Veggie is rising! Camila Mendes and Charles Melton took their real-life romance to the screen during the Wednesday, January 16, episode of Riverdale, when their characters, Veronica Lodge and Reggie Mantle, respectively, locked lips for the first time.
Fans have been sensing a love connection between Reggie and Veronica ever since he began working with the youngest Lodge at her speakeasy, La Bonne Nuit. The sexual tension finally boiled over when the Bulldog saw his boss serenading the crowd at the venue.
Once her performance was over, the two shared a very intimate kiss, as Ronnie’s ex-boyfriend Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) fought for his life — in fact, he might even be dead — following a bear attack. Varchie split earlier this season when the redhead left town to escape Veronica’s father, Hiram Lodge (Mark Consuelos).
Veggie marks the second real-life couple who have made the transition onto the CW drama. Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse were first linked in July 2017. Their TV counterparts, Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones (a.k.a. Bughead), began dating during season 1 of the series.
The Disney alum, 26, joked about his kissing scenes with his 22-year-old girlfriend during an October 2017 appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan. “A little bit more of that, which is going to be good,” he said of the smooches at the time. “They’re contractually obligated to give me as many kiss scenes as possible this season. I wrote it into my contract.”
For their part, Mendes, 24, and Melton, 28, confirmed their relationship in October 2018. “Mine,” the actress captioned an Instagram photo of her boyfriend planting a kiss on her forehead.
The Perfect Date star defended her budding romance in November 2018, telling a fan via Instagram that she is “happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”
Elsewhere, Mendes teased exclusively to Us Weekly in July 2018 that “there might be someone else” besides Archie for Veronica in season 3.
Riverdale airs on The CW Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
