Real-Life Love
Does ‘TSITP’s Sean Kaufman Have a Girlfriend? Inside the Minnie Mills Dating Rumors

Considering that The Summer I Turned Pretty is a romance-centric show, it makes sense that fans would take an interest in the cast’s real-life relationships — especially when one of them might’ve started on set!
The series focuses on Belly Conklin’s (Lola Tung) love triangle with the Fisher brothers (Gavin Casalegno and Christopher Briney), but her brother Steven (Sean Kaufman) has had a few entanglements of his own. In Season 2, Steven and Belly’s BFF Taylor (Rain Spencer) became an item, and if we wind it all the way back to Season 1, Steven had his eye on Belly’s fellow debutante, Shayla (Minnie Mills).
Their characters were only together briefly, but it appears Kaufman and Mills made a lasting offscreen connection. The actors have continued to fuel dating rumors as The Summer I Turned Pretty’s third and final season continues. Keep reading to see what we found out about their relationship status.
Who is Sean Kaufman dating right now?
Kaufman hasn’t publicly announced that he’s dating anyone, but fans have speculated that he’s in a relationship with Mills, who also hasn’t confirmed her relationship status. There’s definitely some evidence that points to the actors being an item, which we’ll touch on below. An anonymous source told the Daily Mail that “they are still together and very happy” in April of this year.
When did the Sean Kaufman and Minnie Mills dating rumors start?
On March 26, Kaufman revealed that Mills joined him on a Cancun vacation alongside Briney and his girlfriend, Isabel Machado, on Instagram. Fans flocked to the comments, questioning whether or not it was a double date situation.
It wasn’t the first time they sparked dating rumors. In June 2022, Mills posted a carousel of photos for Kaufman’s birthday, showing the costars hugging and being affectionate with each other. “Happiest of birthdays to my best friend <3,” Mills wrote in the caption. “Thank you for always making me smile.”
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Aside from those two instances, the actors haven’t posted much together, aside from an instance in May of this year. They both attended the SANDRO Fall – Winter 2025 Collection Preview, where they were photographed together and with their TSITP costar, Spencer. However, following the event, Kaufman added a photo of just him and Mills to his Instagram Story.
Since the third season of The Summer I Turned Pretty started airing, Kaufman and Mills have been spotted more frequently in each other’s company. For one, they attended a WNBA game with Briney and his girlfriend, and most recently, they attended two US Open matches. Over Labor Day weekend, they watched Naomi Osaka face off against Coco Gauff, followed by Carlos Alcaraz and Jiri Lehecka.
I JUMPED pic.twitter.com/mfw94QeZ2i
— lucy ✰ (@swiftbrams) September 2, 2025
Who has Sean Kaufman dated before?
In a June 2023 red carpet interview, Kaufman did mention having a girlfriend, though he didn’t divulge any details about her identity. It’s possible Kaufman was referring to Nikol Tsvetanova, a NYC-based actor. According to J-14, Tsvetanova posted a since-deleted photo of her and Kaufman kissing in January 2023.
That August, the TSITP star sent Tsvetanova a birthday message on Instagram Stories, tagging her account and writing, “happy happy birthday my love, I love you so much.” (J-14 screenshotted the Story, which you can view here.) The two currently follow each other on Instagram.
The Summer I Turned Pretty, Season 3, Wednesdays, Prime Video