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A source tells PEOPLE that Rachel Zegler and boyfriend Nathan Louis-Fernand “had an instant connection” after first becoming acquainted in May
The couple met during rehearsals for Evita on London’s West End, in which Zegler stars as Eva Perón and Louis-Fernand is a backup dancer
“[Rachel] brings a very energetic and passionate energy to the production. Nathan’s attracted to this,” the source adds
Rachel Zegler “had an instant connection” with Nathan Louis-Fernand, according to a source.
As the Snow White actress went Instagram official with dancer Louis-Fernand on Tuesday, July 8, the insider tells PEOPLE that the couple “met during rehearsals for the West End production of Evita” in early May, “and started dating early summer.”
“They’re cute,” says the source, adding of 24-year-old Zegler, who leads the London-based Evita revival as Eva Perón, “Rachel’s been lovely.”
“She brings a very energetic and passionate energy to the production. Nathan’s attracted to this,” the insider adds.
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Mike Coppola/Getty ; Nathan Louis-Fernand/Instagram
Rachel Zegler at the 97th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, on March 2, 2025; Nathan Louis-Fernand in April 2022
Zegler and Louis-Fernand were first spotted getting close at Hyde Park in London on Sunday, July 6, as they took in a Sabrina Carpenter concert.
Aside from a kissing shot, the West Side Story actress stood close to Louis-Fernand in another snap, as she held a drink in one hand and her dancer beau’s hand in the other.
Zegler went Instagram official with Louis-Fernand on Tuesday, sharing a cuddly snapshot of the couple together as part of a 20-slide Instagram carousel.
The photo showed Zegler leaning her head against Louis-Fernand’s chest. The dancer appeared to be wearing the same outfit he wore when he and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes actress were photographed getting close at Carpenter’s Sunday concert.
Zegler did not directly address the photo with Louis-Fernand in the caption to her post, simply writing, “Hello little baddies in my phone.”
Rachel Zegler/Instagram
Nathan Louis-Fernand and Rachel Zegler
Louis-Fernand is a professional dancer whose theater credits include roles in Magic Mike Live, Hamilton, & Juliet, The Lion King and more, per his biography on Evita‘s cast page. He also appeared in the 2023 Timothée Chalamet-led musical film Wonka.
Zegler was most recently linked to Josh Andrés Rivera, whom she starred with in 2023’s Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.
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The former couple first went public with their romance in February 2021, though it’s unclear exactly when Zegler and Rivera, 30, went their separate ways.
A rep for Zegler did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment about her relationship with Louis-Fernand on Monday, July 7.
Read the original article on People
