Kaia Gerber reveals why she keeps relationship with Austin Butler as ‘sacred as possible’

Kaia Gerber and Austin Butler first made their red carpet debut as a couple in May 2022

Kaia Gerber has spoken out about keeping her relationship with Austin Butler out of the spotlight.

The 22-year-old model discussed her boyfriend of over two years during a recent interview with WSJ Magazine, as she appeared on the cover of the Spring 2024 Women’s Fashion Issue. Despite the fact that the couple have walked hand-in-hand at multiple Hollywood events, Gerber opted not to go into details about the romance.

However, she did specify why she’s keeping that information about her boyfriend to herself. “Honestly, I feel like so few things in my life are private, and that is one of the things that I try to keep as sacred as possible,” Gerber, who is the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, explained.

Butler and Gerber were first romantically linked in December 2021, before going public with their relationship in 2022. They also made their official red carpet debut as a couple in May 2022 at the Met Gala.

Since then, the Elvis star has also shared his candid thoughts about the public attention surrounding him and Gerber. During an interview with GQ in May 2022, he acknowledged that while he’s often photographed with his girlfriend, he still tries to ignore the internet and hates the paparazzi.

“I go, ‘If I don’t see the picture, then it doesn’t really exist to me’. I don’t want to be really negative, but there’s hardly any job I despise more than paparazzi’,” he said.

He also remained tight-lipped when asked to open up about his relationship, explaining. “I don’t think there’s anything I want to share about that. But thank you for providing the space.”

Although Gerber hasn’t specifically discussed Butler, she has spoken candidly about her romantic past. During an interview with Vogue in 2021, she described some of the people she dated when she was young, while still in the midst of an up-and-coming fashion career.

“You know, I was doing fashion month, but I was so young I had kissed, like, only one person. I had never had a high school sweetheart or anything,” she said. “And so I tended to date older people because those were the people I was around.”

Gerber and Butler at W Magazine's Annual Best Performances Party, February 2023 (Getty for W Magazine)

The model added: “And I got put in situations where one day I’d wake up and be like, how did I get here? I have no idea what I’m doing, and I need help. And being able to ask for that help was amazing. That’s what real growing up means, not being afraid to ask.”

Prior to dating Butler, Gerber was romantically linked to Euphoria star Jacob Elordi and Saturday Night Live comic Pete Davidson. Meanwhile, Butler previously dated actor Vanessa Hudgens for nearly 10 years.

He also recently opened up about keeping his history with Hudgens out of the spotlight, one year after he was hit with backlash for referring to her as the “friend” who encouraged him to audition for his role in Elvis.

“Oh, yeah, I learned a lesson with that one,” he said, referring to the criticism, during an interview with Esquire earlier this month. “I felt that I was respecting her privacy in a way and not wanting to bring up a ton of things that would cause her to have to talk. I have so much love and care for her. It was in no way trying to erase anything.”