Who Is Ana de Armas' Ex-Boyfriend? All About Paul Boukadakis

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Brad Barket/Getty / Samir Hussein/WireImage

Ana de Armasand Tinder executive Paul Boukadakis have called it quits.

PEOPLE learned of their split in November 2024 when de Armas wasspotted kissing Manuel Anido Cuesta— the stepson of Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the president of Cuba.

The actress and Boukadakis were first linked in 2021, but the couple kept the details of their relationship under wraps.

De Armas grew up in Cuba,where she went to acting schooland landed roles in movies like 2006’sUna rosa de Francia.Since her first English-language film, 2015’sKnock Knock,she has starred in several hits, including 2019’sKnives Out(which earned her a Golden Globe nomination) and 2021’sNo Time to Die.

She also starred opposite exBen Affleckin the 2022 thriller,Deep Water.The twobroke up in January 2021after nearly a year together.

“She broke it off. Their relationship was complicated,” asource told PEOPLEat the time. De Armas latertoldEllemagazinethat the attention surrounding her and Affleck was “horrible,” andcontributed to her decisionto leave Los Angeles and move to Vermont.

So who is Ana de Armas' ex-boyfriend? Here’s everything to know about Paul Boukadakis and his former relationship with the actress.

He’s from Tulsa, Oklahoma

Growing up, Boukadakis lived in Tulsa, Okla., and attended Bishop Kelley High School, according to a2016 interview withEntrepreneur. At the time, he was the CEO and co-founder of a video-sharing app called Wheel and had returned to his alma mater to test the product with Midwestern teenagers.

“We have taken the concept and we have seeded it in the Midwest,” he told the outlet. “We went back to our roots. A lot of people on the East and West Coast get first glimpses of products. We wanted to take it back to the Heartland.”

He directed music videos before moving into the entrepreneur and tech space

Ricky Vigil/GC Images

Prior to creating Wheel, which was originally called Ferris, Boukadakis had a decade-long career as a director,according to a June 2015 interviewwithThe App Guypodcast.

“Before I started Ferris, I was a music video and commercial director for about 10 years,” he said, explaining that his storytelling background was what sparked the idea for the video app in the first place.

“I’m the type of person that believes people are capable of doing many great things at different points in their life,” he continued. “I think a lot of times, when people are comfortable in a job, they get scared to take a risk. They’re afraid to lose that comfortability. I call it The Forrest Gump Mindset, where you’re able to do a lot of great things, you just have to try.”

He and de Armas met through a mutual friend

BACKGRID

According toElle, Boukadakis and de Armas first met through a mutual friend during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because most traditional date spots were closed, the pair spent their early days getting to know each other over wine at their homes.

After months of speculation, the pair seemingly confirmed their romance in December 2021 when they werespotted kissingin L.A.

It’s unclear when de Armas and Boukadakis eventually split.

He and de Armas kept their relationship private

Despite Boukadakis' social app background, the Tinder exec doesn’t appear to be on Instagram, and hisTwitter accountis set to private. De Armas also tends to stay offline — the actress toldEllethat she avoids Googling herself, and isn’t very active on social media, aside from promoting new projects.

However, de Armas did share a fewphotosfrom her 34th birthday celebration on Instagram in May 2022. The actress spent the day filmingGhostedwith her costarChris Evans, and posted a video of the cast and crew presenting her with a cake. And while he wasn’t spotted in her Instagram post, De Armas toldEllethat Boukadakis was in attendance for the occasion.

“I had everybody with me: my man, my dogs, Chris and the crew. I wasn’t home having a romantic dinner; I was on set with my people doing what I love and at the beach and having a shot of Fireball,” she said. “So that was my 34th birthday. And it is the happiest I’ve been.”

De Armas posted about Boukadakis again in December 2022. The couple spent Christmas in Woodstock, Vt., with Boukadakis' siblings, and the actress shared a few photos from the snowy getaway onInstagram.

He joined de Armas at the Venice International Film Festival

He was de Armas' plus-one at the 2023Vanity FairOscars afterparty

Kevin Mazur/VF23/WireImage

source: people.com