The Biggest Power Couple Of The Year You Were Born

The Biggest Power Couple Of The Year You Were Born

Ann Casano
May 6, 2020 21.2K views 46 items

Who was the biggest power couple the year you were born? The media is always enamored by the coupling of famous people, and so is the gossip-crazed public. Here are the biggest power couples by year from 1960 to 2005.

Find out if your birth year celebrity couple was one of the few that stood the test of time. Are they still together like Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson? Or did they divorce like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman? Was there scandal involved? Did their relationship just run its course? Did they meet on a movie set?

This list features power couples from movies, television, music, and modeling. Not surprisingly, Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Taylor, and Warren Beatty pop up several times over the years. Who else made the list? Check out the biggest power couples by year.  

  • Eddie Fisher and Liz Taylor started their romance in scandal. Fisher was best friends with Taylor's husband Mike Todd, a film producer who perished in a plane crash in 1958. The grieving pair fell in love. The problem was that Fisher was still married to Debbie Reynolds, and they had two children together. 

    Following Fisher's divorce, the singer married Taylor in 1959 (her fourth marriage). At the time, their union was considered the "Hollywood scandal of the century." They did become a celebrity power couple in 1960 despite the swirl of negative press surrounding their nuptials. Fisher and Taylor did not make it, divorcing in 1964. The actress had her sights set on a new beau named Richard Burton. 

    • Category: Band/Musician
  • 1961: John F. Kennedy And Jacqueline Kennedy

    In 1961, John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States. At 43, the handsome leader was the second youngest president ever (behind Theodore Roosevelt). His wife, Jackie, was not only beautiful, but also fashionable and classy. The American version of royalty, the Kennedys remained married (despite JFK's apparently prodigious womanizing) until Kennedy's assassination in 1963.

    The public may not have been completely ready when Jackie married Aristotle Onassis five years after her husband's demise. She became Jackie O and remained married to the shipping magnate until his passing in 1975.

    • Category: US President
  • 1962: Paul Newman And Joanne Woodward

    Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were both in the 1958 movie The Long, Hot Summer. They fell in love and even started living together in secret before the film wrapped. Newman and Woodward got married in Las Vegas in 1958. 

    They went on to be the model of what any marriage should look like. They had three daughters and stayed together until Newman's passing in 2008. 

    Newman once said about his relationship with Woodward, "I have steak at home. Why should I go out for hamburger?"

    • Category: Person
  • 1963: Anne Bancroft And Mel Brooks

    Anne Bancroft was already a Hollywood leading lady when she met comedy writer (and future legendary director) Mel Brooks in 1961. Their meet-cute story goes that Brooks saw Bancroft rehearsing a dance number for The Perry Como Show

    "A guy from way over, from the other side of the theater, said, 'Hey, Anne Bancroft. I'm Mel Brooks,'" Bancroft said of the first time they met. "In two years, no man had ever approached me with that kind of aggression, because I had just done [the Broadway plays] Two for the Seesaw and The Miracle Worker, and people were very scared of me, especially men."

    Brooks's forwardness worked. They married in 1964, had a son in 1972, and stayed together until Bancroft's passing in 2005.

    • Category: Person
  • 1964: Elizabeth Taylor And Richard Burton

    Just four years after breaking up Eddie Fisher's marriage, Liz Taylor moved on to a new scandal. She met Richard Burton while filming the epic Cleopatra in 1963. She left Fisher and married Burton (her fifth marriage) in 1964.

    It was a scandalous union, even denounced by the Vatican. But it was also one the media could not get enough of. The pair decided to call it quits in 1974 after spending 10 years together. The rumor was that Burton was having an affair.

    "We had a good marriage. Something went wrong, but we're still good friends. I know I did everything in my power to make the marriage work, " Taylor said.

    • Category: Person
  • 1965: Cher And Sonny Bono
    • Photo:
      • The Sonny and Cher Show
      • CBS

    Cher met Sonny at a coffee shop in Hollywood when she was just 16. The pair developed a romantic relationship and married in 1964. Cher was only 19; Sonny was 10 years older. 

    In 1965, they became a hit-making singing duo with "I Got You Babe" and "Baby Don't Go." Their popularity exploded around the world. A few years later, they starred in the hit television show The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and then The Sonny & Cher Show

    Their union would not last. Sonny and Cher divorced in 1975.

