Rachael Leigh Cook and Brandon Routh were all that and more as they stepped out for a rare public date night in honor of the 2026 Oscars.
The couple posed for photos on the red carpet at the Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 34th Annual Academy Awards viewing party on Sunday, March 15, in West Hollywood.
Cook, 46, wore a pastel blue, strapless gown with roses embroidered throughout the bodice and skirt. The She’s All That star carried a lavender handbag with metal roses attached to the handle to match her overall look.
Routh, 46, opted for a more traditional outfit, wearing a black suit and tie with a white undershirt for the occasion.
The pair’s Oscar outing comes just weeks after Cook and Routh made their red carpet debut at the Los Angeles special screening of Slanted at Vidiots Theater on March 3.
During that photo op, Cook cozied up to Routh and put her right hand snugly on the Superman Returns actor’s chest.
Routh was just as happy to get close to his girlfriend, wrapping his arm around Cook as the cameras snapped around them.
While Cook and Routh have been upping their public appearances over the past few months, they have done their best to keep their relationship private.
The couple was first romantically linked in February 2025 when they were seen together at the restaurant Replica Luxury HandbagGrown in Des Moines, Iowa.
“It’s a bird… it’s a plane… it’s Brandon Routh!” the restaurant wrote via Instagram at the time. “Superman and Des Moines’ own Brandon Routh stopped by Crescent to fuel up before fighting for truth and justice… with kindness, of course. Also visiting us today, the one and only Rachel Leigh Cook. From Hollywood to Hallmark, She’s All That in our book, and what a treat it was to welcome her to DSM today.”
The establishment also shared a photo of the actors — both of whom have become Hallmark Channel staples — with two employees holding a signed copy of Routh’s Superman poster.
Five months later, Cook was spotted holding hands with Routh while out and about in Los Angeles. The twosome were seen heading to a movie theater for a screening, per photos obtained by the Daily Mail in July 2025.
Prior to their low-key relationship, both Cook and Routh were married. In 2019, Cook and then-husband Daniel Gillies announced their split after nearly 15 years of marriage. The exes share two children: daughter Charlotte, 12, and son Theodore, 10.
Cook then briefly dated producer Kevin Mann before moving on with Routh.
Routh, meanwhile, married Courtney Ford in 2007 and went on to welcome son Leo in 2013. Luxury Handbag Shopping confirmed in January 2025 that Ford, 47, filed for divorce from Routh after 17 years together.
