When V and Jennie were filmed strolling by the Seine holding hands in Paris in May 2023, many fans treated it as an unofficial soft launch of a relationship that had already been buzzing for a year.
French media and global entertainment outlets highlighted the clip, while Korean sites noted that both HYBE and YG repeated a familiar line about “privacy” and said they could not confirm anything about the artists’ personal lives.
That silence only amplified a rumor timeline that actually stretched back to late 2021, when V briefly followed Jennie on Instagram shortly after opening his account and quickly unfollowed once fans noticed.
Claims of Jeju Island sightings in 2022, leaked photos allegedly showing them on dates, and coordinated fashion details turned a simple accidental follow into a full narrative that fans, YouTubers, and blogs pieced together in real time.
By December 2023, Korean outlets such as JTBC were reporting that the two had broken up shortly before V enlisted for his mandatory military service, citing anonymous industry sources.
Coverage from Indian and international entertainment sections framed it as a quiet split, with no agency statement and no denial, which left room for every theory, from a mutual, practical decision to a story exaggerated by unverified leaks.
Military Clock, Paris Memories: Why The Story Is Back Now
V enlisted in the South Korean army on December 11, 2023, entering service alongside RM after a final Weverse live for fans.
Military timelines published by Korean and international outlets projected his discharge for June 10, 2025, making him one of the last BTS members to complete service as the group prepared for a full-team comeback.
With strict schedules and limited public appearances, his romantic life mostly disappeared from view, which should have cooled rumors but instead turned older “evidence” into a nostalgic touchpoint for fans.
As 2025 moved forward, media in India and elsewhere noted how little had actually been confirmed, even as small details kept reigniting curiosity.
V (BTS) and Jennie (Credit: CNN)
Reports pointed to V’s accessories, including a necklace some fans believed carried the letters “JV,” and to social posts from Jennie’s creative circle that seemed to reference his ceremonial baseball pitch in Los Angeles while using her music, feeding speculation that subtle references had replaced any overt couple content.
Then came the Tyler, the Creator concert in Seoul and similar high-profile events. Entertainment sections from outlets such as the Economic Times and K-pop news aggregators detailed how V attended with RM and J-Hope, while Jennie appeared separately yet posted her own backstage shots with the same American rapper and overlapping merchandise.
Fans who had tracked their timeline from Instagram follows to Paris footage treated the concert as a post-military soft reset, while more skeptical voices argued it simply reflected two global stars sharing mutual industry circles.
Staged Photos, Fandom Fatigue, And What Rumors Mean In 2026
The V–Jennie story took another sharp turn in October 2025 when an X user claimed that some of the viral couple images were staged with involvement from Jennie’s team and the notorious leaker known as Gurumi Haribo.
K-pop outlet roundups looked at the alleged confession, which suggested that edits and photos were created for “business” reasons, and highlighted the backlash from fans who insisted both idols had been victims of privacy violations and weaponized gossip.
Articles by KBIZoom and other Korean entertainment sites have also traced how Jennie’s dating life became a recurring flashpoint, from earlier G-Dragon speculation to the V narrative and then to her later decision to address rumors more directly in interviews and video appearances.
At the same time, timelines compiled by fan-driven news hubs and mainstream outlets describe the V-Jennie situation as one of K-pop’s longest-running rumor cycles, stretching from 2021 to at least late 2025 with no clear on-record confirmation from either company.
Pieces from sites such as KBIZoom and PopRant highlight how every new overlap, from similar outfits to shared locations, now lands in a fandom that is split between shippers who still believe in a lasting romance and listeners who worry more about harassment, invasive stalking, and the mental health cost of constant surveillance.
Military discharge added another layer. With V scheduled to complete service in mid-2025 and BTS planning a full-group return soon after, industry analysts quoted in outlets like Today.com and News18 have argued that renewed dating chatter could clash with tightly managed comeback campaigns if not handled carefully.
Jennie’s own post-YG career, including her work with new management and global luxury projects, makes her similarly cautious about any narrative that might overshadow business moves.
What emerges from this mix of reports, rumors, and corrections is less a simple celebrity love story and more a case study in how modern pop culture processes relationships.
Leaked content, algorithm-driven feeds, and cross-platform fan speculation can keep a rumored couple “alive” years after the real relationship has changed or ended, while official silence leaves just enough space for every new sighting or symbol to feel loaded.
As of the latest coverage at the end of 2025, no outlet can point to a fresh, on-record statement about V and Jennie getting back together after his military service, and both HYBE and YG maintain the same line about respecting privacy.
Yet the story persists across Indian entertainment pages, K-pop YouTube channels and global social platforms, proving that for some fandoms, the question of “are they or aren’t they” has become less about a definitive answer and more about the ongoing thrill, frustration, and emotional investment of not quite knowing.
