Final rose worthy! Becca Tilley and Hayley Kiyoko kept their relationship under wraps for years before confirming their love story.
Bachelor Nation met Tilley on Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor in 2015. The runner-up returned to the ABC series to pursue Ben Higgins on season 20 of the show but was sent packing before hometown dates. Following her time on the series, Tilley dated Bachelorette alum Robert Graham for several months from late 2016 to May 2017.
“My last relationship, he was everything I had written down on paper. But something was missing that I wasn’t able to write on paper. It made me realize when I meet someone, it’s not gonna have to do with my checklist that I’ve had my whole life,” she told Us Weekly exclusively in August 2018. “Someone totally opposite than what I ever thought.”
Later that year, Tilley confirmed she was off the market again — without naming names.
“I just think that my relationship that I’m in is just, I like that it’s private and it’s my own,” she explained to Us in 2019 about keeping her romance offline. “I had a public relationship before and it just felt like I had a lot of people involved, which I know that’s why they sort of watched me in the first place.”
While Tilley gave insight into her love life via her podcast, “Scrubbing In With Becca Tilley and Tanya Rad,” and revealed in February 2022 that she had been with her partner for nearly “four years,” she didn’t confirm Kiyoko was her girlfriend until the musician dropped a music video for “For The Girls” in May 2022.
“Not to get too deep, but with so many anti LGBTQ+ bills being passed right now, it’s very challenging to feel hopeful for our community,” Kiyoko told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “And so I wanted to create this for my fans, being able to watch this video, seeing people that look like them, thriving, being their true, authentic selves. And knowing that legislation trying to take that away from us is not going to take away our existence, our worth, our truth and the ability to find love. … I’m a huge Bachelor fan, so I really try to celebrate the show and I think they’re going to love the surprise at the end too.”
In the video, Kiyoko channels her inner Bachelorette and Tilley is the last suitor to arrive. At the release party, the two women confirmed their romance and sealed things with a kiss.
“Becca mentioned they’ve been together for four years and she was just ready to share it,” an insider told Us of the PDA moment, noting that they were “very happy” at the bash. “It was Hayley’s night but it became Becca’s night too because she came out publicly with the kiss.”
Scroll through for Tilley and Kiyoko’s relationship timeline:
The pair were first photographed together in 2018. "I think it was just an instant connection,” Tilley told Entertainment Tonight in December 2019 about Kiyoko. “I’ve never had something so instant, like, from the beginning.” Without naming names, she added, “If there's a moment where I feel like, 'OK, I'm ready to let everybody into my relationship and everyone can have an opinion on it,’ [then I will share].” Shutterstock (2)
Us confirmed Tilley was dating someone. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The former reality star told Us in November 2019 that her partner had met her siblings. “My family lives far away, so my sisters I guess have been introduced, but not the rest of my family,” she said. “I’m really happy. I'm in a really good place.” Shutterstock (2)
During a live podcast taping, Tilley said that she was “95 percent” sure she would marry her current partner. Kiyoko was subsequently given the nickname “95p” by her loyal listeners. Shutterstock (2)
The twosome were still going strong and keeping things quiet. Shutterstock (2)
After the music video dropped in May 2022, Tilley took to Twitter. “3rd time’s a charm 🌹. So so happy 🥰.” That same day, she shared footage of their last four years together via Instagram. “Hard to say if this is a hard or soft launch, but it is a launch ❤️ #95p,” she wrote. Courtesy of Ali Grant/Instagram
The Bachelor alum kicked off Pride month with a photo of her and Kiyoko in cocktail dresses. "Nothing new 💕🌈," she captioned the snap. "Feeling extra prideful ☺️," Kiyoko commented. Courtesy of Becca Tilley/Instagram
In June, Tilley told E! News that she was more than 95 percent sure Kiyoko was The One for her, a nod to the aforementioned “95p” nickname. That same month, the singer spoke about Tilley for the first time in her Teen Vogue cover story. “It is one thing to discover your authentic truth, but to share it takes a lot of courage as we all know. She has had to navigate a lot of hardship in her journey, and I've been honored to be by her side through it all,” Kiyoko told the magazine. “It is not my place to speak for her, but it does feel amazing to get to share the love I have for her with the rest of the world.” Broadimage/Shutterstock; David Buchan/Shutterstock
“There are a lot of songs on the album that have been inspired by Becca,” Kiyoko teased during the couple’s joint Amazon Live session. “It’s funny sometimes I’ll play her a song and she’ll listen to it and be like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love this song. Who’s this song about?!’ and I'll be like, ‘You!’ ... There’s a lot of songs on the album that have been inspired by navigating love and a relationship. Obviously, we’re in an incredibly healthy, wonderful relationship, but you have to put in the work.” Amazon Live
"Fan girl 24/7 over here ðŸ¤," Tilley gushed via Instagram in August 2022 alongside a video of her cheering for and taking photos of Kiyoko backstage at one of the singer's concerts. Courtesy Becca Tilley/Instagram
"When we started dating, I was ready to have a public relationship," the "For the Girls" singer recalled during an appearance on the "Scrubbing In" podcast. "When we were navigating her experience and where she was at in her journey, that obviously shifted. But it was worth it to me because I wanted to be in a relationship with her, and I never felt like she was hiding me." Though it took her "a second to get used to," Kiyoko explained that she grew to appreciate having something that belonged to them: "It was like, 'This is ours, and how cool is this, that we get to just share this, and grow it and really build a foundation?'" She continued: "Obviously, now we've shared it with everyone, and it's been great because we know where we stand, and what we love to share, and what we love to keep to ourselves, and finding that fine line. But this is my first time doing this too, so we're navigating that together, and I'm just happy to be a part of her journey." The musician got emotional, however, when talking about Tilley publicly coming out in May. "She deserves lots of love, and everyone in my community, in our community, deserves to be loved and accepted for who they are," Kiyoko explained, adding, "I was also honored to be there with her during her journey to know that she should live the life that she wants to live." Courtesy of Hayley Kiyoko/Instagram
The twosome made their official red carpet debut at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas, which was Kiyoko’s first time attending the event. “One of my favorite moments of the night was watching @tanyarad interview Hayley,” Tilley gushed via Instagram Story, referring to her “Scrubbing In” cohost, Tanya Radisavljevic. “I was like, ‘How cool is it that I get to watch moments like this?’” Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
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