You may know Christy Carlson Romano from her iconic role as Ren Stevens in Even Stevens (as well as one of the best Disney Channel Original movies, The Even Stevens Movie, or as the voice of the Disney crimefighter Kim Possible. She’s had her fair share of working with heartthrob actors who bring a whole lot of nostalgic feels to fans today, such as Shia LaBeouf and Will Friedle. The question fans had, though, was whether she had any DCOM star crushes? And not only did Romano reveal that she did indeed have a Disney crush, but that she actually dated him in real life.
Disney Channel stars that have shared the screen together in series and TV movies have definitely been known to date each other in real life on occasion, such as it went with High School Musical's Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens, as well as Halloweentown's Kimberly J.Brown and Daniel Kountz. During an exclusive interview with E! News, Romano revealed which one of her co-stars she dated, and how that relationship went, saying:
Did I have a DCOM crush? Yeah, definitely. I dated my DCOM crush, though. [Laughs.] My DCOM crush was Shawn Ashmore, and then we went on a few dates after Cadet Kelly, but there was nothing serious, and he was a true gentleman. He’s a very nice guy. So there was that.
In Cadet Kelly, Christy Carlson Romano played the role of tough-as-nails Captain Stone, who competed with the new military school student Kelly Collins for the attention of Cadet Major Brad. (Of course his name was Brad.) While everyone at the school warned Kelly that Brad was “Stone’s man,” it didn’t stop her from trying to vie for his attention by being the first to salute him or by accidentally ruining Captain Stone’s dress at the dance. But the resolution of this love triangle that you probably wouldn’t see in a DCOM movie today is that there wasn't an actual winner, as it were. After all, it wasn’t about whether Kelly would land the guy, but how well she would do with the training she learned in military school. And it sounds like Romano and Ashmore's tryst went about the same way, as far as romantic resolutions go.
Christy Carlson Romano and Shawn Ashmore both found their soulmates eventually, but it wasn’t with each other. The Kim Possible star married writer-producer Brendan Rooney, and they've had two daughters together. Shawn Ashmore, meanwhile, is married to film executive Dana Renee Wasdin, and they have a son together. It’s nice that the two DCOM vets found their happy endings, even if different people were involved.
We haven’t seen Christy Carlson Romano in any major roles recently, with her latest notable role coming in the live-action movie take on Kim Possible on Disney Channel where Romano had a surprise cameo as pop star Poppy Blu. She had her own YouTube series called Christy’s Throwback Kitchen where she would invite guests from nostalgic movies and television shows and cook recipes inspired by the work they were in. Currently, the former Disney Channel star has her own podcast called Vulnerable with Christy Carlson Romano, on which she invites guests to talk about what it means to be vulnerable.
As a podcast host, wife, and mother, Christy Carlson Romano has got it made. You can watch her Disney Channel roles from Even Stevens, Cadet Kelly, and Kim Possible with a Disney+ subscription.
