Ava Phillippe found her partner in crime with boyfriend Dakota Brubaker.
Ava, who is the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, and Brubaker made their relationship Instagram official in December 2024. Since going public, the couple has given fans an inside look of their romance on social media.
In June 2025, Ava posted a video of her and Brubaker doing the Ke$ha TikTok trend and one fan commented that the pair resembled Ava’s parents.
“Close enough. Welcome back Reese & Ryan!” one user replied.
Ava and Brubaker reacted to the response in a follow-up video, channeling her parents’ iconic characters from Cruel Intentions. As “Bittersweet Symphony” — a memorable song from the 1999 soundtrack — played in the background, Ava and Brubaker mouthed “No” and shook their heads as they were dressed up like Witherspoon and Ryan’s respective characters.
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Brubaker:
Dakota Brubaker Went to College With Ava Phillippe
Ava Phillippe and Dakota Brubaker Courtesy of Dakota Brubaker/Instagram
Brubaker attended the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in cognitive science and a minor in journalism. During his time at college, he was involved in multiple organizations including Associated Students of California, Zero Waste Coalition, Study Abroad Business Careers in Entertainment Club and more.
Dakota Brubaker Is Passionate About Photography
Brubaker has shown off his love for photography on his Instagram page. After graduating from college, Brubaker joked that he was looking for a job with National Geographic.
“Hire me I’m graduating and have no clear future. Short stories for each photo,” he captioned a February 2020 slideshow of pics from over the years. “1) was teaching this young dude how to take photos and showing him a photo I took of him as an example. 2) after only two days down the river I was feral some might even say I looked rabid. (If you get this joke congrats) 3) played peek a boo with this girl for a couple of hours on one of our boat rides. 4) woken up at midnight by a dude wearing jaguar jacket who insisted we had weed cause we were from CA and then had us drink jungle hooch with him and sing Nirvana. He told me I looked like Hades, god of the underworld (sad). 5) my favorite pastime for the trip was pulling the boat off sandbanks when it would get stuck. 6) the fire I was making and fanning for thirty minute went out immediately.
7) me just doing what I do.”
Dakota Brubaker Is a World Traveler
Brubaker, who was part of Berkeley’s study abroad program, has been all over the world. He’s shared memories from his time in Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, Cuba, Cambodia and more.
Dakota Brubaker Previously Worked With the American Kickboxing Academy
According to Brubaker’s LinkedIn page, he worked as the head of marketing for the American Kickboxing Academy in Thailand. While there, he created multimedia packages and managed the brand’s social media page.
Dakota Brubaker Is a Musician
Brubaker performs under the stage name Vindigo. Vindigo started off as a band while he was in college before Brubaker turned it into a solo project. He’s released multiple songs including “Cities,” “Constant Pleasure” and “What is it to you and me?”
