this is nightline. >> tonight, millennial heartthrobs are back. >> it's funny, because i was on the cover of people magazine. cut to now, 2025. i was just on the cover of aarp. life comes at you fast. >> from justin timberlake's latest tour. to ryan gosling's ken. >> i'm just kidding. anywhere else, i be ten. >> these guys have been breaking

hearts for decades. >> the nostalgia is amazing. you get to have all the same feelings that you had when you were younger all over again. >> why? many years later, fans still can't get enough. plus, love letters. out of the shadows and into the spotlight. romance. only bookstores are having their moment. >> there is no guilty pleasure. it's just pleasure. >> packed with readers who love love. >> i realized that it was more than just my friends that wanted this community, and that wanted to be in a space where they could talk about the things that they love. >> shops with names like the ripped bodice are in on the bit. happily serving the growing demand for turning up the steam. >> we can come in and say we want an alien romance novel. not not just one. we want a whole series of alien romance novels. >> and. sabrina carpenter brings dolly parton in to ride shotgun for please, please, please. this special edition of nightline. special edition of nightline. valentine. we'll

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and we are in a completely different place today, and it's because of how we need to care for our communities and our customers. i hope that's true. [joe] that's my commitment. [ambient noise] >> thank thank you for joining m stephanie ramos. tonight, the heartthrobs of the 2000 are hot again. these stars of the screen defying expectations and the laws of aging. here's abc's melissa adam. gen z it, boys. take a seat. because here comes the millennial heartthrob

renaissance. >> brad pitt has gotten better looking with age. it's mind blowing to watch this guy grow up. >> keanu reeves could not be hotter. he added manly to. >> a 23 year old adam brody captured young hearts in the iconic teen drama the oc. >> hello, summer. seth cohen i believe you remember. >> and now, two decades later, the 45 year old still breaking hearts in the netflix series. nobody wants this. a performance that landed him a critics choice award this year. >> adam brody, nobody wants this. >> and a steamy kiss from wife and fellow heartthrob leighton meester. >> love you with all my heart. thank you so much. >> and who can forget a 13 year old ryan gosling serenading his way into fans hearts on the mickey mouse club? >> yeah, baby. >> 30 years later, landing an oscar nomination and proving age is nothing but a number. in his

role as barbie's boy toy ken. >> i'm just kidding. where i see love, she sees a friend. >> nostalgia is amazing. you instantly are placed back into that exact moment in middle school and elementary school or in high school, and you get to have all the same feelings that you had when you were younger all over again. >> in the sea of charming darlings, those once young guppies are swimming as fast as ever with no signs of stopping. when you see basically your fellow millennial heartthrobs, you guys have managed somehow to transcend working for so many decades. how do you do that? >> i always cheer and really want to support former child actors, because i know how tough it is to make that transition, so i'm happy for those guys because it is very tough for people to see you in a different light and to kind of make that transition. and again, i always go back to just being open minded and trying different things, not just kind of sitting around and waiting for the phone. courtney lopez keeping the music and fun coming your way. as we quickly tell you

about a few of the things hitting tv and streaming today. what do we got? i like being busy. whether i'm doing my hotel channel and shoots there, or i'm on the radio, or i'm on tv on my shows or shooting a holiday movie, there's always something going on. >> mario lopez, one of many heartthrobs of the 90s and early 2000 who still got everyone's blood pumping. >> if you start slowing down, that's when you start dying. >> has anyone called you a heartthrob? >> oh yeah, i've heard it a few times. my buddies will give me a hard time or my mom will give me. give me a hard time. it's funny, cause i remember, i think it was like 2008. i was on the cover of people magazine for hottest bachelor. cut to now 2025. i was just on the cover of aarp. life comes at you fast. >> historical heartthrobs. we have to throw george clooney out there. we have to throw denzel washington out there. and then if we start skewing a little bit younger, we can look at the justin timberlake's of the world. jessica the rock, dwayne

the rock johnson. absolutely a heartthrob. >> so what's the secret? >> honestly, the ingredients for that has stayed consistent over the decades. you know, somebody that looks good on a bedroom wall and a poster? >> the hollywood hunks of the 90s and early aughts brought something fresh, relatable male characters with more emotional depth. >> you want to lose a guy in ten days? congratulations. you did it. you just lost him. >> how to lose a guy in ten days definitely stands out as one of those classic romantic comedy films. we kind of couldn't get enough of them, especially these kind of fish out of water. awkward guy, awkward girl, romantic comedy. >> that dynamic on display between chad michael murray and hilary duff in a cinderella story. >> coward. phony. >> okay. just listen. >> no. you listen. >> there was some great rom coms, and they stand the test of

