Senator Cory Booker Once Dated A Popular Actor. A Look Back At Their Romance

Senator Cory Booker has been a prominent A-lister in the Democratic Party for years, and has basked in the glow of political fame. The famously outspoken Booker has earned his spotlight, what with being the first Black U.S. senator from New Jersey, his hard-fought campaign for the Democratic nomination during the 2020 election, and his headline-grabbing romance with actress Rosario Dawson. While news broke in February 2022 that the pair had split, their break-up came after more than two years of dating — which is longer than many Hollywood marriages.

Booker, who is 10 years older than Dawson, first sparked a romance with the "Ahsoka" star in October 2018, and the former flames recalled their meet cute in an interview with the The Washington Post in 2019. "I mean, gosh, that night we talked for hours and hours," Booker reflected. "I had trouble asking for her phone number. ... I think I said something really stupid like, 'Uh, how would I get in touch with you?' And she mercifully said something like, 'Oh, you want my phone number?' And my insides were like, 'Hell, yeah!'"

Dawson first confirmed their romance to TMZ in March 2019, when asked by a paparazzi about her relationship to Booker. "He's a wonderful human being," Dawson shared. "I am just grateful to be with someone who I respect and love and admire so much, who is so brilliant and kind and caring and loving." This sort of effusive praise and love became commonplace for the pair as they gushed about each other during interviews and supported one another on social media, celebrating each other's career successes — such as when Dawson took to Instagram to sweetly commemorate Booker's reelection in November 2020.

Both Cory Booker and Rosario Dawson have been in a number of public relationships in the past. Throughout Dawson's stunning career transformation, she's been linked to Eric Andre, Joshua Jackson, and director Danny Boyle, among others. Booker, meanwhile, had a romance with poet Cleo Wade for some time before finding Dawson, and he even made Town & Country's list of the "Top 40 Bachelors" in America back in 2013. However, it seems that something clicked when they found each other — at least for a while.

"Both of us, you know, we've had relationships, but I'm not sure if I've ever fully given myself over to a relationship as much as I have with her and allowed myself to be as vulnerable," Booker told The Washington Post in 2019. The same year, amid Booker's presidential campaign, Dawson told Extra, "It has meant a lot to me to know he's running for the highest public office in America and he's still centering us in our relationship and prioritizing, you know, creating our foundation."

During the start of their romance, Dawson lived in Los Angeles while Booker lived and worked in New Jersey. However, in July 2020, amid the pandemic and global lockdowns, Dawson decided it was the right time to at least be locked down with the man she loved, so she packed up her stuff and moved in with Booker at his home in Newark. Unfortunately, couples often drift apart and the pair called it quits less than two years later. However, an unnamed source close to Booker told People that they have remained "good friends" even after breaking up.