Kate Beckinsale isn’t a fan of false rumors — or kissing her exes.
Word on the street is that the Van Helsing actress and comedian Matt Rife, who she had briefly dated back in 2017, were locking lips at the Netflix Golden Globes after-party this past Sunday.
But her representatives are here to clear the air.
“It is incorrect that they were kissing,” they told People. “They are friendly exes who were having a fun time speaking.”
Highlights
- Kate Beckinsale denied rumors that she was kissing her ex Matt Rife at the 2025 Golden Globes after-party.
- Beckinsale and Rife dated briefly in 2017 with a startling 22-year age gap.
- Rife publicly apologized for warning Pete Davidson about dating Beckinsale back in 2023.
Rumors have been floating around that Kate Beckinsale and Matt Rife were kissing — but her representatives have a different story to tell
Image credits: Gregg DeGuire / Getty
Beckinsale and Rife were linked together for a short period of time eight years ago, when they were 43 and 21-years-old, respectively.
“Age is just a number,” Rife wrote on Instagram at the time they were dating, well aware of the startling 22-year age gap. “Find someone you love, and take their breath away… even if that means putting a kink in their oxygen tank cord. #LifeAlertTypeOfLove.”
Image credits: Taylor Hill / Getty
Beckinsale later moved on with Pete Davidson from SNL in early 2019, and the comedian’s response to the new relationship contained an eerie warning.
“Man to man: run,” he offered to TMZ. “Enjoy it while you can. I hope they’re both happy. I hope that it can build to where it’s an established, good relationship.
“I wish them both the best. I hope they’re happy. I don’t really have any solid advice, just be careful.”
Rife and Beckinsale had previously dated back in 2017
Image credits: mattrife
As of 2023, however, any bad blood between the two former partners seems to have washed away, especially after Rife’s public apology regarding his statement.
“I regret saying that,” he said to Elle. “Pete, if you’re out there, sorry I said that. Kate, I also apologize that I said that. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He later continued, “I gave that advice because I was only speaking from personal experience, having been together and finding out that we weren’t the most compatible match. I wanted to make sure that both of them were careful with their emotions and didn’t head into something that they also wouldn’t, that also wouldn’t work out.”
The friendly exchange between the two during this year’s Golden Globes was clear evidence they had put their tumultuous past behind them.
Rife had warned Pete Davidson to "be careful" regarding his past relationship with the actress
Image credits: World Gold Council
The 51-year-old Hollywood star also made headlines recently regarding the legal battle between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively.
The mother-of-four sued her It Ends With Us co-star and his production company for sexual harassment on December 20, and the entire situation has been an ongoing mess of “a war of words” — one Beckinsale commented on.
The actress spoke out regarding her own on-set experiences in light of the lawsuit, sharing a video on Instagram on December 29, citing the “machine that goes into effect when a woman complains about something legitimately offensive, upsetting, harmful, whatever, in this industry.”
Image credits: mattrife
She claimed her former publicist had “forced” her to do a photoshoot the day after her miscarriage in the since-deleted post, as reported by People.
“I said, ‘I can’t. I’m bleeding. I don’t want to go and change my clothes in front of people I don’t know and do a photoshoot. I’m bleeding out a miscarriage,’” she wrote in the caption. “She was like, ‘You’ll have to, or you’ll be sued.’”
The complicated situation between the two was labeled as the "land of the strange"
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