    • Category: Band/Musician
  • Cary Grant had already been married three times when he asked to meet Dyan Cannon in 1965. Despite their age difference (Grant was 61 and Cannon was 28) the North by Northwest actor swept the young starlet off her feet. 

    After Cannon became pregnant with their daughter Jennifer, the pair got married in 1965. It would be Grant's only child from his five trips down the aisle. However, the marriage only lasted two years.

    Cannon wrote a book in 2011 called Dear Cary: My Life with Cary Grant. The actress detailed their tumultuous union, but wrote that she considered her relationship with Grant to be the "romance of her life."

    • Category: Person
  • Elvis Presley was already the King of Rock when he first set his eyes on a 14-year-old girl named Priscilla in 1959. They were both in Germany at the time. Elvis and Priscilla got married eight years later in a ceremony held in Las Vegas.  

    The royal music couple had their only child, Lisa Marie, in 1968. The couple divorced in 1973, but they were able to stay friends and raise their daughter together.

    Elvis passed in 1977 at 42. 

    • Category: Band/Musician
  • 1968: Johnny Cash And June Carter Cash

    Johnny Cash asked June Carter to marry him several times, but she was concerned about his substance use. Her constant rejections did not stop the baritone outlaw country singer from proposing yet another time in front of a crowd of 7,000 people while the two singers were in the middle of a concert. If the story sounds familiar, that's because the scene played out on the big screen in Cash's biopic Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. 

    June finally said "yes," and country music's royal couple walked down the aisle in 1968. They would be one of the few famous pairings that went the distance, all the way until June's passing in 2003. Cash wasn't alone long; he followed her just four months later.

    • Category: Band/Musician
  • 1969: John Lennon And Yoko Ono

    Conceptual artist Yoko Ono met John Lennon in 1966 at a London exhibition of her work. Ono claims not to have known who Lennon was at the time, even though he was at the height of his Beatles fame. They were both married to other people and started an affair. 

    Their romance led to the breakup of both of their marriages. Ono and Lennon married in 1969. Ono later revealed that Lennon was completely obsessed with her, even to the point that he followed her to the bathroom. The Beatles broke up one year after their marriage. Was Ono to blame, as some have claimed? Maybe, maybe not; the truth is likely more complicated. In any case, Lennon embarked on a successful solo career with Ono by his side.

    Lennon and Ono's relationship became a staple in the press. They were together until Lennon's assassination in 1980.

    • Category: Band/Musician
  • Julie Andrews won an Oscar for her first motion picture role as Mary Poppins in 1964. She reached icon status with The Sound of Music the following year. Though British, Andrews instantly became America's sweetheart.

    Blake Edwards (the director of Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Pink Panther) and Andrews both divorced their spouses in 1967. Andrews was in a movie called Darling Lili that Edwards was directing. They began a romance and married in 1969. It would be a love affair for the ages. They stayed married until Edwards's passing in 2010 at 88.

    Five years later, Andrews was very much still in the grieving process. She revealed:

    We were married 41 years and it was a love story, it was. Success in our marriage was to take it one day at a time and so, lo and behold, 41 years later there we still were. I'm still dealing with [his passing]. There are days when it's perfectly wonderful and I am myself and then it's suddenly - sock you in the middle of your gut and you think "ah God I wish he were here." But he is in a way, I think one carries that love always.

    • Category: Person
  • Paul and Linda met in 1967. She was a photographer at the time, and he was the bassist and co-frontman of the most popular rock band in the world. Just two years later, the couple married in a hush-hush ceremony in London. Paul was the last Beatle to tie the knot.

    After the Beatles officially called it quits, Paul started a new band with his wife in 1971 - Wings. Their love was now front and center. Paul and Linda released two albums in 1971, Ram and Wild Life

    The pair seemed to have a magical romance. They had four children together and remained married until Linda's passing in 1998 at 56.

    • Category: Person
  • There was enough of an age difference between Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner that he was her leading-man crush when she was a little girl. The young starlet went on a date with the actor when she was only 18 and he was 26. They were married in a lavish Hollywood-style wedding in 1957 and labeled America's sweethearts.

    The marriage fell apart, and they divorced in 1962. Both Wood and Wagner quickly moved on and married other people. Both of those marriages led to divorce, as well. 

