Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh’s relationship: A timeline

For a relationship that’s almost half a decade old, you’d think that we’d be used to seeing frequent co-stars and lovebirds Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh lavish each other with attention. Or so you’d think. The public interest in their relationship has grown in direct proportion to the fierceness with which the couple tried to keep things private when they first started out.

As the Bajirao Mastani couple starts checking off couple-y milestones, as witnessed at the Ganpati celebrations held at the Ambani residence last week, here’s a roadmap to all the major moments in their relationship.

2012: Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone’s meet cute

Singh first met Padukone, wearing a stunning silver gown, at the Zee Cine Awards in Macau, back in 2012. When quizzed by a fan about how he remembered what she was wearing, he replied, “How can one possibly forget the sight?”

@pp_punjabi @deepikapadukone how can one possibly forget that sight!? #dropdeadgorgeous #5YearsOfRanveerSingh

— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) December 10, 2015

Padukone got to know Singh better on the sets of Goliyon ki Rasleela… Ramleela (2013), and sparks flew. The budding romance was kept under wraps at the time, but Singh couldn’t resist spilling the beans recently, on the movie’s fourth anniversary. “Don’t we look great together?” he raved in an Instagram throwback to the making of the period drama.

“Don’t we look great together?” 😉 #leelajaisikoinahi #4YearsOfRanveerSingh

A post shared by Ranveer Singh (@ranveersingh) on Dec 10, 2014 at 2:57am PST

2013: Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh get married (for the big screen)

The occupational hazard of being in-demand actors is having to be away from home for long months during shoots. Singh bridged the distance on several occasions, visiting Padukone on the sets of her movies. Did you catch his small cameo in Finding Fanny (2014)? Check out the outtakes from the scene here.

2014: A charged performance

Amidst staunch denials from both sides, the two lovebirds took to the stage for the very first time at the Zee Cine Awards 2014 with an electrifying medley of their greatest hits. Look at those happy-in-love faces and tell us, how do you expect us to believe otherwise?

2015: The PDA gets more… public

He may be many things, but we’re afraid that subtlety isn’t one of Singh’s strong suits. After entering filmmaker Farah Khan’s bash separately in January, 2015, Padukone chose to leave on Karan Johar’s arm… with a lovelorn Singh chasing her with a rose in his hand.

The IIFA Awards held in June 2015 saw more PDA innocently snuck in under our noses when Singh received Padukone onstage by going down on one knee and serenading her with the song, ‘Ram Chahe Leela’. Just in case all the blushing hadn’t made it wasn’t obvious already.

In October 2015, Singh and Padukone brought their sizzling chemistry to our grand anniversary cover shoot. If the playful photoshoot left you feeling short of the breath, the duo packed in a double whammy by taking a tongue-in-cheek dig at their just-good-friends stance in one of the most viral Dubsmash videos of the year. All in a day’s work.

These #TwoCool #BFFs for a lifetime #IndiaCool

A post shared by VOGUE India (@vogueindia) on Sep 30, 2015 at 8:13am PDT

When his movie role demanded that he chop off his moustache in December of 2015, Singh hit the first button on his speed dial and Padukone came over with a pair of scissors, a camera and the concept of a viral video in hand.

2016: Parties and handholding 

While they continued to attend parties together, in the year’s edition of the IIFA Awards Padukone and Singh treated their fans to some more of their brand of romance. When Padukone wasn’t making heart hands and mouthing “I love you” from the stage to an elated Singh, the latter found it humanly impossible to tear his gaze away from away at her press conferences.

It’s been a learning curve, but the couple finally went public with their relationship when Singh escorted a glowing Padukone out of the Ambani bash late last year, hand-in-hand. Inquisitive paparazzi, be damned.

2017: Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone set twinning goals

2017 was a landmark year for Padukone, as it marked her Hollywood debut with xXx: Return of Xander Cage opposite Vin Diesel. Not one to eat into his girl’s share of the spotlight, Ranveer Singh played the dutiful boyfriend and provided moral support from the sidelines at the movie’s Mumbai premiere. Can we all please take a minute to appreciate this gesture, coming from the master of excess?

As the shoot of their upcoming movie, Padmaavat mandated more time spent in close quarters, the couple could be spotted around town, heading out for quick dinner dates, just like a normal couple. Except, dressed in Gucci, of course. More proof on how far the couple has come could be found in the Ganpati celebrations conducted at the Ambani residence last year. The pair arrived together in co-ordinated metallic ensembles, took photos and even dropped their guard in front of the media for some candid moments.

2018: The big fat Bollywood wedding

With Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma eloping to the idyllic countryside of Tuscany, Italy for a hush-hush wedding, news started flying that the Padukone and Singh would soon follow suit. While the duo neither confirmed or denied the news, the speculation was helped along with their frequent PDA on Instagram—Singh took up a permanent spot in the comments section during her stint at Cannes earlier this year, wearing his heart on his sleeve with a string of relatable emojis.

As the rumours continued to flow fast and loose, Padukone sportingly spilled the beans on the latest season of Koffee with Karan and admitted that she loves how expressive he is, even if she isn’t the biggest fan of his dressing sense or sleeping pattern. After promising that they would be making an official announcement soon, the duo together solicited everyone’s blessings for the wedding to be held on the 14th and 15th of the month.

Slated to be held at a luxurious villa in Lake Como, Italy, the nuptials are spread out over multiple weeks, starting with a sangeet function on the 13th, followed by a Kannadiga wedding on the 14th, and a North Indian ceremony shortly after. The celebrations will finally wind up with a grand reception back on home ground on December 1st. The leggy actress has already got the ball rolling on the part of the blushing bride with a traditional puja last week, where she looked resplendent in a fiery orange ensemble by Sabyasachi, of course, who is rumoured to have designed the Italian leg of the wedding celebrations.