Tommy Dorfman confirms ‘short-lived romance’ with 13 Reasons Why co-star Brandon Flynn
Dorfman wrote in her new memoir of a night which ended in the pair "ripping each other’s clothes off" at a cast party
By Gary Grimes
13 Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman has confirmed that she was involved in a “short-lived romance” with her co-star Brandon Flynn whilst the pair were filming the show.
Dorfman and Flynn both found fame after appearing in the controversial teen Netflix drama in 2017 as Ryan Shaver and Justin Foley respectively.
Though fans often speculated the actors were romantically involved, the pairing was never confirmed until now, following the publication of Dorfman’s memoir Maybe This Will Save Me.
In the book, Dorfman writes of an “undeniable charge” between the pair which came to a head after she found Flynn had joined her whilst she enjoyed a cigarette at a cast party.
“His boyish tipsy charm was intoxicating, he carried confidence with ease, and his blue eyes sparkled, perhaps this is what people meant when they said star quality. Whatever it was, Brandon embodied it,” she wrote.
“We held each other’s gaze for what felt like forever, and next thing I knew, we were up in his bedroom, ripping each other’s clothes off,” Dorfman went on. “It was lusty and fun in the most beautiful, magical of ways.”
“…perhaps even more serious feelings lingered for Brandon at that time, but I couldn’t do anything about it” – Tommy Dorfman
The actress, who came out as a trans woman in 2021, revealed that the tryst ended because Flynn ultimately “couldn’t offer more than casual fun”, however he later became involved in a romance with their fellow co-star Miles Heizer, sparking “unexpected jealousy” in Dorfman.
“Seeing Miles and Brandon so in love sparked an unexpected jealousy in me, a yearning for that excitement and fire, perhaps even more serious feelings lingered for Brandon at that time, but I couldn’t do anything about it,” she wrote. “My bed was made, and I needed to focus on the task at hand: memorising my lines.”
Flynn would later go on to get into a relationship with singer Sam Smith before marrying Canadian writer Jordan Tannahill in 2024.
Dorfman married her wife Elise Willians in 2023, however it recently emerged that she filed for divorce earlier this month after almost two years of marriage, as per PEOPLE.
In 2022, Dorfman stated in an interview that she “would have transitioned a lot sooner” had she not been appearing in 13 Reasons Why.