Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

BY LAURA SCHREFFLER

PHOTOGRAPHY JUAN VELOZ

STYLING JASON REMBERT

GROOMING JUANITA LOPEZ

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT MATTHEW GOLDEN

STYLING ASSISTANT WILTON WHITE

SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE GEORGIAN HOTEL, SANTA MONICA, CALIF

What does it mean to be a heartthrob in 2025? If you’re Gavin Casalegno, it means leading with softness. It means learning to say no, to be still, to let vulnerability show. It means playing the romantic lead on a Gen Z juggernaut while quietly building a life — and a marriage — far from the chaos. Yet, Casalegno isn’t just coasting on charm, though he has it ample amounts. He’s evolving — and he’s not afraid to bring you with him — which might be the greatest secret to his newfound success.

In a way, you can look at the summer of 2025 as the summer Casalegno turned serious. He’s not just reflective about the character he portrays onscreen, but his life in general. Though he’s only 25, there’s a maturity, a reflectiveness about him that belies his age.

But then, in an era of overnight stardom, curated personas, and social media notoriety, Casalegno easily offers something else: emotional honesty. And nowhere is that more visible than in his portrayal of Jeremiah Fisher, the effervescent, endlessly loyal younger brother in The Summer I Turned Pretty. For the show’s third and final season — which debuts on Prime Video July 16 — Casalegno promises a tonal shift, one that will ask more of both his character — and of himself.

Season 3 marks a culmination. It brings the love triangle that’s defined the show’s emotional core to its breaking point. And this time, Jeremiah isn’t content to sit back. “This is going to be the most emotionally mature season we’ve done,” Casalegno confides.

Based on the bestselling YA book trilogy by Jenny Han, who also serves as showrunner of the television series, The Summer I Turned Pretty follows the emotional, romantic, and sometimes heartbreaking journey of Isabel “Belly” Conklin (Lola Tung) as she returns each year to Cousins Beach — a fictional coastal resort town based on the likes of The Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard, and Cape Cod — and finds herself entangled in a love triangle with brothers Conrad (Chris Briney) and Jeremiah Fisher. The story, which first premiered on Prime Video in 2022, quickly became a phenomenon, resonating with viewers for its quiet nostalgia, emotional complexity, and evocative summer setting. But it is Jeremiah — the charming, sunshine-soaked younger brother — who has always been the heart of the series.

“I think this season is going to be really fun,” Casalegno continues. “It’s similar to the books, but it’s going to switch things up.”

Speaking of the books, Casalegno read the entire series before shooting — part research, part curiosity, part commitment to making sure the work hit as hard as it should. “I think there are some really great differences from page to screen,” he says. “We got to flesh out our characters more. When you’re reading a book, you fill in blanks with your imagination, but on screen you can’t do that. You have to say, ‘Who is this character? Why are they doing this?’ You have to give them motives.”

That level of character study has paid off. Jeremiah’s arc across three seasons is one of the show’s most nuanced, shifting from light comic relief to emotional cornerstone. Where Season 1 saw him mostly on the sidelines — the lovable flirt, the devoted brother — Season 2 cracked open his grief, giving viewers a glimpse into the sadness beneath his sunny exterior. Season 3, Casalegno says, will take that even further. “You really get to see what a mature, adulting Jeremiah looks like. He’s doing the best he can. He messes up in love, but it’s growth. I’m excited for people to see it.”

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

Season 3 — which Casalegno had wrapped by the time of our conversation — dives deeper into the emotional fallout of Season 2’s final scenes. It’s a turning point, both for the story and for the characters themselves. Jeremiah starts to navigate what it means to truly be chosen — and what happens when love comes with real stakes. “You see him as a teenager — fun, bubbly, super friendly — but immature. Then in the second season, there’s more emotional range. You see how [his mother’s] death affects him,” Casalegno says.

That evolution isn’t just about Jeremiah. It’s reflective of Gavin’s own journey, both as an actor and as a man. “I’ve grown so much between Season 1 and now,” he reflects. “Coming back to this world with that new perspective… it made me more protective of him. Of his softness.”

That softness is something he leans into. “There’s this great mix of maturity and vulnerability,” he says. “I want people to walk away from the season thinking, ‘Whoa, this character really grew’ — from teen to adult, handling responsibility.”

