Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun further confirmed their relationship with a romantic outing in Venice
Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun once again attracted public attention in Venice, a city that already holds a special place in the chronology of their relationship. Photographs published on September 3, 2026, show the American actress and music entrepreneur during a gondola ride together, kissing, hugging and talking, and they were later also photographed walking while holding hands. Page Six and TMZ reported on the same outing, stating that the couple spent the day in a relaxed atmosphere on Venice's canals and streets. It is one of their most striking joint appearances since they began showing their relationship more openly on social media and at public events in the spring of 2026. The new scenes come after several recent occasions on which Sweeney spent time with Braun's children, prompting American media outlets to begin describing their relationship as increasingly solid, although the couple has not issued any new formal statement about the status of their relationship.
Kisses on the gondola and a walk through the city
According to photographs and reports published on September 3, Sweeney and Braun rode together in a gondola through Venice, dressed casually and making no attempt to avoid the attention of photographers. Page Six states that they kissed during the ride and then continued sightseeing around the city while holding hands. TMZ also published photographs of the couple on the gondola and described their outing as a romantic day for two. The mere fact that they showed affection in public is not the first public confirmation of their relationship, but it further reinforces the image of a relationship that over the past year has gradually moved from the realm of media speculation into more open joint appearances. Neither Sweeney nor Braun issued a new statement alongside those photographs about future plans, so claims about an engagement, living together or other specific steps would for now be speculation.
The Venice outing took place during a week when the city is once again at the center of the international film industry. La Biennale di Venezia states that the 83rd Venice International Film Festival is being held from September 2 to 12, 2026, on the Lido, under the direction of artistic director Alberto Barbera. Page Six reported that Sweeney is also in Venice as part of activities connected with Armani Beauty, for which she is an ambassador, and that she appeared at events during the festival week as well. The private scenes with Braun therefore took place at a time of exceptionally intense media concentration in the city, when photographers and international media are following film premieres, fashion events and celebrity arrivals. For their relationship, however, Venice also has more personal symbolism because, according to earlier reports, it was there that they began spending more time together.
Venice was also the starting point of their story
According to the timeline published by Elle and People, Sweeney and Braun met and spent time together in Venice in June 2025, during the multi-day wedding celebrations of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. In the months that followed, reports began appearing that they were seeing each other, and by September 2025 several American media outlets were writing that it was a romantic relationship, although it was still described at the time as casual. Elle states that during the autumn they were seen together in Los Angeles and New York, including on outings where they held hands. By December, People, citing an unnamed source close to the couple, reported that the relationship was no longer merely casual dating but a serious and committed relationship. Such assessments by sources are not the same as an official statement from the couple, but their later public appearances are consistent with that description.
During the first half of 2026, Sweeney and Braun increasingly stopped hiding the fact that they were together. People reported in April that they had made the relationship more official on Instagram after appearing together around the premiere of the third season of the series Euphoria. Braun shared a photograph of the two of them on Instagram Stories at the time, while Sweeney also posted content in which they appeared together. In its timeline, Elle also notes their joint appearance at the Stagecoach festival in late April, as well as later photographs from trips and other events. By the summer of 2026, it had therefore become clear that they were no longer trying to keep the relationship entirely out of the public eye, although they continued to keep most details of their private lives to themselves.
Spending time with Braun's children drew additional attention
Particular attention in recent weeks has been drawn by Sweeney's appearances with Braun's children from his marriage to Yael Cohen. On August 26, TMZ published photographs showing Sweeney and Braun getting off a private plane at Van Nuys Airport near Los Angeles together with his three children, Jagger, Levi and Hart. The outlet stated at the time that it was not known when Sweeney first met the children, so the photographs alone do not reveal how long they have already been spending time together. Nevertheless, the shared trip was the first time their time together in such a family setting had been widely documented in the media. Several days later, another public outing followed, further showing that the previous meeting had not been an isolated occasion.
TMZ reported on September 2 that Sweeney and Braun had gone out for smoothies in Los Angeles the previous day, September 1, with two of his children. The photographs showed the actress interacting casually with the children while Braun was ordering, and the outlet described the outing as another sign that Sweeney is spending time with his family. Such scenes in themselves do not reveal the couple's private decisions, but they represent a concrete change compared with the period when their joint outings were mostly seen as romantic dates for two. That is precisely why the photographs from Venice, taken immediately after the family outing in Los Angeles, attracted additional interest.
Braun has three children with his former wife Yael Cohen. People states that they divorced in 2022 and that after the divorce they remained focused on co-parenting. Braun has often emphasized in public interviews how important fatherhood is to him, and when he stepped away from the day-to-day management of music artists in 2024, he cited family as one of his main priorities. For that reason, the media attach particular significance to the fact that Sweeney is now spending time with his children, although it is important to distinguish publicly documented time together from assumptions about what it means for the future of the relationship. The couple themselves have not so far disclosed details about family arrangements or publicly discussed when Sweeney met the children.
Sweeney began her relationship with Braun after ending a long-term engagement
Before beginning a relationship with Braun, Sweeney had been in a relationship with Jonathan Davino for almost seven years. On March 31, 2025, People, citing a source, confirmed that they had split up after months of speculation about their postponed wedding and their relationship. The couple began dating in 2018 and became engaged in 2022. According to People's report at the time, Sweeney wanted to focus her energy strongly on her career during that period and was not ready for marriage, although this was the source's explanation rather than a detailed public statement by the actress herself about all the reasons for the breakup. Her relationship with Braun began to be mentioned in the media several months after the end of that engagement.
