Gage was briefly married to celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton in 2023
Credit: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty for Netflix
NEED TO KNOW
- Lukas Gage told PEOPLE that he believes the best romances develop gradually
- He added that he thinks they are built on a strong foundation of “friendship” rather than “love at first sight.”
- The actor caught up with PEOPLE during the premiere of his new Netflix movie, Voicemails for Isabelle, in Hollywood, Calif., on June 16
Lukas Gage is opening up about what he's looking for in his next big romance — and why he's not about “love at first sight.”
Gage, 31, caught up with PEOPLE at the premiere of his new Netflix romantic comedy, Voicemails for Isabelle, in Hollywood, Calif., on June 16. During the conversation, the actor explained what “rom-com love” looks like for him in real life.
Credit: Diyah Pera/Netflix
“You know, a lot of people think that it's like a very quick, you know, love-at-first-sight kind of situation, and I disagree with that,” Gage said.
“I think a real rom-com love is something that grows over time, and is something that you have to start with a good foundation, like a friendship, you know? It doesn't need to be this crazy, love-at-first-sight feeling,” he added.
Gage — who married celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton in April 2023 in a ceremony officiated by Kim Kardashian before the pair split seven months later — has previously opened up about losing himself in the relationship too quickly.
Credit: Taylor Hill/Getty
“I didn't recognize myself, and everyone around me didn't recognize who I was," Gage said while recalling the day he married Appleton, 43, during a September 2025 appearance on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast.
Later that year, in October 2025, the White Lotus actor exclusively told PEOPLE that, in hindsight, he believes he jumped into the relationship as a reaction to constant online speculation about his sexuality.
"With my very public relationship, I think I was rebelling in a way, because I felt scrutinized by people that I was either hiding this big secret or that I was taking roles from people that were queer," Gage told PEOPLE.
“It was an act of rebellion, like, 'Okay, I'm just going to be so in your face and be so public-facing about this thing that you can all just shut up,' " he added.
Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty
During the Voicemails for Isabelle premiere, Gage also spoke to PEOPLE about playing a chef named Arthur in the movie and how viewers are going to "hate to love him." Arthur works with Zoey Deutch's character, Jill, an aspiring baker who leaves voicemails for her late sister, Isabelle, on her old phone number, believing it was discontinued.
"He's a nightmare. But he's a lovable nightmare," Gage said of Arthur. "And what was supposed to be a one-night fling [with Jill], he thinks is gonna be more. But we're gonna hate to love him."
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Gage joked that he couldn't quite draw from real life for the role as he's a "horrible cook."
"I don't know how to cook. I'm a horrible cook," he said. "I should not be in the kitchen."
Voicemails for Isabelle is now streaming on Netflix.
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