'Kissing Booth 2' Star Taylor Zakhar Perez On Joey King Romance Rumors: 'We're Not Dating'

Taylor Zakhar Perez has finally spoken up about the real score between him andJoey King following speculations that they are dating.

Perez and King have become very close after starring together in Netflix's romantic-comedy movie "The Kissing Booth 2." Perez is very open about his feelings toward King, but he made it clear that they are not dating.

"I love her. I love her dearly. I’d do anything for her. We’re not dating. I’ll end it with that," Perez told Entertainment Tonight.

Perez didn't deny their closeness. He said they just "kind of hit it off" when they met on set in South Africa. In fact, they had dinner together and he cooked for her. King also cooked for him, but their relationship isn't romantic at all.

"We just became kind of like the best of friends," he explained.

He believes that their closeness sprung from the fact that he was new to the cast, which also included King's ex-boyfriend Jacob Elordi.

"I’m sure it was odd for her to go back into a production with someone that she dated," Perez continued. "And so me being this new castmate and Joel [Courtney] being there and Meganne [Young], we kind of just all meshed really well together."

Perez and King have maintained their friendship even after filming and when they got back home. When they returned to Los Angeles, they kept on hanging out because they also live near each other. The quarantine period also drew them closer to each other.

"And then the quarantine hit and we kinda just needed someone to trust during that time, like, 'OK, I know you’re not going out. I know who you’re seeing.' So we just became really close," he continued.

He also shared how they celebrated King and another friend's birthday. They got together and "had a good time.”

In related news, Elordi revealed that he was not comfortable with the excessive attention given to his body. In fact, he decided to stop working out for “The Kissing Booth 2.”

"At the time [I shot 'The Kissing Booth'], I was super young and got thrown into a world where everyone wanted to talk about my body … it really [explicit] bothered me,” Elordi said.

"I don’t identify with that whatsoever. I was trying to prove myself and be known as an actor. It was so much working out and I hated every second of it.”

Jacob, King, and Joel Courtney have already filmed “The Kissing Booth 3.” They secretly filmed it along with the second movie and it is already in post-production.

“The Kissing Booth 3” will be released in 2021.