He adds, “I think it’s very masculine to be vulnerable. And I think that’s something I’m really excited for people to see.”

That balance — between emotional strength and emotional honesty — is what’s helped make Jeremiah one of the most beloved and debated characters in the series. It also comes down to Casalegno’s believability that makes him a truly dimensional, layered character, one that we can identify with and support because we, too, have been in his shoes.

“In the book, people often say that Jeremiah only liked Belly because his older brother did, but I don’t think that’s true. I think he probably had feelings stirring for her for a while. You know those ‘what if’ questions: ‘what if we’re meant to be?’ They were close friends growing up, and that makes sense. It’s not just about competition, and that’s how I approached the character.”

Thus, in a show driven by longing glances, romantic complications, and formative heartbreaks, Jeremiah’s openness is a kind of superpower. But it also makes him more fragile, more breakable. In a sense, it’s made him a new kind of romantic hero: a real one. In his hands, Jeremiah is the heartthrob who smiles through heartbreak, overextends himself for others, and craves affection that isn’t always returned. He’s a sun-drenched version of the boy you hoped would notice you in high school. And trust me, fans have noticed. The series became the #1 show on Amazon in its premiere weekend and is among Prime Video’s top three series in terms of global acquisition. And, according to Deadline, it has driven subscription growth substantially for the streamer, particularly among women aged 18-34.

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

What’s made it a cultural phenomenon is a seamless fusion of story, sentiment, and summer magic — as well as some additional winning components, including the ability to balance romance, character development, and issues that relate to a wide range of ages. Then, the show’s creators have leveraged social media, particularly TikTok, to build hype and engagement; the hashtag #TheSummerITurnedPretty has accumulated billions of views to date. Han’s involvement ensured that the television series was nearly faithful to the books, of which have topped the New York Times bestseller list. Then, there’s the music, with many tracks either recorded by or inspired by Taylor Swift-inspired tracks.

But primarily, it’s the well-developed, well-rounded characters, and the authenticity that the cast brings to their roles that have resonated with audiences — and no one has done so more than Casalegno. Fans come for the character, but they stay for a glimpse into the life of the man himself — at press time, his combined following on Instagram and TikTok was over 10 million. Although I think it has to do with the savvy, influencer-like vibe he promotes with surfing videos, the occasional shirtless shot, and reels of his life bouncing around the world with wife Chey, Casalegno believes this largely has to do with response to his character.  “People love him,” he says.

“They’re rooting for him. But also, he frustrates them. And I get that. He’s complicated. And I think people forget — they’re all kids, still. And kids mess up. But the way people feel about Jeremiah means we’re doing something right. I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘I see myself in him.’ Or, ‘He made me feel seen in a way I didn’t expect.’ That’s the best part. That’s the point.”

Jeremiah Fisher may be fictional, but for Gavin Casalegno, the role has been anything but performative. It’s been reflective. Transformative. And, in many ways, a mirror.

“Art imitates life — or is it life that imitates art?” he says with a smile, adding, “It’s kind of wild to live with a character like this, comparing my personal growth to his; it’s freakishly similar in a lot of ways, just through a different lens. Jeremiah has changed me. I think he’s made me softer, too. He’s made me want to listen more. And to lead with love.”

And for a generation learning to do just that, there may be no better role model.

BECOMING GAVIN

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

Off-screen, Gavin Casalegno is giving major golden retriever energy — and I mean that in the best way possible. Although the day of our shoot is a gloomy, rainy Saturday, he bounds onto our set at Santa Monica’s Georgian Hotel with endless amounts of energy, all tanned skin — peeling a bit from a prior pre-shoot surf day — white teeth, tousled hair, and a thousand apologies for being late. He gamely talks about Harry Potter and says wholesome things like “cool beans.” He’s the kind of person you can’t help but to instantly love: he speaks in exclamation points, excitedly, and seems to brings the light wherever he goes.

That being said, in reality, Casalegno is just as thoughtful and self-aware as the character that made him famous. But where Jeremiah often reacts to the world around him, Gavin is learning how to move through it with greater intention — and he’s bringing those lessons into every part of his life, from work to marriage to his own inner growth. He has entered a chapter of intentional living that’s markedly different from his early career. While many young actors might embrace the spotlight with abandon, Casalegno is making careful, deliberate choices about how he shows up in the world… and who he wants to be when the cameras stop rolling.

