Minka Kelly dating history explored as FNL alum shuts down question about BF Dan Reynold’s 

Minka Kelly’s love life had long been part of the larger conversation around her career. When she stepped into her breakout moment on Friday Night Lights in 2006, she was also beginning a low-key romance with Taylor Kitsch. The relationship eventually ran its course.

By 2008, Minka Kelly's love life turned towards a sports star. She ended up dating Derek Jeter, and that chapter lasted three years before ending in 2011. Jeter moved on with Hannah Jeter, and Minka Kelly kept her focus on work and life. Her next major headline came in 2020, when news broke about her relationship with Trevor Noah.

Then, toward the end of 2022, her name resurfaced again. A Page Six report on November 27 noted that Kelly had sparked romance rumors with Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds after the two were spotted out together in Los Angeles. Paparazzi caught them at Café Stella in Silver Lake. It had been her first public connection to anyone since her split from Noah in May. Most recently, Minka Kelly grabbed attention again, this time not for a sighting, but for the way she awkwardly shut down Jenna Bush Hager’s question about Dan Reynolds.

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Minka Kelly leaves Jenna Bush Hager stunned after deflecting a question about Dan Reynolds:

Minka Kelly had a tense moment on Today with Jenna & Friends when she awkwardly shut down Jenna Bush Hager’s attempt to ask about her relationship with Dan Reynolds. The actress appeared on the show on Tuesday alongside co-host Olivia Munn to promote her new film, Champagne Problems, but the conversation shifted when Jenna Bush Hager tried to steer things into more personal territory.

“Speaking about the holidays and love in this romcom, you have a very big love in your life right now,”

Jenna Bush Hager began, stumbling slightly over her words. She followed up by asking,

“Talk about your relationship if you feel comfortable.”

Kelly leaned back in her seat and looked visibly startled by the shift. Even as Kelly appeared uncomfortable, Jenna Bush Hager pressed on, bringing up the recent birthday message Kelly had shared for the Imagine Dragons singer and describing it as “beautiful.” Kelly replied,

“Yeah, it was beautiful,”

Though her hesitant tone and glance off-camera suggested she might have been seeking help from her publicist.

“I’m very lucky. He’s a really good guy,”

Kelly eventually said. Hager gave a nervous laugh and added,

“Sounds like you don’t want to talk about it. That’s fine.”

Before the moment grew more awkward, Olivia Munn stepped in, recalling her own positive memory of working with Reynolds on a music video. She described him as “so kind” and said she “love[s]” the musician, which opened the door for Kelly to relax and share a bit more.

“He’s the best, they’re all the best,” Kelly said of Dan Reynolds and the Imagine Dragons members. She added that the theme of unexpected love in her movie echoed aspects of her own relationship:

“And I think there’s something sort of similar to the movie, in the theme of love sort of hits you when least expect it.”

According to a July 2, 2024, Page Six report, Dan Reynolds and Minka Kelly first connected by exchanging their personal work before ever meeting in person.

“She’s like, ‘Well, if you’re going to share your art, I can share something with you, but it’s very vulnerable for me. Do you want to do this or not?”

Reynolds told People.

In 2022, after his split from ex-wife Aja Volkman, Dan Reynolds was introduced to Minka Kelly through a mutual friend while she was working in the U.K. Because they were long-distance early on, Minka Kelly shared her memoir Tell Me Everything, which detailed her childhood trauma, homelessness, and abortion.

“She was very scared for me to read the book because we hadn’t met, just as much as I was scared for her to hear a song that I’d written, but we shared it and then it ended up being a really beautiful thing and brought us a lot closer. I think it helped us both kind of understand each other on a deeper level quite quickly,” shared Dan Reynolds.

Dan Reynolds described the experience as a “really strange” but “awesome way” to meet someone.

“I was hearing all her life stories from youth to now, and she had a really hard, colorful, beautiful life, getting to read it all before you even meet somebody… I’ve never had that kind of introduction to someone,” he shared.

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A Birthday, a love note: Minka Kelly opens up about life with Dan Reynolds

Minka Kelly marked Dan Reynolds’ 38th birthday with a tribute that revealed just how deeply the relationship had affected her. The actress turned to Instagram to share a personal note along with a selfie of the couple.

“This beautiful man has healed wounds in me he did not inflict – simply by being himself. By embodying true masculinity. The kind that is vulnerable, honest and loving,” she wrote.

Minka Kelly reflected on how Reynolds had changed her perspective on kindness and affection.

“I thought I knew kindness. Love. Patience. Generosity. Care. I thought I knew how to be gentle. And then I met him,”

She continued, describing how his approach to fatherhood and co-parenting had left a strong impression on her.

“Watching him father and love his babies. Honoring and respecting their beautiful mother. Doing everything he can to be absolutely everything everyone needs from him. Finding ways every day to light up the lives of the ones so lucky enough to be loved by him.”

She went on to describe his character in a way that suggested stability and emotional safety.

“His benevolence, his priorities, his values, and his honesty are all rooted in love. And as a result, we all feel safe and at ease in his orbit.”

Minka Kelly thanked him for what he brought into her life.

“Thank you for loving me. Thank you for blessing my life in ways I never thought possible – but always dreamed of. I love you, Dan. Happiest birthday to you.”