netflixs emily in paris season 4 part 1 at the egyptian theatre hollywood on august 14, 2024 in los angeles, california photo by kayla oaddamswireimage](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-2166882216-66e0b307aa75a.jpg?crop=0.752xw:0.501xh;0.117xw,0.0160xh&resize=360:* "Premiere Of Netflix's "Emily In Paris" Season 4 Part 1 - Arrivals")
