Celebrity love stories are abundant across the entertainment landscape. Unfortunately, so are breakups, affairs, and divorces. Such was the love story of Ryan McCartan and Dove Cameron that their fans were gleefully taking in every moment of their relationship like a breath of fresh air. They were considered a Disney power couple – they met at the auditions for the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie. While on set, Dove played the character Maddie, and Ryan played the character Diggie.
As the couple’s on-set relationship deepened, so did the off-the-set romance, and their fans loved it. They officially started dating in 2013 and even formed a band together. They engaged officially in April 2016, with everyone’s approval. However, the fairytale Disney wedding everyone was waiting for was not to be. The couple’s relationship was nosedived and they split six months later.
But that’s not all. Following the breakup, things got worse between them. Much worse. But first, a backstory on our two former lovebirds.
A little backstory on Ryan McCartan and Dove Cameron
Ryan was born on June 14, 1993, in Excelsior, Minnesota. He was active in his high school’s theatre and choir. To kick-start his career, Ryan took minor roles in the stage version of the iconic Disney’s High School Musical in 2007. At the National High School Music Theatre Awards in 2011, he became one of two recipients of the Jimmy Award.
He would later team up with Disney Channel for Liv and Maddie. However, he has been on more projects since the beginning of the Disney show. His filmography includes Summer F Forever (2015); The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again (2016), and Freakish (2017).
Dove Cameron came into the world on January 15, 1996, in Seattle, Washington. Dove’s amateur acting career started when she was just eight years old. She started playing roles in community theater at Bainbridge Performing Arts. Cameron’s career has been more illustrious than Ryan’s. Cameron, who speaks fluent French, was already playing lead roles Bainbridge when she got her first Disney Channel gig; she played Alanna in the original series Bits and Pieces in 2012. The show was subsequently retooled into the now popular Liv and Maddie, where she played both lead roles of Liv and Maddie.
She has also starred in other popular television series and films. She was the character Mal in the popular teen musical fantasy television films, Descendants (2015), and Descendants 2 (2017). In 2018, she joined the cast of ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, as the character Ruby Hale.
Both Ryan and Dove were also in 2015’s R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls.
Their love adventure
Ryan described in a Youtube video how he got the part on the show and how he met Dove in the auditions. In the video, Ryan talked about how he initially taught the role he was auditioning for and the show itself were silly. On attending the auditions, however, his perspective changed and he decided that it was actually fun. The studio called him back to do a screen test with Dove. Apparently, the test went well because he got the role afterward, as Diggie, the love interest of one of Dove’s characters, Maddie.
One day, after a shooting session, everyone went home and the last people there were Dove and Ryan. Ryan McCartan who had just gotten out of a bad breakup was feeling confident and asked Dove out in a spur-of-the-moment-type way. Dove agreed. They have both described their first date as the most adorable either of them has ever been on. Ryan took her out to dinner, after which they went and got frozen yogurt. The date continued with some cider and some talking. Their next and final stop was a place in Hollywood with a 360 view of Hollywood. They talked until 3 am, after which Ryan took her home.
As their romance deepened, their talents and dreams naturally started to tangle. Dove and Ryan who both had backgrounds in music began to do song covers together and post them on their Youtube channel. They officially announced that they were now a band in 2015. They named their group The Girl and The Dreamcatcher. They subsequently released their first original song, Written In The Stars, in the form of a music video. And then in July of 2016, they released their debut EP, Negatives. All the songs on the project were written and recorded by them.
In April of 2016, Ryan made his 1000th Instagram post. It was to announce that he had asked Dove to marry him and she had said yes. Dove also made an Instagram post on her own account corroborating his announcement. The engagement was not planned; according to Cameron in an interview, “it just happened”. However, both were fine with it, excited even, because they had always planned to end up with each other anyway. They frequently talked in interviews about how happy they were and how they couldn’t wait to walk down the aisle.
Ryan McCartan and Dove Cameron’s Split
Before the gavel came down on their relationship both seemed very happy. They were both working on exciting projects. Ryan McCartan was working on a set of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Dove Cameron was filming Descendants 2.
Then in the same sudden fashion as their first date and engagement, the couple took to Twitter in October of 2016, to reveal to their fans that they were calling it quits. This came as a massive shock to everyone as no one thought – or hoped that the couple wouldn’t stay together forever. In their respective tweets, they both tried to make it clear that they still loved each other and were going to stay friends. But there was something else there – Ryan’s tweet read as if the breakup was Dove’s idea, while Dove’s tweet emphasized that she was hurting too.
Dove began to engage more with fans on her Instagram page. During this time her fans talked about Ryan in a not-so-friendly light while endorsing that she looked so much happier without him. Dove’s reply was always in the affirmative. In fact, in response to one particular fan’s comment, she said that Ryan treated her terribly. Ryan did not respond to these comments directly. However, he went on Twitter and posted two cryptic messages that conveyed that he was choosing to take the high road and that gossip was boring. Their fans, of course, considered this to be a response to the activity on Dove’s Instagram.
Weirdly enough, during this period both were under contract as they were still filming for Liv and Maddie. In the final episode, Maddie revealed to Diggie that she wanted to leave for New Orleans to build houses and involve herself in humanitarian efforts. To this unexpected revelation, Diggie responds that he is proud of her and would encourage her anywhere as she chases her dreams.
Dove then tweeted that Diggie’s response was exactly how a loving boyfriend should react. This was taken by fans to mean that perhaps, Dave Ryan was not very supportive in light of her booming career.
In 2017, the former lovers’ song Glowing In The Dark was used as the theme song in ABC’s coverage of the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse event. Dove tweeted her delight that the song was used, however, in the tweet, she called it “her” song. Expectedly, her fans concurred with her assertion and showered praises on her. Ryan also tweeted about the song being used by ABC, except in his tweet, he called it “our” song. Some fans of Dove’s tried to set him straight but he waived them off essentially telling them to think whatever they wanted to.
Is Ryan McCartan dating anyone?
Well, both former members of the “Rove” love story have moved on in their love life and respective careers. McCartan is dating his new love interest Samantha Fekete and the two went public towards the end of 2017. Besides his growing acting portfolio, Ryan isn’t doing too badly on the music side of things either. He released three ultra-successful singles in 2017 and another early in 2018. He seems to be having the time of his life on both fronts.
How about Dove Cameron? She just keeps growing. She is head over heels with her Descendants 2, co-star, Thomas Doherty, whom she met while still together with McCartan. He only began to stand out to Dove not long after her breakup. Dove’s music career is also going great. She announced in early 2018 that she had signed to Columbia Records. However, due to her numerous projects and certain contract clauses, the singer cum actor will not be able to focus on her music until after Descendants 3 slated for 2019.
