“Today is my favorite person’s birthday,” wrote Jonathan Scott on Jan. 17. The 42-year-old Property Brothers star was talking about his girlfriend of over a year, Zooey Deschanel, who turned 41 that day. Jonathan shared an Instagram Gallery full of memories – including a shot of them at a Halloween party and a gorgeous photo of Zooey with a handful of flowers – while penning an ode to his love. “You are caring, talented, hilarious, sweet, and just as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. I know we can’t celebrate like we did last year, but I have a few surprises up my sleeve.”
“You fill my life with so much joy,” concluded Jonathan. His message comes five months after he and the New Girl star celebrated their 1-year anniversary. “One year ago today, I met this kind, caring, hilarious, generous, creative, nerdy, handsome and all-around incredible human,” wrote Zooey in her Aug. 4 message. “I am so grateful for every smile, kiss, hug, snuggle, laugh, scrabble game, escape room, breakfast, lunch, and dinner we share together.” Jonathan, in response to this, wrote how much “time flies when you’re having the best time in your life.”
Zooey and Jonathan, as first reported by HollywoodLife, went public with their relationship in September 2019. The couple had first met while filming an episode of Carpool Karaoke: The Series and hit it off. When Zooey and Jonathan were spotted holding hands, she had been separated from her then-husband Jacob Pechenik for “several months.” The couple, who share two children (daughter Elsie and son Charlie), finalized the divorce in 2020.
Since then, it appears Zooey and Jonathan have found a love strong enough to survive anything – including a global pandemic, political upheaval, and everything else that 2020 threw at them. In the first few days of 2021, Zooey celebrated her “2020 MVP” by sharing a photo of her hugging Jonathan. “[He] always made me feel happy in spite of a weird and uncertain year,” she added. “Hoping 2021 is full of silver linings for everyone.” Shortly after Zooey posted her message, Jonathan wrote a message on his own Instagram account.
“I’m dedicating this year to love, happiness, and the pursuit of helping others. I feel like I’ve got a good jumpstart on the love part [face covered in hearts emoji] what are your resolutions? #HappyNewYear.”