Stars—they’re just like us: They can’t help who they fall in love with. Every so often, that results in an A-lister being taken with a non-famous person. And some celebrities actually end up married to their biggest fans. Some of these love stories are tales of regular folks catching the eye of their favorite star; some are of equally famous stars who scored dates with their own celebrity crushes. Keep reading for 22 such love stories—however improbable they may seem. And for stars with surprising family ties, check out Celebrities You Had No Idea Were Related.
1 | Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
Everett Collection/ShutterstockKatie Holmes used to tell her Dawson’s Creek castmates about her crush on the Top Gun movie star, noting that she even had a poster of Tom Cruise on her wall. Then she told Seventeen magazine in 2004 that she “used to think [she] was going to marry Tom Cruise.'' It was just a short time later in May 2005 that Holmes got her wish and began dating Cruise. The couple was engaged mere weeks later, and Holmes gave birth to their child, Suri, in 2006. Despite Cruise’s initial couch-jumping enthusiasm for Holmes, the couple eventually divorced in 2012. For more celebrity trivia sent right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
2 | Patrick and Jillian Dempsey
ShutterstockCelebrity hair stylist Jillian Dempsey (née Fink) gave trims and crushed on actor Patrick Dempsey for three whole years before he finally asked her out. Their romance worked fast to make up for lost time, and they moved in together three months after their first date, marrying in 1999. They’ve stuck together ever since, even reconciling after a near divorce a few years ago, as Patrick revealed to People.
3 | Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon
ShutterstockGrowing up as a fan of Mariah Carey’s music and looks, Nick Cannon must have felt like he won the lottery when his “dream girl” said “I do.” Unfortunately, Nick was not destined to always be her baby: The couple split in 2016. For more stars who dated across an age difference, here are 27 Celebrity Couples With Huge Age Gaps.
4 | Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman
Joe Seer / ShutterstockAmong her fans, Anne Hathaway can count producer Adam Shulman, who became her husband in 2012. Shulman was a long-time admirer of the actor, which he presumably had a chance to tell her after they met through friends a few years before tying the knot.
5 | Corey and Susie Feldman
ShutterstockCorey Feldman met Susie Feldman (née Sprague) while she was out celebrating her 19th birthday with friends. The Playboy playmate and actor wed on Corey's reality show, The Two Coreys, in 2002. Corey broke his cardinal relationship rules—never dating a fan or anyone he met in a nightclub—when he married Susie. The couple separated in 2009, and finalized their divorce in 2014. For an update on other '80s heartthrobs, check out The Biggest '80s Teen Idols, Then and Now.
6 | Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong
ShutterstockIt was backstage at a 1990 show in Minnesota where Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong first met his future wife. Adrienne Armstrong (née Nesser) had seen the band the night before at a house party, and was impressed enough that she decided to catch their show the following day and buy an album. Though the two didn’t start dating then, the backstage interaction left Billie Joe with a crush. Later, after an unsuccessful attempt at a long distance relationship and some time apart, the two eventually reconnected and wed in 1994.
7 | Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose
ShutterstockRapper Wiz Khalifa and model Amber Rose each had successful careers of their own when they first started dating, but their public displays of affection made it known that they’d been interested in each other for a while. For example, Rose once posted an Instagram photo of her man with the caption “#MCM this was the first picture I ever saw of this handsome guy. Now he’s all mine!” Their marriage was short but sweet, and it seems as if they’re still cheering each other on since their 2016 divorce. For more stars who managed to split amicably, here are 48 Celebrity Exes Who Are Best Friends Now.
8 | Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
AlamyLong before their widely-mocked “conscious uncoupling” in 2016, before they’d even met, Chris Martin was making jokes about dating Gwyneth Paltrow. It turns out he was also manifesting the future. When Paltrow later attended a Coldplay show, Martin’s assistant asked her to come backstage after to finally make introductions. The two mutual fans hit it off and eventually married, and they have two children together, Apple and Moses.
9 | Danny Bonaduce and Amy Railsback
ShutterstockThe Partridge Family star Danny Bonaduce met Amy Railsback, a teacher, when she approached him at a Starbucks to praise his reality series, Breaking Bonaduce. The couple dated for three years while Bonaduce finalized his divorce with his second wife, finally marrying in 2010. To see what couples looked like in the very early stages, check out 18 Photos of Celebrity Couples When They First Got Together.
10 | Justin and Hailey Bieber
DFree/ShutterstockA whole generation of fans dreamt that they'd marry Justin Bieber—and one of them was right. Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) was a well-documented Belieber before she and the singer kicked off a whirlwind romance that resulted in their 2018 wedding. As Elite Daily notes, a much younger Hailey tweeted at and about the star, waited in a throng of fans to catch a glimpse of him outside her hotel, and, eventually, succeeded in meeting him thanks to her famous dad, Stephen Baldwin.
