From left: Sen. Cory Booker and Rosario Dawson.Photo: Bonnie Biess/Getty
Rosario Dawsonand Sen.Cory Bookerhavecalled it quitsafter more than two years of dating, which saw them grow close enough that she moved into his New Jersey home.
They both also spoke openly about their pride in one another, what it was like “adjusting” to life in Booker’s Newark home and the reality and joys of building a relationship together.
“It’s the first time I felt like I had to be responsible about my choice of love, which is a challenging thing to do,” Dawsontold Bustle in 2020. “If you fall in love, you fall in love. But there’s another aspect I had to consider: what this meant in [putting] a microscope on my family and particularly on my daughter.” (Dawson has one child,Isabella.)
“But in each other,” she added then, “I think we found our person.”
Here’s a look back at their relationship timeline.
How It All Began
Dawson and Booker first crossed paths at a political fundraiser for a mutual friend in summer 2018. Though sparks didn’t fly right away, months later, the two reconnected.
“I mean, gosh, that night we talked for hours and hours,” Booker, 52,toldTheWashington Postin 2019. “I had trouble asking for her phone number … I think I said something really stupid like, ‘Uh, how would I get in touch with you?’ And she mercifully said something like, ‘Oh, you want my phone number?’ And my insides were like, ‘Hell, yeah!’
Broadway Dates and Impromptu Serenades
In early 2019, the two were spotted at a cast meet-and-greet after attendingDear Evan Hansenon Broadway, and tee actress briefly serenaded the lawmaker, telling him, “I love you,” an onlooker confirmed to PEOPLE at the time.
The source said Dawson sang, “I love you, te amo” — Spanish for “I love you” — to Booker in an “impromptu, made-up-on-the-spot” tune.
A Public Confirmation
“So far so wonderful,” shesaid at the timeof her romance with the then-presidential candidate. “He’s a wonderful human being. It’s good to spend some time together when we can.”
Candidates Attend Fourth 2020 Democratic Presidential Debate.Allison Farrand/Bloomberg Getty
Support During the Presidential Campaign
Booker had Dawson’s support in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, as the actressattended a presidential debatein October 2019 and shared photos and videos from the event on her Instagram Story, documenting Booker sharing his presidential plans with fellow 2020 hopefuls.
ANew York Postreporter also shareda snapshot on Twitterof the actress' seat at the event, which read, “RESERVED Rosario Dawson.”
“Closing out the night. Go team!” Dawson said in her final selfie-style video from the evening, panning the camera around to show some of the post-debate activity.
Speaking toEllen DeGenereswhilemaking the publicity rounds during his campaign, Booker opened up about the relationship, telling the host of Dawson: “She’s a deeply soulful person and has taught me a lot of lessons about love already and that sometimes you show the greatest strength when you make yourself vulnerable.”
That same month, the two attended the Los Angeles premiere of environmental documentaryThe Need to Grow, which Dawson narrated. The two hugged and held hands on the red carpet and Booker tweeted to note thathe had joined Dawsonat the event, not the other way around.
Cory Booker (left), Rosario Dawson.Araya Doheny/Getty/Earth Conscious Films
By May 2020, as Booker was still in the midst of his presidential campaign, the couple took a big step when Dawsonmoved in with him. It started off with a meaningful road trip with her father.
In an October 2021BuzzFeed News profile, Booker shared that the actress had moved in to his Newark home after driving cross-country from Los Angeles over the summer.
In the same interview, the lawmaker noted the living situation was new for him. “This is the first time in my life I’ve really lived with somebody — and obviously Rosario and I are enjoying and adjusting to that, right?”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“It was an amazing adventure,“The MandalorianandStar Wars: Ahsokastartold PEOPLE last year. She drove 3,000 miles in a 29-foot RV with her father, Greg. “My family are all in New York. It felt really beautiful and good to start a new chapter of my life in the driver’s seat,” she said.
Dawson joked then about her adopted home as a New York native even though her boyfriend “gets upset” whenever she pokes fun at the state.
“New Yorkers appreciate New Jersey because you have a great view of New York,” she quipped.
She also spoke then of having a boyfriend as devoted to human rights causes as she is. Dawson is on the board of Voto Latino, which works to register voters, and she cofounded the clothing line Studio 189, which is based in Ghana and supports education and skills training there.
“To have a partner in justice, as I like to say, is just so beautiful,” Dawson said at the time.
From left: Sen. Cory Booker and Rosario Dawson in October 2019.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Growing Closer During COVID
In an interview with PEOPLE in 2021, Booker said that he and Dawson, like many Americans, had been spending more time in the kitchen since theCOVID-19 pandemicbegan.
Booker, a longtime vegan, said that Dawson is a vegan as well. “She came to that on her own, which is great because we have, during the time of COVID, we’ve been working on cooking together a lot more,” Booker said.
In an effort to expand their culinary prowess, and make their meals that much more enjoyable, the couple has employed some tools to aid their new challenge.
“Literally she just bought a food processor, a Cuisinart thing, for our kitchen yesterday,” Booker told PEOPLE. “So I’m very excited about just expanding my capability to make delicious, healthy, whole plant-based food at home.”
The Inauguration
“So proud of and grateful for you my love. I got to vote for you here in New Jersey and am so glad that you overwhelmingly and rightfully won your seat again,” Dawson wrote on Instagram after the election. “To know your leadership will continue to guide us with love, brilliance, patience, grace and effectiveness is the kind of representation and hope we need.”
Cory Booker (left) Rosario Dawson.Drew Angerer/Getty
The Breakup
In February, a source close to the New Jersey lawmaker confirmed to PEOPLE that the former couple wasn’t dating anymore but remain good friends.
source: people.com