He’s balancing fame with faith, momentum with mindfulness. His marriage to Cheyanne King Casalegno, a registered nurse, last November, only aided in that emotional growth. Chey, a quieter foil to his happy-go-lucky, bubbly demeanor — whom he met during a formative period in both of their lives, isn’t a detour from his public path — it’s a grounding force.

“We met in LA, but we both lived in Dallas at the time,” he explains, sharing that after they were introduced by a mutual acquaintance, they became fast friends first, bonded by their mutual religious faith and common interests such as beach volleyball. “We had a lot of similarities and spent a lot of time together doing those things,” he explains.

But their friendship didn’t transform into what it is today overnight. It, like everything else, took time. “Emotionally, I was still growing, still maturing. She was very mature, and that scared me a little.”

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

Today, just over a half year of marriage, Casalegno displays that maturity when speaking about both love and life that speaks to the amount of growth that’s transpired, sharing, “Being a husband has completely changed how I define love. It’s not something you fully get until you’re married or in a serious relationship. Love is selfless service; it’s more selfless than you imagine. You think you understand, but there’s no way you could until you’re in it: love is about out-serving and out-honoring each other.”

The fact that the relationship took root when they were both straddling two cities, two phases of life, feels like a metaphor for everything else Gavin’s been navigating — a career based in fiction, anchored by an evolving sense of self in real life. “If I had to give our love story a name, I think I’d call it, “Met in a Far Place,’” he says with his typically toothy smile. The two work because they’re both so chilled out, have common interests,  and lean heavily on their religion. But they also work for one very important reason. “I definitely think marrying your best friend helps,” Casalegno admits. But, as someone who found ‘the one’ young, he does have some sage advice for his peers when it comes to looking for love. “People always go, ‘I’m going to meet my soulmate at a bar tonight’ and it’s like, really? That’s the plan? I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but you’re not doing yourself any favors. [My advice to anyone looking for love would be]: don’t look for love in the wrong places.”

These days, the right place is kind of, well, anywhere. Whether it’s at home in LA, on honeymoon in the Maldives, hanging out in Hawaii, on set in London — from which he’s just returned — wherever Chey is, is home.

“When you’re around people who really love you, it’s just easier to be yourself,” he says simply. “That is home.”
And while that was never quite the vibe on the Wilmington, North Carolina set of The Summer I Turned Pretty, he was still sad to say goodbye to it. “I wouldn’t call it ‘home’ so much as I would call it a consistent comfort,” he says, sharing, “I actually made a lot of really good lifelong friends outside of set. I’d hang out with them, surf, get coffee, do Bible studies — all sorts of things. I never really felt alone, or like I needed people from set to join in. Even grocery shopping I’d run into someone I knew. I was definitely the type to surf in the morning and play volleyball at night.”

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

What Casalegno is pragmatic enough to realize is that his fun in the sun there also served as a steppingstone to his future. “[The cast and I] always knew it would end eventually, so we didn’t plant roots there — but we knew it would lead to bigger and better things.”

And it has. In addition to previous credits like Darren Aronofsky’s 2014 fantasy film Noah, where he made his big screen debut opposite Russell Crowe and Sir Anthony Hopkins, as well as The Vampire Diaries and Walker, Pretty led to a role opposite Walton Goggins and Tyler Posey in 2024’s Queen of the Ring, an independent film that follows the story of WWE Hall of Fame-inducted wrestler Mildred Burke, a world champion who broke glass ceilings throughout the course of her career from the 1930s through the 1950s; two upcoming projects — one of which, aforementioned, wrapped in London; and the creation of his surf-friendly clothing line, Kai Lo (“kai” meaning “ocean” and “lo” meaning “to behold”).

“With fashion, it’s kind of this everyday opportunity to love people and do it well. Fashion offers a good space for conversations — you start talking about it, and then inevitably start talking about life. With Kai Lo, I want to grow that into more of a passion project that spreads goodness and makes the world better. The name — those two words — really reflect how I live, and with [the brand in general], I like to share things I’ve learned, like ‘’depth over surface’ or ‘power is in your perspective.’ These phrases mean something to me.”

