Kylie Jenner was missing her most important accessory when she showed up at the 2026 Met Gala on May 4. The beauty mogul strutted into fashion’s biggest night in a skin-tight, nipple-baring Schiaparelli dress, adding to the structural look’s overall drama by bleaching her eyebrows. Jenner’s brows weren’t the only thing M.I.A. — her boyfriend Timothée Chalamet was notably not by her side at the gala, despite the couple’s recent string of PDA-filled public appearances.
Chalamet’s absence was a bit of a surprise, since he and Jenner had made such a huge splash during awards season. But fans will have to just keep waiting for this duo to make their Met Gala debut. Ever since Chalamet and Jenner were first linked in early 2023, the actor has consistently opted to steer clear of the Met Gala (maybe he’s just wary of the stylish event’s relationship “curse?”). Chalamet has only showed up once, back in 2021 when he served as a co-chair.
Hardcore fans of Chalamet had already suspected he wasn’t going to hit the Met Gala this year, given that his beloved New York Knicks were playing the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA playoffs at the same time. Sure enough, as celebs flooded the Met Gala stairs, Chalamet posted a photo of himself sitting court-side at Madison Square Garden.
And official photos from the May 4 game confirmed he was cheering on his favorite team several blocks away from his girlfriend’s big fashion moment.
This isn’t the first time Chalamet has chosen basketball over Balmain. He also skipped the 2025 Met Gala in favor of a Knicks playoff game at the same time, defending the choice on Carmelo Anthony’s podcast by saying he was too “locked in” to possibly miss the athletic event.
“That Knicks run last year, I think that was the most fun period of my life,” Chalamet said. “Those four months, I’m not even kidding. Just the Garden being electric.”
So, for the third year since Chalamet and Jenner have been an item during Met Gala season, Jenner stuck to family and friends for company at the fashionable night. Hopefully the Knicks schedule will allow Chalamet to finally get glam with his GF next year.
