Inside Hallmark Star Trevor Donovan's Mysterious Love Life

Trevor Donovan keeps his private affairs away from the spotlight, but that doesn't mean his love life has been quiet. In fact, things got particularly busy after "90210" viewers learned that the actor's character, Teddy Montgomery, is gay. "It's been good for me," he said in a 2011 Life & Style interview published by Today. "Girls want to challenge it. They kind of assume I'm [gay in real life] and try to change me back. Of course, I let them!" But he wasn't about to share who those girls were — then or ever.

Donovan's relationship history is the dictionary definition of mysterious. Over the years, he has been linked to high-profile names, including Sonia Rockwell, Kerry Kennedy, and Paris Jackson. However, the Hallmark star has rarely commented on any of them. "When he's in a relationship, he tries his best to keep it out of the spotlight out of respect for the person he's dating," a rep told Newsweek in 2022.

Donovan's rep revealed he had recently ended a relationship, though the identity of his then-girlfriend is anyone's guess. Donovan is a lot more comfortable discussing Montgomery's love life. "I got to play a character and tell a kind of a coming out story, which I thought the CW announcement handled very, very well," Donovan said of how "90210" impacted his life in a 2021 interview with Nicki Swift. By now we know not to expect Donovan to use that many words to describe his own private life.

In the early 2010s, Trevor Donovan was linked to Kerry Kennedy (seen above), the daughter of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy. But Kerry's family has denied that their relationship has ever been romantic. "Trevor and Kerry have been tight for a couple of years. They travel around the world together," a family member told the Daily Mail in 2014. Kerry, who is nearly two decades older than Donovan, sees him as nothing but a friend.

In a 2020 Instagram post, Donovan revealed he is equally fond of Kerry's mother, sharing he'd been close with both since 2012. Donovan's relationship with Paris Jackson followed a similar pattern. After sparking romance rumors when they were spotted holding hands around Los Angeles in July 2017, Michael Jackson's daughter played down the affectionate gesture. "Y'all need to chill lol hand holding is a very common thing," she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, accompanied by photos of her holding hands with friends (via Daily Mail).

Donovan, who is nearly 20 years Paris' senior, also denied the rumors. "They are just friends," his rep told Just Jared, adding they had been working on an animal adoption campaign together. His only romantic relationship the public might have caught wind of was with "Being Mary Jane" actor Sonia Rockwell. But even then, neither ever confirmed the relationship. According to the Daily Mail, they were reportedly together between 2006 and 2009. They were photographed at events together during that timeframe.

Trevor Donovan's chemistry with his dance partner Emma Slater on "Dancing with the Stars" was evident from the get-go. But it continued to grow throughout Season 31, peaking with their steamy rumba during the semi-finals. Not even the show's host could keep from speculating. "I gotta know — are those your acting skills or was that real?" Alfonso Ribeiro wondered after the performance. But Ribeiro's juicy question for Donovan and Slater had "DWTS" fans all fired up.

Many saw the attitude as disrespectful, especially because Slater had recently split from fellow "DWTS" pro Sasha Farber. "Emma and Sasha have given so much to DWTS, they deserved better than that. And so did Trevor," one X user slammed. Slater was similarly taken aback. "I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'That question! Like, wow, just out the blue,'" she told Us Weekly. Besides, she was grateful for their connection, a necessary component in dance. "We really do get on and have great chemistry, which made this dance so much easier," she said.

When Slater sparked relationship rumors with Mauricio Umansky amid his split from Kyle Richards, Donovan stood up for her. In an October 2023 tweet, he delved into the high-pressure environment of competitive dancing, arguing that dance partners lean on each other to get through. "Forming a deep bond and friendship with your partner is natural under such circumstances ... I guess some will always see drama where there's none," he wrote.