Cole Sprouse Claims He Received 'Nasty' and 'Criminal' Backlash from Fans After Lili Reinhart Split

Cole Sprouse is looking back on the darker aspects of his split from Riverdale costar Lili Reinhart. 

When the on-and-off-screen exes announced their real-world breakup in 2020, Sprouse says they were both met with backlash from fans that went far beyond nasty comments on the internet. 

“I get a lot of stuff sent to my house or my loved ones’ houses. Death threats, really nasty, honestly criminal stuff,” he told Vulture. 

Sprouse, 31, acknowledged he and Reinhart, 26, haven't been the only Riverdale stars to face fan uproar after a split. 

"And I do think it’s because at least four of us at this table have dated our coworkers,” Sprouse continued, referencing the former relationship between castmates Camila Mendes and Charles Melton. “Is that just a consequence of an incredible love? Or is that what fanaticism looks like? Perhaps because those lines were blurred to our audience, it’s hard to break those things up when life moves on.”

Sprouse has previously acknowledged that his and Reinhart's breakup was "really hard for both of us,” particularly because they had to keep working together.

"I know we both did quite a bit of damage to each other," he admitted on the Call Her Daddy podcast. "We're good friends now, which is awesome. We work really well together now."

All the Riverdale exes are now in new relationships: Reinhart is now dating Jack Martin, while Sprouse has started a relationship with Ari Fournier; Mendes is in a relationship with Rudy Mancuso, and a source told PEOPLE Melton has been “quietly dating” Chloe Bennet.

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New episodes of Riverdale’s final season air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.