Fine with the friend zone. Sofia Richie and Jaden Smith have a close connection, but aren’t treading into romantic territory, multiple sources tell Us Weekly exclusively.
“They’re just really good friends,” one insider reveals of the model and the Get Down actor, both 22, who sparked dating rumors after being photographed together at a Los Angeles beach in September. “They basically grew up together and there’s nothing romantic there.”
Richie, who split from Scott Disick for the second time this year in August, enjoyed a sunny outing with Smith over Labor Day weekend. An eyewitness noticed the close friends “looked very intimate” as they held hands in the water on the September afternoon.
“They were laughing and joking,” the onlooker said of Richie and Smith. “Sofia sat on the sand with her arms around Jaden, hugging him tightly, after they cooled off with a dip in the ocean. They only had eyes for each other.”
One week after causing speculation to brew on social media, the Karate Kid actor shut down a question about his relationship status with Richie during an interview on iHeartRadio’s On-Air With Ryan Seacrest. At the time, Smith claimed that he “didn’t see” the rumors about him and the California native, but maintained that they were “just homies.”
Richie’s flirty weekend came less than one month after she and Disick, 37, broke off their nearly three-year relationship. Us confirmed in May that the pair, who began dating in 2017, were taking some time apart following the Keeping Up With the Kardashians personality’s brief rehab stint related to his past traumas. They reunited soon after but called it quits once more in August.
“Scott and Sofia have been off and on for two months and now have broken up for good,” a source said at the time. “Sofia really pushed to make things work between them after they initially broke up, but Scott officially called it off recently, and they are no longer speaking.”
Disick shares three kids — Mason, 10, Penelope, 8, and Reign, 5 — with ex Kourtney Kardashian. The former couple split in 2015 after nine years of on and off, but have worked hard to keep a solid friendship for the sake of their kids.
The Flip It Like Disick star stepped out with model Bella Banos earlier this month and got a reaction from both of his exes. While a source told Us that “Sofia isn’t happy” with Disick’s recent outing, Kardashian, 41, “is sort of ignoring” him and “feels for Sofia, because Scott put her through hell and she knows how he can be and how tough the situation can be.”
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