Taylor Zakhar Perez shut down any romantic speculation between him and his Kissing Booth 2 co-star, Joey King, on Wednesday.
‘I love her. I love her dearly. I’d do anything for her,’ the 28-year-old actor told Entertainment Tonight. ‘We’re not dating. I’ll end it with that.’
As for what first sparked their off-screen bond, Zakhar Perez simply said they ‘hit it off’ quickly and ‘became kind of like the best of friends.’
Putting rumors to rest: Taylor Zakhar Perez has shut down the romantic speculation between him and his close friend Joey King
‘I’m sure it was odd for her to go back into a production with someone that she dated,’ he noted of her ex-boyfriend, Jacob Elordi. ‘And so me being this new castmate and Joel [Courtney] being there and Meganne [Young], we kind of just all meshed really well together.’
After filming, he says they ‘just kept hanging out’ and ‘live really near each other’ in Los Angeles.
After detailing their platonic relationship, he also explained they’re like ‘each other’s accountability partners during quarantine’ to Access Hollywood.
‘She can make me cry laugh. She is hysterical…she just cracks me up, and she has this really funny laugh that makes me laugh even more,’ he gushed
‘She can make me cry laugh. She is hysterical…she just cracks me up, and she has this really funny laugh that makes me laugh even more,’ he gushed.
The pair sparked romance rumors last week, after taking a trip to celebrate the actress’ 21st birthday.
In snaps shared from the outing, Joey and Taylor cannot stop grinning as they smile for a selfie in the bright blue waters.
Hunky: Taylor, who plays the character of Marco in the second installment of their Netflix hit, exuded confidence, as he showed off his ripped physique on their getaway
Taylor, who plays the character of Marco in the second installment of their Netflix hit, exuded confidence, as he showed off his ripped physique on their getaway.
Showing off his bravery to King, Taylor also posted a short clip jumping into the lake and making a big splash as three pals watched from the side.
Joey and Taylor also shared another glimpse into their funny friendship, as they pulled funny faces.
Larking around: The Netflix stars showed off their cheeky personalities as they pulled funny faces for another selfie
They previously sparked dating rumors, after he posted an extremely thoughtful birthday tribute to her.
In his caption about Joey, he wrote she welcomed him ‘with open arms and love’ when he joined The Kissing Booth cast.
He continued: ‘Honestly I could write about this woman all day.’
Just pals? The Kissing Booth stars firsst sparked romance speculation after Taylor shared a gushing birthday post to Joey last week
‘She is the reason I joined the KB2 family, she welcomed me with open arms and love, she supported me, she pushed me, she made me laugh (like pee my pants laughter and had to check my underwear), she inspired me to be a bettter actor, she shared her family with me, THE LIST GOES ON. Grateful for you forever,’ he concluded.
Last month, the pair couldn’t seem to stay away from each other, so they voluntarily underwent coronavirus testing to safely reunite.
‘Got tested just so we could hug today,’ the Golden Globe nominee wrote under a sweet snap of herself wrapping both arms around the budding star.
Hugs: The pair also posted pictures together after they had coronavirus tests, so they could reunite for an at-home viewing party for the second series of The Kissing Booth