time and they make you feel good, and you pop them on and you can turn off and just have your popcorn and go. and that, for me, is a lot of what entertainment is. >> and now, two decades later, murray defying the laws of aging, stripping it down in the merry gentlemen. >> good. when it's cold. >> with the support of an enthusiastic millennial fan base, these actors have stood the test of time. >> social media plays a significant role. you know, when it comes to relating to the it girls and it guys of today, people get to talk directly to their fans, and sometimes fans get to talk directly to the icons that they love so much. >> very successful red carpet. we talked to everyone. it was a lot of fun. i hope you all have a blessed week. take care. god bless. >> for lopez, he's come a long way from the halls of bayside high in saved by the bell. >> what does this tell you? >> i've been in this business

now for 41 years, believe it or not. and i started. i was ten years old. my whole mantra was, i want to work hard, stay focused, do the right thing, and then i believe the right things will happen for you. >> lopez made his television debut as tomas in the abc sitcom a.k.a. pablo. >> my teacher wanted you to have the honor of signing. >> on, but it was his breakout role as a.c. slater and saved by the bell that catapulted him off the screen and into viewers hearts. >> hold my hand. >> what did you say your favorite memory from saved by the bell? >> when i look back, i look back on it fondly. i had a lot of fun. i was still going to regular high school when i was shooting the show because we were actual teenagers, so we shot it in the summertime so we didn't have to mess with school. what stands out are all the times we got to be outside of the classroom, whether we were doing like the beach episodes or anytime we got to go on location, whether it was hawaii or palm springs.

>> lopez went on to become a television staple, hosting the u.s. version of x factor. >> i'm mario lopez, and tonight we are celebrating the british invasion. >> and becoming the flagship emcee for access hollywood. >> welcome back to access daily from universal orlando. i love that. >> and he's on the radio, too, hosting his daily show on with mario lopez. >> i've always liked hosting. well, you're just being yourself. you're making sure everyone is having a good time. i'm genuinely pretty inquisitive, and i just kind of want to learn about people. and i love hearing stories. >> in a special segment for extra, lopez shared his own love story of meeting his wife courtney as cast mates in a chorus line on broadway. >> i just happened to meet him, and then you get to know that they're just real people, and that's what i fell in love with. >> happily married for more than a decade, lopez says family is everything. how much of a factor is that to your success? your parents? your family? >> i really do owe everything to my parents. i mean, they were immigrants to this country. they

didn't know anything about this, this sort of business. my dad worked for the city. my mom worked for the phone company. like, we were in chula vista, you know, the border town of tijuana. >> the media juggernaut receiving the ultimate recognition. >> you know, i got a star on the hollywood walk of fame on my birthday this last year. and they were there, and they were very proud. >> this is such an amazing honor for not only my son, but for everyone in our family. we're so grateful. >> after winning over millennial hearts for almost half a century, lopez says his golden era is still to come. >> personally and professionally. i'm doing all the things that i've always wanted to do and loved. there's no better feeling than when i go home, no matter what kind of day i'm having. and i hear, you know, the little footsteps and you know daddy. and it's the best. i'm always kind of having that hustle mentality, and we realize that, you know, nothing is forever. i want to do it up until my golden years. and hopefully people won't get sick of me.

>> we could never be sick of you, mario lopez. you're a legend. our thanks to melissa. when we come back, we're behind the scenes at a galentine's party held. where else but a romance [ car engine revving ] >> take airborne. it has seven key nutrients to help fill those holes your immune system may have. >> what holes. you. >> new airborne seven immune supporting nutrients. our most complete support yet.

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girlies are getting in the mood for love with some treats, some wine, and of course, a screening of the rom com classic you've got mail. >> don't you love new york in the fall? >> if that movie were remade today, this spot would have been the perfect backdrop, one of a growing number of romance only bookstores that are popping up all across america. this one aptly called friends to lovers. >> i realized that it was more than just my friends that wanted this community, and that wanted to be in a space where they could talk about the things that they love. >> despite being one of the most popular fiction genres, romance has historically been looked down on as lowbrow. even trash literature. >> one misconception is that they all have sexual content, and that's completely not the case. we have a really big part of romance is called closed door romance, so you don't see any kissing even on the page. a lot of times. >> there's so many stigmas, you know, it's just porn. it's not