11 | Fergie and Josh Duhamel
ShutterstockJosh Duhamel had already made public his big crush on the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie when the group was scheduled to appear on his TV show, Las Vegas. Fergie, well aware of his pining, approached the actor on set and kicked off the relationship that would lead to their eventual marriage in 2009. After having a child, weathering and recovering from a cheating scandal, and almost a decade together, the couple finalized their divorce in 2019.
12 | Steve and Marjorie Harvey
ShutterstockComedian and Family Feud host Steve Harvey first saw his future wife in the front row of a 1990 Memphis comedy show where he was performing. The two briefly dated, but it wouldn’t be until they reconnected in 2005 that Marjorie Harvey (née Bridges) and Steve got serious. They married two years later and have been happily wed ever since.
13 | Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
ShutterstockAfter seeing a 2006 picture of Kim Kardashian with her friend Paris Hilton, Kanye West was smitten and asked a friend if he’d ever heard of this “Kim Kar-dijon” woman. Some time later in 2012, with both of their careers now at even higher points, the two began dating (while Kim was still with Kris Humphries) and married in 2014. Today, they have four children.
14 | Adam and Jackie Sandler
DFree/ShutterstockAdam Sandler met Jackie Titone after the model and actor went for and won a small role as a sports bar waitress in his film Big Daddy. The two started dating soon after, walked down the aisle in 2003, and welcomed two daughters. To this day, Jackie supports her husband by appearing in many of his movies—the latest cameo being in 2020's Hubie Halloween.
15 | Conan and Liza O'Brien
Shutterstock"Somewhere, in the vault at NBC, there's footage of me literally falling for my wife on camera," Conan O’Brien told Piers Morgan during a 2012 interview. The redhead talk show host spotted his future wife, Liza O'Brien (née Powel), in the audience during a 2000 taping of his show, and he made his move. They married two years later and have two children together.
16 | Matthew Lewis and Angela Jones
Jaguar PS/ShutterstockAngela Jones lived a Harry Potter fan's dream: catching the eye of a cast member during an event at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Jones was an event planner at Universal Studios when she crossed paths with Matthew Lewis, a.k.a. Gryffindor Neville Longbottom, in 2016. As Yahoo notes, she wrote on her lifestyle blog afterwards that she "never believed in soulmates until [they] met." The two got married just two years later.
17 | Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon
ShutterstockOne of Hollywood's most enduring couples, Kyra Sedgwick first met Kevin Bacon when she was only 12. She had just seen the actor perform in the matinee of a play he was doing, and decided to approach him in a deli. As Bacon revealed on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson in 2014, “A little girl was in there who had just seen the matinee, and her brother said, ‘You liked that actor, go tell him you liked him,’ and it was Kyra." Thankfully, the couple didn't start dating until they met again on the set of 1988's Lemon Sky. They got married that year, and have been together ever since.
18 | Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld
ShutterstockJerry Seinfeld and his wife of 21 years, Jessica Seinfeld (née Sklar), first met at the gym in 1998 when she was only two months into her first marriage. Jessica's current relationship was already on the rocks and she was a fan of Jerry’s show, so the two began dating in secret. After Jessica's husband caught wind of the adultery through paparazzi shots, the two got divorced—and Jerry swooped in to marry Jessica at the end of ‘99.
19 | La La and Carmelo Anthony
s_bukley/ShutterstockNBA player Carmelo Anthony was a star in his own right when he met La La Vasquez, but he was also another fan crushing on the TV presenter. They were introduced by mutual friend DJ Clue, who told the TRL host that Anthony had asked to meet her. The pair wed in 2010, and much of their domestic life has been documented by VH1 reality shows.
20 | Ringo Starr and Maureen Starkey Tigrett
AlamyOf all the fans who’ve landed a celebrity spouse, it��s hard to think of any more impressive than the woman who nabbed a Beatle. Maureen “Mo” Starkey Tigrett (née Cox) dated Ringo Starr in secret for a while after her regular attendance at the Cavern Club caught his eye. Every so often, she’d have to fend off attacks from other fans who caught wind of their tryst. But after Starr was hospitalized with a fever and tonsillitis, Starkey Tigrett stayed by his bedside while he convalesced. The two made their relationship official after that and married in 1965 when it became clear she was pregnant. They had two other children before they divorced in 1975.
21 | Ruben Studdard and Surata Zuri McCants
ShutterstockAmerican Idol winner Ruben Studdard was signing CDs at a Walmart in 2006 when he first met the woman he would later marry. Less than two years after putting his signature on Surata Zuri McCants' album, he was putting it on their marriage certificate. Sadly, the couple's divorce was finalized in 2012.
22 | John Travolta and Kelly Preston
ShutterstockKelly Preston was a fan of John Travolta’s work long before the two actors met in 1987 for a screen test of a film they’d wind up starring in together. The chemistry wasn’t immediate, but Preston’s rocky marriage engendered a closeness with Travolta that would serve as the foundation of their romantic relationship when it began in 1990. Married the following year, the couple weathered decades ups and downs together before Preston died of breast cancer in 2020.
