Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow are without a doubt one of Hollywood's cutest couples and though they have been enjoying a nice private relationship up until now, all eyes are on the pair after the premiere of The White Lotus season 3. (ICYMI: Nivola plays Lochlan Ratliff.)
But what brought Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow together? And where exactly did they meet? Speaking to British Vogue, Nivola quipped that both he and Apatow belong to “some secret cabal of nepo kids who hang out in black robes — a little refresher, Nivola's parents are Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola, while Apatow's are Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann — but nepo jokes aside, their genesis is, well, very much straight out of a movie.
In conversation with Teen Vogue, Nivola revealed the pair met through their mutual friend, Isa Barrett. The two had their meet-cute at a bar in London. It was love at first sight for him, but she was not interested a first. That serendipitous encounter has now progressed into the two moving in together and sharing a flat in New York City's East Village, where the two are raising a cat named Kumo. (Fun fact: Kumo and Apatow were Nivola's lock screen when season 3 of The White Lotus premiered.)
“I'm so in love, and she's so amazing,” Nivola said about Apatow. “I think the thing about moving in with someone is that when you're this young, it's always like, ‘Oh my God, you're going to get sick of them.’ You're going to spend all day, every day together, and then it's going to be routine, and you're going to feel like you've been in a marriage for 30 years. I don't think that would happen with her anyway, just because we're so in love."
While Apatow is Nivola's first known partner (and the first romantic partner he's moved in with), Apatow has a brief known dating history herself — which is part of the reason she showed no interest at first, as Nivola confirmed. As noted by E! News, she was romantically linked to Ryder Robinson in 2022 and photographer Henry Haber in 2023. Nivola revealed that though she tried to get with Apatow after their London meeting, she had a boyfriend at the time and “was not having it,” and it wasn't until months later, when they broke up, that the two hit it off so that gives you a slight indication of the timeframes.
Since then, though, Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow have been pretty much inseparable, and we have the full breakdown on their relationship timeline below — from their most recent update to the first time they made it official.
March 22, 2025: Iris Apatow posts a sweet selfie with Sam Nivola
Just days after having a Ratliff family reunion in NYC for St. Patrick's Day with Nivola's White Lotus costars, the couple enjoyed a weekend date in the city on their own, which Apatow immortalized with a sweet mirror selfie with full cheek-to-cheek action.
February 25, 2025: Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow attend the Gucci show in Milan together
A couple that does fashion week together stays together. Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow flew all the way to Milan to attend the Gucci fall-winter 2025/2026 show as part of MFW. The couple posed hand in hand, decked out in all Gucci for the occasion, with Apatow going for a monochrome pistachio green look. The duo enjoyed the show from the front row and sat beside Parker Posey, Nivola's on-screen mom on The White Lotus.
February 10, 2025: Iris Apatow supports Sam Nivola at the White Lotus season 3 premiere in Los Angeles
They might have their base in NYC, but Iris Apatow did not hesitate to fly out to the other side of the country to support Sam Nivola at the Los Angeles premiere of The White Lotus season 3. (Because, duh, of course, you want your partner to be at the premiere of the highly-anticipated show you've been waiting to premiere for years!)
Not only did the duo walk the red carpet together, but Apatow also joined Nivola for an afterparty held at Paramount Studios, where she wore his jacket to keep warm, making for an extremely cute coordinating couple moment.
Ah, and you know who also stopped by to support Nivola? Her dad, Judd Apatow. You can see the three posing with The White Lotus creator Mike White below:
January 2025: Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow ring in the new year with a star-studded vacation
Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow rang in 2025 alongside friends and other fellow star couples — namely Tate McRae and The Kid LAROI and Olivia Rodrigo and Louis Partridge. The three couples and more friends spent some time together in the Caribbean and documented it briefly on social media.
October 23, 2024: Iris Apatow and Sam Nivola attend the 2024 MoMA Film Benefit presented by Chanel in New York City
Is there anything chicer than NYC-based film-loving and film-bred lovebirds attending a film benefit at the MoMA? Well, perhaps Apatow's full Chanel look.
October 16, 2024: Sam Nivola and Iris Apatow attend the Burberry 57th Street store reopening in New York City
Earlier that month, Apatow traded the Chanel for Burberry as the two attended a reopening of the British brand's stores in the city. They, of course, both rocked Burberry for the occasion and were snapped smiling and strutting around the venue as if they had just stepped out of an ad.
August 2024: Iris Apatow posts a photo kissing Sam Nivola
In one of her summer photo dumps, which you can see below, Apatow included a sweet pic of herself giving Nivola, who already has lipstick stains on his face, a little smooch on the cheek.
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June 26, 2024: Sam Nivola posts a picture of Iris Apatow kissing his cheek
Staying faithful to his B&W aesthetic, Nivola posted a photo dump that included a picture of Apatow giving him a kiss on the cheek.
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May 17, 2024: Iris Apatow posts Sam Nivola for the first time on her socials
Apatow posted Nivola for the first time on her IG in May 2024, including a black and white picture of the two smiling together in a dump that also included Olivia Rodrigo. (You can see those pics here.)
April 7, 2024: Iris Apatow makes her debut on Sam Nivola's Instagram with The White Lotus BTS
Speaking to Teen Vogue, Nivola revealed Apatow actually visited him in Thailand while he was filming The White Lotus, calling her “a lifesaver.” The actor made sure to immortalize the moment, posting black and white pictures of his castmates and Apatow to his Instagram account. (You can see the pics here.)
Speaking to People about the experience of bringing Apatow along, Nivola said: “I brought my girlfriend for a few months, which was amazing. It was so great to have a taste of home because it was 10,000 miles away from home, and it was so nice of her to sacrifice that time to come be with me, and I’m incredibly grateful to her.” (For even more timeframe references, The White Lotus season 3 was filmed between February and August 2024.)
