Celebrities Who Dated Normal People Through the Years

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 31 March 2020

Everyone's played the old "name your celebrity crush" icebreaker game. But for some of the regular, non-famous folk among us, it became a reality. From Grammy Award-winning singers to Academy Award nominees, some of Hollywood's biggest names have either dated or are currently dating non-celebrities. Keep reading to find out who you may have a chance with in the future.

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Liam Payne

When Liam Payne was climbing the ranks of Hollywood with his boy band One Direction, his non-famous former classmate, Sophia Smith, stole his heart. The pair were first linked in May 2013 and dated for two years before going their separate ways (opens in new tab).

2/40

Harry Styles

Harry Styles has had many high profile relationships—from Taylor Swift to Kendall Jenner—but nothing rattled his super fans like the singer being linked to food blogger Tess Ward. Fans outed the pair based on Ward wearing Styles's shirt (pictured on Ward) to an event in 2017, which prompted a lot of online abuse (opens in new tab) from fans.

3/40

Britney Spears

Britney Spears met her personal trainer boyfriend in October 2016 (opens in new tab) on the set of her "Slumber Party" music video. After chatting on set, Asghari left his number in the singer's bag and the rest, as they say, is history.

4/40

Maisie Williams

The Game of Thrones actress and her former classmate, Ollie Jackson, made their debut as a couple at the season seven Game of Thrones premiere of in 2017—even though they'd been dating since 2015. The couple are no longer together, even though they never formally announced their split (opens in new tab).

5/40

Maisie Williams (Again!)

For the past year, Williams has been dating another non-celebrity: Reuben Selby (opens in new tab). The actress met the entrepreneur when he was the communications director for her talent agency app, Daisie. Williams even wore a custom gown created by Selby and designer JW Anderson to the 2019 Emmys.

6/40

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves shocked fans when he revealed his relationship with Los Angeles-based artist, Alexandra Grant, in 2019. It turns out, the actor has been friends with Grant for more than a decade after meeting at a dinner party (opens in new tab) in 2009.

7/40

Amy Schumer

Even stars sometimes turn to online dating. At least, that's how Amy Schumer met her ex-boyfriend, Ben Hanisch. "He was my first match. The picture was him dancing with his grandma at like a wedding. It was really cute," Schumer told Howard Stern (opens in new tab). The couple dated for a year and a half before splitting in 2017.

8/40

Camila Mendes

Riverdale actress Camila Mendes announced her relationship with Victor Houston in June 2018, after getting to know each other in the actress's hometown of Plantation, Florida. Houston and the actress dated for a few months before she ended the relationship (opens in new tab).

9/40

Jake T. Austin

Danielle Caesar was living every teenage fan's dream when she began dating Disney Channel star, Jake T. Austin, after meeting him at a meet-and-greet in 2011. The actor later confirmed their relationship on Instagram (opens in new tab) and told the Daily News (opens in new tab) via his rep, "We're young and having fun just getting to know each other. It doesn't matter how you meet someone—on set, in a coffee shop, at school, or in the business."

10/40

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck first stepped out with Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus in July 2017. After an on-again, off-again relationship, the two split for good in April 2019 (opens in new tab).

11/40

Tom Felton

Tom Felton began dating Jade Olivia in 2008, after meeting on the set of one of the Harry Potter movies. Olivia was working as an assistant to the stunt coordinator and even stepped in to portray the wife of Felton's character in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. After dating for a whopping eight years, the couple called it quits (opens in new tab) in 2016.

12/40

Lady Gaga

The singer and A Star Is Born actress was first linked to her talent agent beau, Christian Carino, in 2017 and things escalated when she announced their engagement the following year. However, Lady Gaga ended things with Carino in March 2019 reportedly due to his jealousy (opens in new tab).

13/40

Lady Gaga (Again!)

Lady Gaga debuted a new man at the 2020 Super Bowl in Miami. After months of speculation, the singer shared a cuddly snap of her and her entrepreneur boyfriend, Michael Polansky (opens in new tab), on her Instagram (opens in new tab) in February.

14/40

Heidi Klum

In 2012, Heidi Klum and her bodyguard Martin Kirsten debuted their more than professional relationship a few months after the model filed for divorce from her husband of seven years, Seal. The couple were together for almost 18 months before they called things off (opens in new tab).

15/40

Ian Harding

In 2015, the Pretty Little Liars actor revealed that he had been dating Sophie Hart, a photographer and set designer, for four years. The actor told People (opens in new tab), "In this line of work, you have to just reveal and give so much of yourself over and over again, that to have something private is kind of a novelty. So, yeah, that's why I've kept it quiet and I really won't say much else about it other than it's awesome." The couple are still happily together (opens in new tab)—as far as we know.

16/40

Bruno Mars

So many people don't know that Bruno Mars has been in a relationship since, wait for it, 2011! The singer reportedly met his longterm partner (opens in new tab), Jessica Caban (a model and swimwear designer (opens in new tab)), after he approached her in a restaurant in New York City.

17/40

Shay Mitchell

The Pretty Little Liars actress has been with her boyfriend (opens in new tab), Matte Babel, since 2017, and the couple even welcomed a daughter together in October 2019. That's about all we know about their relationship.

18/40

Ansel Elgort

Ansel Elgort's high school sweetheart, Violetta Komyshan, is far from normal—the 23-year-old ballerina has amassed a significant Instagram (opens in new tab) following of her own (1.1 million followers) and has been dating The Goldfinch actor since their years at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (opens in new tab) in New York City.

