Dan Reynolds Recalls 'Strange' Way He Bonded with Girlfriend Minka Kelly Before They Met

In an interview with PEOPLE for its favorite cover story, the Imagine Dragons frontman recalled the "strange" way he bonded with the actress even before they met in person.

Reynolds, 36, said he and Kelly, 44, first met in 2022 after being introduced through a mutual friend. However, since Kelly was away filming at the time, the two didn't get to meet in person, and instead got to know each other by talking on the phone.

The Euphoria actress was working on her 2023 memoir, Tell Me Everything, at the time, while Reynolds was writing new music.

Reynolds revealed that he sent her music he was working on, and Kelly, in return, shared some of her book.

"She's like, 'Well, if you're going to share your art, I can share something with you, but it’s very vulnerable for me. Do you want to do this or not?'" Reynolds told PEOPLE. "She was very scared for me to read the book because we hadn't met, just as much as I was scared for her to hear a song that I'd written."

"But we shared it and then it ended up being a really beautiful thing and brought us a lot closer," he continued. "I think it helped us both kind of understand each other on a deeper level quite quickly."

Reflecting on the unconventional way he and Kelly connected, Reynolds said, "It was a really strange and awesome way to meet someone because I was hearing all her life stories from youth to now, and she had a really hard, colorful, beautiful life. Getting to read it all before you even meet somebody … I've never had that kind of introduction to someone."

Reynolds and Kelly were first romantically linked in November 2022 after they were photographed together in Los Angeles. This came just a couple of months after Reynolds and his estranged wife, Aja Volkman, separated after 11 years of marriage. Volkman filed for divorce from Reynolds in April 2023. The former couple share daughter Arrow, 11, 7-year-old twins Gia and Coco, and son Valentine, 4.

In his interview with PEOPLE, Reynolds said fatherhood is his "favorite part of life."

"It brings me immense joy," he shared. "I love my four kids so much. I feel like I have the luckiest career in the world, [but] that's always been my first priority, is making sure that I’m showing up in the ways that I need to to love on these kids."