Celebrity love stories abound across the entertainment landscape. Unfortunately, the same goes for breakups, affairs, and divorces. Such was the love story of Ryan McCartan and Dove Cameron that their fans happily took in every moment of their relationship as a breath of fresh air. They were considered a Disney power couple – they met while auditioning for the Disney Channel sitcom Liv and Maddie. During filming, Dove played the character Maddie and Ryan the character Diggie.
As the couple’s recording relationship deepened, the romance took off-set, and their fans loved it. They officially started dating in 2013 and even formed a band. They officially committed in April 2016, with everyone’s approval. However, the Disney fairy tale wedding everyone was expecting was not to be. The couple’s relationship failed and they separated six months later.
But that’s not all. After the breakup, things got even worse. Much worse. But first, a story about our two former lovebirds.
A bit of history on Ryan McCartan and Dove Cameron
Ryan was born on June 14, 1993 in Excelsior.Minnesota. He was active in theater and his high school choir. To kick off his career, Ryan played a minor role in the theatrical version of Disney’s iconic High School Musical in 2007. At the National High School Music Theater Awards in 2011, he became one of two Jimmy Award recipients.
He would then team up with Disney Channel for Liv and Maddie. However, he has been involved in more projects since the Disney show started. Her filmography includes Summer f forever (2015); The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Turn Back Time (2016), and Bizarre (2017).
Dove Cameron was born on January 15, 1996, in Seattle, Washington. Dove’s amateur acting career began when she was eight years old. She began acting in community theater at Bainbridge Performing Arts. Cameron’s career has been more illustrious than Ryan’s. Cameron, who is fluent in French, was already playing the lead role in Bainbridge when she got her first gig with Disney Channel; she played Alanna in the original series Pieces in 2012. The show was later revamped into the now popular Liv and Maddie, where she played the two lead roles of Liv and Maddie.
She has also starred in other popular TV series and movies. She was the character of Mal in the popular teen musical fantasy TV movies, Descendants (2015), and Descendants 2 (2017). In 2018, she joined the cast of ABC Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, as the character Ruby Hale.
Ryan and Dove were also in 2015 ‘s RL Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls.
Their love affair
Ryan described in a Youtube video how he got the part on the show and how he met Dove at the auditions. In the video, Ryan talked about how he originally taught the role he was auditioning for and how the show itself was ridiculous. During the auditions, however, his perspective changed and he decided it was really fun. The studio called him back to do a screen test with Dove. Apparently the test went well, as he then landed the role, in Diggie, of the love interest of one of Dove’s characters, Maddie.
One day, after a shooting session, everyone went home and the last people there were Dove and Ryan. Ryan McCartan, who had just come out of a bad breakup, felt confident and impulsively asked Dove out. The dove accepted. They both described their first date as the cutest ever. Ryan took her to dinner, after which they went to get frozen yogurt. The date continued with cider and discussions. Their next and final stop was a place in Hollywood with a 360 view of Hollywood. They talked until 3 a.m., after which Ryan drove her home.
As their romance deepened, their talents and dreams naturally began to blur. Dove and Ryan, who both had a background in music, started doing cover songs together and posting them on their Youtube channel. They officially announced that they were now a group in 2015. They named their group The Girl and the Dreamcatcher. They then released their first original song, Written in the Stars, as a music video. And then in July 2016, they released their first EP, Negatives. All the songs in the project were written and recorded by them.
In April 2016, Ryan made his 1000th Instagrampost. It was to announce that he had asked Dove to marry him and she had said yes. Dove also posted a post on its own Instagram account corroborating its announcement. The engagement was not planned; according to Cameron in an interview, “it just happened.” However, the two were fine, albeit excited, as they had always planned to meet up anyway. During interviews, they have often spoken of their happiness and eagerness to walk down the aisle.
Ryan McCartan and Dove Cameron’s Split
Before the hammer fell on their relationship, the two seemed very happy. They were both working on exciting projects. Ryan McCartan was working on a set of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Dove Cameron was filming Descendants 2.
Then similarly to their first date and engagement, the couple took to Twitter in October 2016 to reveal to their fans that they were calling it quits. It came as a huge shock to everyone, as no one expected – or hoped – the couple wouldn’t be together forever. In their respective tweets, they both tried to make it clear that they still loved each other and were going to remain friends. But there was something else to that – Ryan’s tweet read as if the breakup was Dove’s idea, while Dove’s tweet pointed out that she was in pain too.
The accusations and the social media wars that followed, what really happened?
Dove started engaging more with fans on her Instagram page. Meanwhile, her fans spoke of Ryan in a not-so-friendly way, while saying she looked so much happier without him. Dove’s answer has always been yes. In fact, in response to a fan’s comment, she said that Ryan treated her terribly. Ryan did not directly respond to those comments. However, he took to Twitter and posted two cryptic messages that said he was choosing to take the high road and gossip was boring. Their fans, of course, saw this as a response to Dove’s Instagram activity.
Oddly, during this time the two were under contract as they were still filming for Liv and Maddie. In the final episode, Maddie revealed to Diggie that she wanted to move to New Orleans to build homes and get involved in humanitarian efforts. To this unexpected revelation, Diggie responds that he is proud of her and would cheer her on anywhere as she pursues her dreams.
Dove then tweeted that Diggie’s response was exactly the reaction of a loving boyfriend. This was interpreted by fans to mean that perhaps Dave Ryan wasn’t very supportive given his burgeoning career.
In 2017, the old lovers song Glow in the Dark was used as the theme song in ABC’s cover of the one-of-a-kind total solar eclipse. Dove tweeted her pleasure that the song was used, however, in the tweet she called it “her” song. As expected, his fans agreed with this claim and gave him praise. Ryan also tweeted about the song used by ABC, except in his tweet he called it “our” song. Some Dove fans tried to straighten him out, but he told them to think of whatever they wanted.
Is Ryan McCartan dating?
Well, the two former members of the “Rove” love story have moved on in their respective love lives and careers. McCartan is dating his new love interest Smanatha Fekete and the two went public in late 2017. Along with his growing acting portfolio, Ryan isn’t doing too badly either. He released three ultra-successful singles in 2017 and another in early 2018. He seems to be having the best of his life on both fronts.
How about Dove Cameron? She keeps growing. She’s head over heels with her Descendants 2 co-star, Thomas Doherty, whom she then met with McCartan. He only started to stand out with Dove shortly after his breakup. Dove’s music career is also going very well. She announced in early 2018 that she had signed with Columbia Records. However, due to her many projects and certain contract clauses, the singer and actor will only be able to focus on her music after Descendants 3 scheduled for 2019.