Cole Sprouse is able to be himself for the "first time" since meeting Ari Fournier.

The 31-year-old actor has been in a relationship with model Ari, 25, since early 2021 and explained that since finding "real compatibility" with her, he has come to view his past differently and now sees it all as a "lesson" that he has learned.

Speaking on the 'Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa' podcast, he said: "When real compatibility comes into your life, it makes almost everything in the past feel like a lesson or a stepping stone to what you’ve arrived to now, and I think this is the first time in my life at least, and I’m not putting any of it on a timetable, but the first time where I’ve been so wholly and completely able to be myself in a relationship and I think that is a tremendous testament to her and the way she carries herself."

The former Disney Channel star - who shot to fame alongside his twin Dylan when they were cast in the 2000s sitcom 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' - was then pressed about the idea of tying the knot with Ari, especially after his brother married Barbara Palvin, but explained that his significant other has never pressurised him into popping the question and that they are just taking things day by day.

He said: "I’m getting this question all the time and I will say Ari, with her eternal gracefulness and elegance, has never put any pressure on a situation, especially from a public perspective at all and I love that. We’re taking it one day at a time!"