Ella Brilliant reveals why she would never date her Off Campus costar Belmont Cameli after public concern about their age gap.
“I totally get [why fans want] it, but it surely is so weird,” Brilliant, 19, said on the Friday, July 3, episode of the “In Your Dreams With Owen Thiele” podcast. “Like, no.”
Brilliant referred to Cameli, 28, as “literally my brother.” She went on to clarify how she hasn’t “seen that much” of the fan discourse around their friendship, adding, “I like him a lot, but yeah, it’s very funny.”
The actress also identified that Cameli is in a relationship with Raina Morris.
“He also has an ideal and delightful, amazing girlfriend,” Brilliant added while referring to the TV author as “my angel on Earth.”
Based on the Off-Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show follows an elite ice hockey team and the ladies of their lives as they “grapple with love, heartbreak and self-discovery — forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that include transitioning into maturity,” per the official synopsis.
Hannah (Brilliant) and Garrett’s (Cameli) love story took center stage in season 1 — with several key moments from their book, The Deal, being updated. The season, which premiered in May, received some backlash after audience members questioned a then-18-year-old Brilliant filming sex scenes with Cameli.
Ella Brilliant and Belmont Cameli. Liane Hentscher/Prime
“For Hannah, the briefing was partial nudity, and for Allie, it needed to be full [nudity]. That was simply because Allie has got this amazing confidence about her and he or she is so free together with her body and sex is just such a vital a part of her life,” Brilliant explained on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast last month. “It’s truthfully just showing the difference between these characters.”
She continued: “For Hannah — obviously, given her backstory [with sexual assault] — she dresses more innocently and he or she’s got the thin jeans and the hoodies. It just shows the dichotomy between the characters. That was all the time — from the start — the concept.”
Brilliant clarified that nothing was altered when she got forged, adding, “All of [the people auditioning for] Hannah knew it was just going to be partial. For Allie, it was going to be full so everyone had [a] full understanding of what we were going into.”
The Off Campus forged has, just like their fictional counterparts, have found success of their personal dating lives. Based on the Off Campus book series by Elle Kennedy, the show, which premiered in May 2026, follows an elite ice hockey team — and the ladies of their lives — as they “grapple with love, heartbreak […]
Creator Louisa Levy, meanwhile, broke her silence on the criticism surrounding the forged’s age differences.
“I had a conversation with Ella before we closed her deal to make sure that she knew what was coming,” she told Variety. “She’d read the book, so she already understood, but I walked her through all the things and made sure she was comfortable and assured.”
The screenwriter acknowledged that Brilliant and Cameli had a virtually nine-year age gap.
“If I had felt she wasn’t ready, I might have pumped the brakes immediately. But she was so game,” Levy continued. “And we’ve a unprecedented intimacy coordinator, Kathy Kadler, who had conversations with not only Belmont and Ella but with all of the actors who had any intimacy work.”
Levy added: “[It was about] really understanding what made everyone comfortable, what they felt good about, what they didn’t. We never did anything that made anyone uncomfortable before we ever rolled a frame of camera.”
Off Campus is currently streaming on Prime Video.