In a way, they also reflect where he wants to go, in both his life and his career. The ocean tides might take him in surprising directions, but he wants to remain as intentional and grounded as he can be, with an eye towards more behind-the-scenes work directing and producing.

“With projects, I want to do stuff that leaves people feeling encouraged or inspired, not hopeless,” he declares earnestly, noting that he gravitates towards rom-coms for that very reason. “I’m a sucker for them,” he admits. “You always remember a great rom-com, like 10 Things I Hate About You or Crazy, Stupid, Love. They’re the kinds of movies you watch with friends and rewatch forever — so that’s where I’m headed. We’ve got a few in pre-production that I’m really excited about, and some that are being written and funded right now.”

But the point is, they are projects that he is actively excited about, actively choosing. At this moment in time, he is steering the ship, making choices that are both personal and reflective of his path.

“There’s a version of me five years ago who would’ve said yes to everything,” he admits. “That guy was trying to prove something. Now? I’m just trying to be someone I respect.”

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

That internal shift has reshaped everything from how he works to how he rests. “I do breath work. I meditate. I write a lot. Journaling has been very helpful for me.”

Those tools aren’t performative wellness practices — they’re essential. They help him stay rooted, especially as his visibility increases. “It’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind when everyone else is constantly posting, doing, moving,” he says. “But I’ve realized my pace is my own. I don’t want to burn out. I want to enjoy it.”

He talks about stillness not as something passive, but as a powerful act. An active reclaiming of space, of self. “My faith is the foundation for everything,” he says. “It’s what reminds me who I am — and who I’m not.”

The simplicity of that statement belies how much clarity it offers. Faith, for Casalegno, isn’t a buzzword — it’s a compass. It helps him filter what matters, what aligns, what distracts.

In a culture that celebrates noise, Gavin is choosing quiet. In a career that demands constant projection, he’s finding value in privacy. “Not everything needs to be shared,” he says.

He loves the craft — but not for the clout. “I love storytelling,” he says. “And sometimes, the best stories are the ones that scare you a little.” He wants roles that challenge him, that stretch his capacity for empathy and depth. That offer him — and others — a chance to feel seen.

And yet, he’s quick to name that the most important story he’ll ever live isn’t one on screen. It’s the one he’s writing every day in the way he shows up for his wife, his family, his faith, and himself.

“It’s not about being the most famous,” he says. “It’s about the impact. How did I treat people? What did I leave behind?”

Casalegno doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but he’s not afraid to ask the big questions — about what matters, what lasts, and who he’s becoming in the process. He’s choosing presence over performance, reflection over reaction. And he’s showing up — not as a character, but as himself.

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz

When asked what he hopes people remember about him, he doesn’t hesitate. “That I was kind,” he says. “That I led with heart.”

I see this as we head outside and he — unmissable due to his 6’2” height, bronze skin, and picture perfect good looks — is immediately stopped by excited fans begging for a photo. Although he is in work mode, he obliges. Later, he will reference this, saying, “I do try to really value and prioritize my private life more than I used to these days — I’ve gotten better at setting boundaries, like saying ‘no’ when I’m out with friends or on a date night; you’ve got to preserve your peace. At the same time, everyone wants to be seen, known, and loved. That’s what drives us to find community, friends, spouses. That’s what the show has given me — the chance to help people feel seen and loved, and in a pure and powerful way. And with fans, I try to be intentional in the one-on-one moments.”

He smiles. “That’s what I want people to know. That I didn’t fake it. That I was honest about the whole thing.”
Then, almost as if summing up the season he’s in — the summer, the generation he’s speaking to — he adds with a laugh, “It’s like when your professor surprises you with a pop quiz on adulting. You just sit there like, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing.’ And you’re guessing through life — A, B, C, D. It’s been a big season for adulting and figuring it all out. So much travel, different kinds of work, so many things pulling at my attention. It’s been a juggling act. Very stretching. But good.”

And maybe that’s what it means to be a heartthrob in 2025, too — not just looking the part, but living with heart. Not posturing, but participating. Not perfect, but present. Real.

Gavin Casalegno isn’t playing a role anymore. He’s just being himself — and that is, most certainly, the most compelling character yet. 

Photo Credit: Juan Veloz