real literature. it's an unfortunate fact that, you know, things that women love are oftentimes thought of as silly. >> fans have long tried to rewrite the story, and now they're having a moment with romance only bookstores opening up, packed with people who love love. >> we opened the word on the street was that romance is $1 billion part of the publishing industry. people in the publishing industry would always say, oh, romance keeps the lights on. >> i think they are really important. gathering places, for sure, and especially places that are like safe for women or other marginalized communities. >> and it seems like more and more readers are being struck by cupid's arrow. according to publishers weekly, seven of the ten bestselling books of 2024 were romances, including a court of thorns and roses, fourth wing and it ends with us. >> everyone loves a good, happy ending, and i just think a romance novel is just a great escape, just to take you into your your own mind and away from

reality and just a happy place. >> this was my absolute favorite book that i read last year. >> much of its renewed popularity stemming from the rise of online reading communities. like book talk. >> the romance business has grown so much since covid. the community has been really big online, and i think because of that, people have been looking for in-person places to build those communities. >> why should we celebrate romance? and you're doing it in such a big way? >> it's such a healthy expression of complexities of the human experience, people of all ages and genders and sexualities really exploring what makes them happy and what brings them pleasure is really important that romance is the genre of hope. i think right now in the world we're in, we all could use a little hope and a little magic. >> here at the ripped bodice in brooklyn, you can find almost every slice of romance

imaginable, from contemporary to historical, even fantasy. paranormal. its sister store in california opened about a decade ago. the first romance only bookstore in the us, paving the way for more than 20 similar stores all across the country, including two in alaska. >> the readers we knew were so eager for something like this, and a place where they felt like, this is just for us. we will not be laughed at. we will not be shamed. we can come in and say, we want an alien romance novel. not not just one. we want a whole series of alien romance novels. >> owned by sisters leah and bea cox. the ripped bodice is a play on the term bodice ripper, typically used to describe those spicy historical romance novels with bombshell heroines dramatically draped across the cover. >> it was generally considered a

pejorative term, like, oh, these silly bodice rippers that, you know, housewives are reading. so we loved the idea of reclaiming that term to really represent a changing and evolving romance genre. >> but getting their business off the ground wasn't easy. >> there is a certainly large part of american society that really has an issue with women exploring their sexuality and being open about their desire for pleasure. >> nine years and two stores later, they've proven those naysayers wrong. i even becoming a magnet for book tours. >> in these romance spaces, like the romance is the point. like there is no guilty pleasure. it's just pleasure. >> how does it feel to know that the ripped. >> bodice really paved the way. >> for all these. >> other. >> bookstores to open up? >> it's definitely something we don't take lightly. honestly, i

think something that's so beautiful about the romance community is how supportive it can be, and we've always found that a rising tide lifts all ships. >> we have a facebook group with all of the romance bookstore owners. >> jamie fortin is finding her ship being lifted by that tide. her store, friends to lovers had garnered quite the following. as the first romance dedicated bookstore in the washington, d.c. area. >> for the grand opening week, it was a madhouse in the best way. i think people were just so excited to be there and have this type of bookstore in their community. >> just three days after the store's opening in november, a nearby fire ruined nearly all of their inventory and forced her to shut down. but book lovers across the country wouldn't stand for it and rallied around jamie to help rebuild. >> we raised our $45,000 goal in

a week, and it really showed us that when we show up for the community, they're going to show up for us. >> she says she's looking forward to the store reopening in its permanent location in april, but until then, she's excited to keep spreading the love and helping people find their happily ever afters. >> i think reading romance has so many places in different people's lives. i think you can learn so much about yourself and the things that you love. it's great to read non fiction and learn about historical events, or learn about how to open a business with a book, but i think it's just as important to lean into stories that teach you about the world in other ways. >> i learned so much about romance novels on that shoot. there are so many subgenres really neat. when we come back. >> cleaning. >> sabrina carpenter remakes her >> sabrina carpenter remakes her please, please, please businesses and communities come together on tiktok. they don't show up like they do on tiktok.

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>> finally,ly, tonight, sabrina carpenter's new please, please, please goes country. >> please. >> please, please don't prove

i'm wrong. >> dolly parton riding shotgun with the pop star in the new version, the track getting a jaunty, countrified redo with a thelma and louise style wink to a man who's done sabrina wrong. we love miss dolly and anything that's nightline. you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here at the same time on monday. thanks for staying up with us. good night america. >> wendy williams facing her new reality. life under guardianship. now the all new interview with wendy. >> wendy, how are you doing? >> i'm still. >> in prison, so to speak. >> and the diagnosis of dementia. >> wendy, my next question, if i may. do you think you have dementia? >> no. >> what i've been. >> accused of, believe it or not. how dare you? >> an army of devoted fans taking up her cause. >> she should be able to en