Years after the headlines first broke, the actor's wife is done entertaining the speculation. She says the choice was entirely his own, and that she couldn't be prouder of him for making it.
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Three years ago, "You" star Penn Badgley revealed during an episode of his podcast, "Podcrushed," that he had requested no more intimate scenes for the hit show's fourth season.
Penn Badgley at the Thom Browne fashion show as a part of RTW Spring/Summer 2027 held at The Shed at Hudson Yards on September 15, 2026 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
The Netflix leading man reflected on wanting to step back from romantic roles and on-screen intimacy out of a desire to remain faithful to his wife, Domino Kirke, whom he married in 2017.
"This is actually a decision I'd made before I took the show," Badgley said. "I don't think I've ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is like, 'Do I wanna put myself back on a career path where I'm just always a romantic lead?'"
Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke attend a screening for Season 5 of Netflix's "You" at The Plaza Hotel on April 23, 2025 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
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He continued, "It's really important to me … Fidelity in every relationship — and especially my marriage — is important to me, and it just got to a point where I didn't wanna do that. Then, of course, before I took the show is there a question of, 'Do I have a career if I don't?'"
"I mean, you know, think about every male lead you've loved. Are they kissing someone? Are they doing a lot more than that? It's really not my desire to," he said.
Three years on, some fans still believe the only reason he stopped filming intimate scenes was because his wife asked him to. Kirke, a professional birth doula, recently took to Instagram to address the rumors once again.
In the video, posted Monday, September 28, she spoke directly to the camera with one of the March 2023 headlines displayed behind her, explaining that Badgley's statements stemmed from his own decision not to do intimate scenes.
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"Meaning, he didn't want to have sex. He didn't want to. Yes, he didn't want to do any of that, which was really major in his industry because that's the thing they like you to do the most," she said.
Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley attend Stitcher's "Podcrushed" launch event at Baby's All Right on June 2, 2022 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
"The characters that my husband has played over the years, people have come to expect that he will continue to play that guy," she continued, adding that she "was super happy for him" and "very proud" of him.
Kirke went on to acknowledge the weight of the "Gossip Girl" alum's choice, noting what a "major" step it was, particularly in his industry, and recognizing its impact on the "hygiene" of their relationship.
"So yeah, I want to say to those of you who still DM me about my husband deciding to do this for himself and his mental health, like get over it," she said.
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Penn Badgley and Domino Kirke attend the Thom Browne Spring/Summer 2027 fashion show at The Shed at Hudson Yards on September 15, 2026 in New York City. | Source: Getty Images
In her caption, Kirke stressed that the decision was also about protecting the actor's mental health. "After working in the industry since he was just 12 years old, believe me, it was time," she wrote.
"In the entertainment world, they call actors 'puppets' behind their backs, and it's even more disturbing when they start as child actors," she added. "So finally, after years of trying, Penn decided to take a stand and let the world see him. And guess what, he hasn't lost fans and he's still getting hired!"
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On his podcast, Badgley explained that he had told showrunner Sera Gamble that, in an ideal world, he would have no intimate scenes in "You" at all, though he understood that wasn't a particularly reasonable ask. Still, his revelation generated major buzz in the media.
Weeks later, Badgley told GQ his remarks had been "blown out of proportion," explaining, "It was sort of like the culture inherent to the production of all movies, but particularly those scenes. It's like, look, we know that Hollywood has had a history of flagrant exploitation and abuse."
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