19/40

Martha Hunt

Martha Hunt and her photographer fiancée (opens in new tab), Jason McDonald, have been together since 2015 after meeting on the set of a photoshoot. McDonald popped the question (opens in new tab) to the Victoria's Secret model in January 2020 during a trip to the Bahamas.

20/40

Louis Tomlinson

Louis Tomlinson and his current girlfriend, Eleanor Calder, were first spotted together in 2011. After briefly breaking up in 2015, they reunited in 2017 and have been together ever since. Although Tomlinson shut down engagement rumors recently, he explained what makes his relationship with Calder different: "The luxury with Eleanor is I've known her since before our first single "What Makes You Beautiful," so she’s felt the whole growth of everything," he told The Sun (opens in new tab).

21/40

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey went public with Australian billionaire James Packer in June 2015 after meeting at the premiere of (opens in new tab)Hercules (opens in new tab). The singer jetted off to Europe for a whirlwind romance after she and the businessman announced their engagement, but things fizzled out and the pair called off the wedding in 2016.

22/40

Mariah Carey (Again!)

Toward the end of her relationship with Packer, the Grammy winner set her sights on another relatively unknown gentleman: her backup dancer, Bryan Tanaka. Carey confirmed their relationship (opens in new tab) in February 2017 and the two are still going strong.

23/40

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey has been in a longterm partnership with Stedman Graham for 30 years after meeting at a charity event in 1986 (opens in new tab). At the time, the media mogul was just getting her start on television and he was a successful businessman.

24/40

Sofía Vergara

After meeting at a Golden Globes party, Modern Family actress Sofía Vergara began dating businessman Nick Loeb. The couple announced their engagement in 2012, but broke up two years later. Loeb later sued Vergara (opens in new tab) over the two embryos the couple created together in 2013 when they had plans to attempt to conceive via surrogate.

25/40

Kate Hudson

Kate Hudson had been friends with her current boyfriend, musician Danny Fujikawa, for over a decade before they got together. They publicly announced their engagement in May 2017 and announced the birth of their daughter (opens in new tab), Rani Rose Hudson Fujikawa, in October 2018.

26/40

Anna Kendrick

Anna Kendrick is notorious for keeping her private life out of the press—including her six-year relationship (opens in new tab) with cinematographer, Ben Richardson. The actress and her longtime beau began dating in 2014 after meeting on the set of Drinking Buddies.

27/40

Charlie Hunnam

Although Charlie Hunnam keeps his relationship with Morgana McNelis under wraps, the actor has been dating the Los Angeles-based jewelry designer for almost 14 years. The two met through mutual friends (opens in new tab) shortly after the actor moved to Hollywood in 2005.

28/40

Madonna

Madonna was in a relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon from 1994 until 1997, which resulted in the birth of her first daughter, Lourdes Leon.

29/40

Madonna (Again!)

Madonna was first linked to aspiring Brazilian model, Jesus Luz, after meeting at a 2008 photoshoot (opens in new tab). The singer and Luz dated for two years, but eventually parted ways in 2010.

30/40

Madonna (Yes, Again!)

Shortly after ending things with Luz, Madonna was linked to her French backup dancer, Brahim Zaibat. The pair dated from 2010 until 2013 (opens in new tab).

31/40

Jennifer Lopez

After her divorce from Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez stepped out with her backup dancer, Casper Smart. From their 18-year age difference to their huge gap in notoriety, they were the couple to watch. The pair dated for five-and-half years (opens in new tab), on and off, before breaking up for good in 2016.

32/40

Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera began seeing production assistant and guitarist Matthew Rutler after her 2011 divorce from Jordan Bratman. The longtime couple have been engaged since 2014 and welcomed their daughter, Summer Rain, in 2014.

33/40

Cynthia Nixon

After meeting in high school in 1988, Cynthia Nixon was in a longterm relationship with photographer Danny Mozes. The two broke up in 2003, after which Nixon began dating her current wife, Christine Marinoni—but the former couple remain friends and co-parent their children (opens in new tab) together.

34/40

George Clooney

George Clooney dated Celine Balitran, a law student, for three years. The two met in Paris in 1996 (opens in new tab) and were a serious item until 1999.

35/40

George Clooney (Again!)

George Clooney met Maria Bertrand when she was working as a waitress in Canada in 2002. The actor was working on his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. He cast her in a minor role in the film and the two were linked for a brief period afterward (opens in new tab).

36/40

George Clooney (Yes, Again!)

From 2007 until 2008, Clooney dated another waitress. Sarah Larson even scored an invite to the Oscars when Clooney was nominated in 2008 for Michael Clayton. Sadly, Clooney didn't win and the relationship didn't last.

37/40

Kourtney Kardashian

Even though Kourtney Kardashian started dating her longtime on-again, off-again boyfriend Scott Disick before her Keeping Up With the Kardashians days, we still think it counts.

38/40

Sandra Bullock

Rumors of Sandra Bullock's relationship with photographer Bryan Randall first started in September 2015. According to reports (opens in new tab), the two met when the actress hired Randall to capture her son Louis' birthday party.

39/40

Joan Smalls

Puerto Rican-born Victoria's Secret model Joan Smalls has been with her boyfriend, Bernard Smith, founder of Modellounge (opens in new tab), since 2010 (opens in new tab).

40/40

Matt LeBlanc

The Friends star met Aurora Mulligan while working on BBC's Top Gear—him in front of the lens and her behind it as a producer (opens in new tab). They made their first public appearance together at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

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