Happy Birthday, Ansel Elgort! A Look Back at His Relationship with His High School Sweetheart

Long before they were strolling down awards show red carpets hand in hand, Ansel Elgort and Violetta Komyshan’s relationship dates back to their days at LaGuardia, the prestigious performing arts high school in New York City.

“I think he had his eye on me, because we were in the same lunch period or something,” Komyshan revealed during a Dec. 2017 interview with Cosmopolitan. “[One day freshman year] I was with my friend, and he was walking down the block. I didn’t even know he went to my school — I just thought he was really attractive. I looked at him and told my friend, ‘Oh my God, that guy’s so hot,’ and she’s like, ‘Oh, that’s Ansel, he goes to LaGuardia.'”

The 22-year-old dancer added that she thought he actually liked her friend, but she knew there was a spark between them when he waited for her after school the following day. After getting to know each other, they started dating at the end of her sophomore year.

As a ballerina, Komyshan automatically had a chance with Elgort.

“If you’re like me and you love dancers, you just have to walk up to the eighth floor and you can get one,” the Baby Driver star, 24, said of his high school in Elle‘s March 2015 issue.

“I like strong women. Physical women. My dad photographed a lot of beautiful dancers. My mom was a dancer,” he added. “I love when a girl is like, ‘I can’t hang out. I have to go to class.’ And I go pick her up and she’s all sweaty in a leotard with her hair in a bun. That’s the hottest thing ever.”

But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing. The couple briefly split in late 2014, citing the actor’s busy schedule. But five months later, they were back together. 

“I was doing OK,” Elgort told Details in their March 2015 issue of being single, according to E! News. “But I knew something was missing, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s love.'” 

While other Hollywood stars in their 20s are making the most of their fame, Elgort is more than content without the playboy lifestyle.

“I like to go on really nice dates. I’ve made some money, but I don’t spend it on anything besides my rent. But I go to nice dinners. And I like to go with a girl,” the actor told Elle in 2015. “I prefer being with a girlfriend long-term. I prefer to be with someone I can trust. I’m more into that.”

The couple seem to have made it a mission to take their love around the world. They’ve vacationed in Japan, Thailand, Turks & Caicos, Italy, and more.

Elgort cast his real-life girlfriend to star in his 2017 music video for the song “Thief.” The steamy video shows the couple stripping down in the bedroom before jumping in the bath tub together.

Both Elgort and Komyshan’s Instagram pages are covered in photos of each other, whether they’re on the red carpet, on a dinner date or hanging out at home. 

“Oscars then straight to after parties with the hottest presenter,” Komyshan bragged on Instagram with photos featuring her boyfriend at this year’s Vanity Fair‘s afterparty.

Elgort adorably praised his girlfriend in a January post celebrating Komyshan’s 22nd birthday. “She’s genuine, sweet, caring, hard working, talented. She shines bright and always puts a smile on my face. I don’t wana imagine life without her.”

And when they’re not posting adorable selfies together, Elgort isn’t afraid to get behind the lens and prove himself to be a perfect Instagram boyfriend.

“He takes a lot of my photos. He really knows when I look genuinely happy and beautiful,” Komyshan told Cosmopolitan. “His dad’s a photographer, and [Ansel] really learned how to use a camera growing up. He knows my light, he knows everything. He could just be my personal photographer and he’d be great at it because he’s so good.”