If social media gossip ruled the conversation, Lee Min-ho would already be secretly married, engaged twice, and juggling at least three famous girlfriends.
Yet when reputable Korean and international outlets line up the actual record, the picture in early 2026 looks far more straightforward: a hugely popular actor who has publicly acknowledged only a handful of relationships and is currently described as single by his agency.
Longtime fans still remember that he confirmed romances with co-stars Park Min Young and Bae Suzy, both widely covered at the time.
Articles from Pinkvilla, KDramaStars, and Sportskeeda recount how he and Park Min Young dated around 2011 after City Hunter, then parted ways months later, while his relationship with Suzy ran from 2015 to 2017 and included joint trips abroad before conflicting schedules and his enlistment reportedly contributed to their breakup.
Since then, the official line has stayed cautious. A widely shared explainer on Lee’s relationship rumors from BYU’s copyright certificate site notes that although he has been linked to several women, only Suzy and Park Min Young were ever clearly acknowledged, and there is no documentation of a secret wedding despite persistent “Lee Min-ho’s real wife” clickbait.
Fan pages on Facebook also stress that he is not married at present and that any future relationship or marriage news would be announced by him or MYM Entertainment directly.
Denials, Viral Clips, and the Park Bom Problem
What keeps Lee Min-ho at the center of relationship chatter is not just his leading-man status but the sheer volume of rumors surrounding him.
In 2021, Dispatch claimed he was dating former MOMOLAND member Yeonwoo, reporting late-night movie outings and gaming sessions, only for both sides to clarify that they were just acquaintances and not a couple.
Fast forward to 2025, and a fresh wave of speculation attached his name to 2NE1’s Park Bom, who repeatedly joked online that he was her husband.
Lee Min-ho (Credit: BBC)
Korean outlets, including The Korea Times and DIPE, reported that MYM Entertainment stepped in with an unambiguous statement, stressing that Lee Min-ho had no personal connection with Park Bom and that the dating talk was groundless, while Park Bom herself later clarified that she was single and had only been posting playfully.
Despite such clear denials, YouTube content and TikTok edits often present speculative narratives as if they were fact.
One popular video even painted a fictional scenario of Lee Min-ho secretly preparing to marry actress Song Hye Kyo in Paris after years of hidden dating, using variety-show appearances and edited photos as “evidence,” even though no credible news outlet or agency has supported that storyline.
Fans who follow Korean press closely have grown more vocal about separating fan fiction and shipping culture from verified reporting, especially when misleading thumbnails or titles are used to drive views.
These repeated rumor cycles also highlight how different his real communication style is from the noise around him.
Interviews collected by Indian and Korean entertainment sites portray someone who leans romantic by nature and is very deliberate once he decides to date, which stands in contrast to the revolving-door image created by countless gossip items.
Marriage Hints, Ideal Type Talk, And What 2026 Could Look Like
While Lee Min-ho has not confirmed a current partner in 2026, his recent remarks about love and marriage have shifted the conversation from “who is he dating” toward “how serious is he about settling down.”
At a 2025 press event for his film Omniscient Reader, covered by The Indian Express, he admitted that approaching 40 and experiencing personal loss, including the death of a beloved pet, had made him think more deeply about family, fatherhood and what truly matters off screen.
In that coverage, he is described as someone who once focused almost entirely on work but now wants to cherish everyday happiness and quiet moments, and he hints that he looks for those qualities in a partner.
The same report notes that he does not rule out marrying another celebrity, explaining that if he genuinely loves someone, their profession is not a barrier, which many fans took as a sign that he is open to a more public romance if the relationship feels right.
Pinkvilla’s 2025 feature on his dating style adds another layer, summarizing his self-description as romantic and loyal once he commits, even if he still feels uncertain about when to leap into marriage.
Friends and colleagues joked in that coverage about wanting to help him find his future partner, which only fueled more “who fits his ideal type” debates across fan communities, but the underlying message painted him as selective rather than uninterested.
Looking at 2026, industry watchers see a few threads coming together. First, Lee Min-ho’s growing openness about wanting long-term stability suggests that, if he does enter a serious relationship now, there is a higher chance he will share it openly rather than hide it indefinitely.
Second, his agency’s hard stance on unfounded rumors with Park Bom and others shows a desire to control the narrative and protect him from stories that cross the line from light gossip into reputational risk.
For fans, that means the most reliable sign of any change in his relationship status will not be an edited video or a speculative thread but a simple statement from MYM or a clear acknowledgment from Lee Min-ho himself.
Until that happens, credible sources agree on one thing: the K-drama king may be seriously thinking about love, marriage, and future family life, but he is doing it on his own timetable, with his real relationship status staying private no matter how loudly the rumor mill spins.
