Christopher Briney has a lot going for him. Since his breakout role in Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, he owes it to the people who ground him.
The series based on Jenny Han’s book series of the same name became an instant anthem in 2022. Much of the younger actors like Lola Tung, Gavin Casalegno, and Sean Kaufman were relatively unknown actors, but exploded into stardom right after the series premiered. Despite gaining millions of followers within weeks, Briney keeps himself humble. “I think it really just comes down to feeling the community that I’ve built,” the actor told Teen Vogue. “I have a lot of friends that I went to college with, that I’ve been acting with and growing with for seven years today. I have a girlfriend who I love a lot and who loves me a lot. These people will always be honest with me, and if I was ever getting in my own head or letting my ego explode, they’d call me out for it, and I appreciate them for that and I trust them.”
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Who Is Christopher Briney’s girlfriend?
Christopher Briney is dating fellow actress Isabel Machado. The two met when they were students at Pace University, and they both graduated in the summer of 2020. They made their relationship official in June 2021.
Just like Belly and Conrad in the series, the two weren’t expecting to be in a relationship when they first met. “We were friends first,” he told People. “We went to college together and we lived together. We knew that we could do it.” The two have also appeared in the same projects in college. In an early school film in 2019, Briney promoted it on his Instagram feed with the caption, “Find out why Isabel and I are fighting and Dan and I are kissing at the link in my bio!!”
He joked to Teen Vogue that their relationship would be surprising to their younger selves. “Eighteen-year-old us would be so confused if they just looked into a window,” he told the outlet. “They’d be like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait! What’s going on? What are you guys doing? Stop it!’ But it feels right. Your friends know you, and you know them.”
Briney shared that Machado brings a newfound confidence to him. “When my girlfriend tells me I’m pretty, I think I feel pretty,” he told People in 2023. She even lives with fellow TSITP actress Minnie Mills.
The two do almost everything together and she frequently makes cameos on his Instagram feed. She even gives him pretty solid fashion advice. “The biggest thing [she has told me] is just wear something that you think is cool,” he told People at TAG Heuer Flagship Boutique’s Opening Event in New York City. “Not something that you think someone else thinks is cool. It’s hard to do that, easier said than done.”
Machado chimed in that they’re in tune with each other. “We support each other in anything. It doesn’t matter … if it’s a hell yes, it’s a hell yes, and if [one of us] is going to do [something, the other] is going to support you.”
He celebrated her birthday in February 2025. “My dear isabel turns 27 today 💓,” he wrote. “Thank you for always walking by my side, you make me the luckiest boy in the world.”
He also doesn’t fail to mention his girlfriend in interviews and the two often exchange gifts for each other. The actor revealed to InStyle the special gift he would get for Machado. “I would grab my girlfriend really expensive and fancy flowers, because I think she deserves them, and you can never have too many flowers. Everybody should grab the people they love more flowers.”
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