COSMOPOLITAN Centerfold: REMINDERS OF HIM Star Tyriq Withers Being a Famously Hot Man

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Tyriq Withers isn’t ashamed to be a loverboy. Between his breakout role last year in the Jordan Peele–produced movie HIM to starring in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s REMINDERS OF HIM, Tyriq Withers is on the brink of full-fledged superstardom. But his newfound fame hasn’t stopped the 6’5″ heartthrob from searching for the one. Now, as the latest COSMOPOLITAN Centerfold, Tyriq opens up about body image, the highs and lows of dating these days, and why he’s really just a “soft, sensitive boy.”

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On what it’s like to be a Famously Hot Man: [laughs] “I appreciate it. That’s a great question. Shoutout to my mom and dad? You know, they did the damn thing. But no, I don’t know. I just kind of, like, detach. I’m thankful that people find me attractive. But some people find me not attractive!”

On when he became more aware of his appearance and beauty standards: “I think the moment everything started to shift for me was when I realized I was going to have to take my shirt off on camera for a movie. It caused this, like, body dysmorphia. I became hyperfixated on the little things about my body. There are times when I don’t want to go to the beach because I don’t feel like taking my shirt off. There are times when I dread taking a shower because I don’t want to take off my clothes and, like, look at my body, you know? So I think that’s a recent thing, when the work I tapped into started to really put me in those circumstances where my looks are, like, a thing.”

On if he’ll kiss on a first date: “I wouldn’t say never, but the ball is in her court. I’ve been called so passive. I’ve never, like, leaned in and we just kiss like that. I don’t know how people do that. I always just ask out loud. Like, ‘This is awkward, but I need to hear it from you.’ I’ve been kissed [on the first date], and that’s been lovely.”

On whether he likes dating: “Do I? Oh my god. Yes and no. I like dating the right person. But it gets expensive—and not even financially. It’s expensive, like, on my heart and mental state. So I’m just kind of chilling. We can hang out in group settings, do karaoke, go, like, wrestle pigs….I’m waiting for a girl to be like, ‘Let’s go paintballing.’ Because I hate paintballing, but I like weird sh*t. I’m, like, date-fishing. Put this in the article so people ask me out.”

On being open to someone sliding into his DMs: “I think that’s so bold. But it has to be the right person. I don’t really slide into DMs; I never know what to say.”

On whether he’s noticed a difference between dating pre-fame vs. post-fame: “I haven’t really dated post-fame. I don’t even view it as…it’s so mind-blowing to me that people have seen my work and, like, get excited about my work. I don’t even think I have fame. I don’t know, it’s weird. But I’m excited to see how that is.”

 On being relationship-oriented: “I’m such a relationship-oriented person. I yearn—and that is my superpower but also my biggest flaw. I am a loverboy. I’m a Cancer, so you know how we get. I’m not interested in surface-level things. On a date, I’m like, ‘What sets your soul on fire?’ [laughs] I’m just looking for love. But when you tap into self-love, then love finds you.”

On love: “I think love is a feeling, right? It’s like a soul connection. I know I feel love—or am in love—when I just want to protect this person at all costs, protect their heart. I think I know I’m in love when I give you the last bite of my pumpkin pie, because that’s my favorite. I think when love happens…it’s a spectrum, right? I think you build that love over time. And I think love looks like so many different things. It looks like the last bite; it looks like learning their hobbies. I love seeing the joy they have in the things they do and I get joy out of seeing them experience joy. I think that’s when I know I’m in love: I yearn for their joy. Like, how can I bring them joy in all facets? Oh, I know I’m in love when I baby-talk. Like, when I don’t feel weird baby-talking to a person.”

[Photo Credit: Julius Frazer for Cosmopolitan]