Justin Long Reveals He Calls Girlfriend Kate Bosworth By a Special Nickname: ‘It’s More Personal’

A heartfelt gesture! Justin Long opened up about his romance with Kate Bosworth — and revealed he has his own nickname just for her.

When talking to cohosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager during the Monday, November 28, episode of the Today show, Long, 44, referred to Bosworth, 39, as “Catherine” instead of “Kate.”

After Hager, 41, asked if the public had been calling the Blue Crush actress by the wrong name, the Barbarian star revealed that the moniker is meant to be a special thing between the two of them.

“It's a little more personal. Even though it's longer and a pain in the ass to say," he joked, adding that he enjoys calling his girlfriend by her full name when the rest of the world knows her as something else.

The pair initially met on the set of Big Sur in spring 2021 when Bosworth was still married to ex-husband Michael Polish. At the time, the Young Americans alum penned a sweet Instagram tribute to Long, thanking him for all his hard work on set.

“There are some movie experiences when you learn a lotttttt about another person. Well, we just wrapped one of those — all night shoots, working 6-day weeks,” the Superman Returns actress wrote via Instagram in May 2021. “The exhaustion & insanity was off the grid. Holy moly @justinlong you are a truly spectacular / fun / funny / kind / rare / thoughtful / totally. fckn. rad human being. ??.”

In August 2021, the 21 star announced that she and the director had called it quits. That fall, Bosworth and Long fueled romance speculation when they were spotted together on multiple occasions.

Bosworth also began “liking” a variety of snaps via Instagram on the Lady of the Manor actor’s social media accounts, including a November 2021 photo of him making “the traditional Thanksgiving hummus.”

In January 2022, Us Weekly confirmed that the stars had been an item for a “few months” after becoming friends on their movie.

In the weeks following, Long seemingly confirmed his relationship with Bosworth while attending the Sundance Film festival premiere of her movie Bring on the Dancing Horses.

“I am here in beautiful Park City, Utah [and] it’s freezing cold,” he wrote via his Instagram Story at the time, noting that he was “so excited” to see the actress in the film. “But, I’m here for the big premiere of Bring on the Dancing Horses. So, bring on the dancing horses at the Egyptian Theatre.”

On Monday, the New Girl alum revealed that the lovebirds had in fact been dating for a little over a year and gushed about spending the holiday together. “She makes me glow. This is making me blush because it's so … It's the best best. It's so nice to talk about," he said, noting that they spent —a smelly — Turkey Day with his parents.

“It was Thanksgiving in Connecticut," he explained. "So I made some Brussels sprouts and we traveled, I've been living in Massachusetts so we traveled for about an hour-and-a-half with Brussels sprouts in the car. I don't know if you've ever done that ... it's a very distinct odor.”

Bosworth, for her part, took to social media on Thursday to share how thankful she was to have her beau. "HAPPY THANKSGIVING. So grateful for your warmth and safety and that bright beautiful ever glow @justinlong…you make life so much fun. xx,” she wrote via Instagram alongside a few sweet snaps of the duo on their holiday getaway.