Meanwhile, Sweeney continued with a very demanding professional schedule. She gained global recognition through the series Euphoria, and in recent years she has simultaneously worked on film projects, production and commercial partnerships. In interviews about her private life, she has emphasized how difficult it is to maintain a romantic relationship under constant public scrutiny, especially when an ordinary outing quickly becomes global news. In August 2026, Elle recalled her earlier comments about how, as a public figure, she still tries to go through the experiences of love and relationships normally. The Venice photographs illustrate exactly that paradox: it is a private moment between two people that, because of their fame, immediately becomes part of the international media cycle.
Braun moved from artist management into a broader business role
Scooter Braun was for years one of the best-known names in the American music industry, primarily as the manager of artists such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Associated Press reported in June 2024 that after 23 years he was stepping away from the day-to-day management of artists in order to focus more on his family and his executive role at HYBE America. That professional change is also important for understanding the way he is described today: Braun is no longer an active manager in the former sense, but a music and business executive with many years of industry experience. His name continues to carry considerable media weight because of a series of major deals and collaborations from previous decades. His relationship with Sweeney therefore connects two heavily followed parts of the American entertainment industry, film and television on one side and the music business on the other.
Braun has also spoken in earlier interviews about how his relationship with his children became one of the central issues in his life after the divorce. In 2025, People reported his statements about co-parenting with Yael Cohen and the emotional consequences of the breakdown of the marriage. In that context, it is not unusual that the public and media take notice when a new partner begins participating in part of his family life. Nevertheless, the subject should be approached cautiously because photographs do not provide insight into private relationships among family members or into long-term plans. What can be confirmed is that Sweeney was seen several times during August and early September 2026 in the company of Braun's children, after which she traveled with Braun to Venice.
The film festival intensified attention around their outing
La Biennale di Venezia officially states that the 83rd Venice Film Festival opened on September 2 and runs until September 12, 2026. The festival is held on the Lido and is one of the most important annual events in the international film industry, so during those days the city hosts numerous acting, directing and producing stars, brands and global media outlets. Sweeney is among the celebrities who appeared in Venice at the beginning of the festival, and Page Six and other American media also covered her fashion looks and events connected with Armani Beauty. In such an environment, a joint outing with Braun could hardly have gone unnoticed. The gondola photographs therefore spread through entertainment and lifestyle media on the very same day.
For Sweeney and Braun, there is the additional point of interest that Venice also connects them with the beginnings of their relationship. A year earlier, they were among the guests at the wedding of Bezos and Sánchez there, after which the media began linking them. Now they are returning to the same city as a couple who have meanwhile publicly shared photographs together, appeared at events and spent time with family. That timeline gives the new photographs more significance than just another ordinary celebrity outing. However, based on everything available, the only reliable conclusion is that they are still together and that they no longer hide their relationship as they did at the very beginning.
What is confirmed and what remains private
By September 4, 2026, a number of specific facts had been publicly confirmed: Sweeney and Braun have been together for approximately a year, they began showing their relationship more openly on Instagram during the spring, they have been photographed together in public several times, and Sweeney has also been seen with his children in recent weeks. The Venice photographs from September 3 clearly show a kiss during the gondola ride and a walk in which they are holding hands. At the same time, there is no official confirmation that they are engaged, that they are planning a wedding or that they have made any other formal decision about their future together. Descriptions that the relationship is becoming "more serious" therefore rely on the frequency of their public appearances, earlier statements from sources and Sweeney's visible involvement in part of Braun's family life, rather than on any new official announcement from the couple.
In that sense, their Venice outing is above all another clear public indication of closeness. After a period in which the media were trying to determine whether they were even together, Sweeney and Braun now appear without making much effort to hide, share moments together and allow their relationship to be seen outside strictly controlled events. Their return to Venice, where according to available reports they grew closer in 2025, also gives the entire story additional continuity. How far the relationship will go remains their private decision. For now, the photographs from September 3 confirm what had already become increasingly obvious during 2026: this is a public, stable relationship that has entered a new phase of visibility.
Sources:
- Page Six - report and photographs of the couple's gondola ride, kiss and walk in Venice on September 3, 2026. (link)
- TMZ - report on Sweeney and Braun's romantic gondola outing in Venice on September 3, 2026. (link)
- TMZ - report on Sweeney, Braun and two of his children spending time together in Los Angeles on September 1, 2026. (link)
- TMZ - report on Sweeney, Braun and his three children arriving together in Van Nuys on August 26, 2026. (link)
- People - confirmation of Sweeney and Jonathan Davino's breakup and background on their earlier relationship and engagement (link)
- People - report that Sweeney and Braun made their relationship more official on Instagram in April 2026. (link)
- People - Braun's statements about fatherhood, divorce and co-parenting with Yael Cohen (link)
- Elle - timeline of Sweeney and Braun's relationship from Venice in 2025 to the summer of 2026. (link)
- La Biennale di Venezia - official information about the 83rd Venice Film Festival, which is being held from September 2 to 12, 2026. (link)
- Associated Press - report on Braun's departure from artist management and his focus on HYBE America and family (link)