    Wood and Wagner gave it another try and walked down the aisle together for a second time in 1972. They had a daughter in 1974. The Hollywood power couple remained together until Wood's mysterious drowning in 1981.

    • Category: Person
  • 1973: Steve McQueen And Ali MacGraw

    Both Ali MacGraw and Steve McQueen were major Hollywood stars when they met on the set of their 1972 movie The Getaway. MacGraw was married to film producer Robert Evans at the time. The movie went on to be a flop, but it produced one of the signature couples of the decade. 

    MacGraw and McQueen married in 1973, her third marriage and his second. The union would only last five years.

    McQueen passed in 1980 from cancer, aged 50. MacGraw admitted in a 2015 interview that she and McQueen had a turbulent relationship. Still, the actress regretted not reconnecting with her ex-husband while he was alive.

    "Steve McQueen is [gone] for 30-some-odd years, and it’s very sad to me that as sober, grown-up, nonsexually connected beings, we didn’t get to sit down and clean it all,” she said.

    • Category: Person
  • In the old days of Hollywood, actresses were supposed to hook up with actors. The media storm from two actors dating was free press for the movie industry. Faye Dunaway went against the grain. The Bonnie and Clyde actress met J. Giles Band lead vocalist Peter Wolf in 1972 after one of the rock star's concerts. They married two years later. 

    However, the marriage would not last. Dunaway's acting career was exploding at the time. Wolf was always on the road touring. The pair divorced in 1979.

    • Category: Person
  • 1975: Richard Burton And Elizabeth Taylor

    Yep, they're back. Burton and Taylor divorced in 1974. But they apparently could not stand to be apart, and retied the knot in 1975. However, this time, their marriage would only last one year.

    Burton and Taylor lived in the public eye, and much has been said and written about their passionate love affair, both good and bad. Burton wrote Taylor a love letter after one of the couple's breakups. Here is an excerpt highlighting their passion: 

    You must know, of course, how much I love you. You must know, of course, how badly I treat you. But the fundamental and most vicious, swinish, murderous, and unchangeable fact is that we totally misunderstand each other... we operate on alien wavelengths... I love you and I always will. Come back to me as soon as you can.

    • Category: Person
  • 1976: Farrah Fawcett And Lee Majors
    • Photo:
      • Six Million Dollar Man
      • ABC

    Farrah Fawcett met Lee Majors on the set of the television series The Six Million Dollar Man. They got married in 1973.  However, it wasn't until three years later that Fawcett reached her peak in popularity. In 1976, the blonde bombshell starred in the new television series Charlie's Angels. That's also the year her red swimsuit poster started to hang on the wall of nearly every teenage boy in America.

    Fawcett and Majors were two of the hottest stars in the industry. Unfortunately, their marriage would not last. They divorced in 1982.  

    In a 2019 interview, Majors talked about how his ex-wife's fame and hectic career schedule led to their separation. 

    “It was very quick, and it lasted about almost 12 years,” said Majors. “But there was a year or so when I think I saw her two weeks in one year. It’s very difficult with careers like that. This business is tough. Working 14 hours a day, both of you, and the days went by."

    Majors also said that despite their separation, they remained friends until Fawcett's passing from cancer in 2009.

    • Category: Person
  • 1977: Jack Nicholson And Anjelica Huston

    Jack Nicholson and Anjelica Huston began dating in 1973. Three years later, they broke up; Huston started a relationship with Ryan O'Neal. However, the Academy Award-winning actress would not stay with the Love Story actor for very long. She returned to Nicholson in 1977.

    They were one of the most celebrated long-term celebrity couples in Hollywood. Huston and Nicholson had an up-and-down relationship, filled with breakups and reunions, until 1990. It is alleged that the pair broke up for good after Nicholson had a child with a younger woman, actress Rebecca Broussard.

    Huston went into great detail about her often stormy relationship with the Shining actor in her 2014 memoir Watch Me.

    • Category: Person
  • Eric Clapton was George Harrison's best friend. He also fell in love with Harrison's wife Patti Boyd. 

    After the former Beatles guitarist split from Boyd, he was able to find love again with a secretary named Olivia Arias. The couple had a son together and got married in 1978. Harrison's 1979 song "Dark Sweet Lady" discusses his love for Olivia:

    My dark sweet lady
    You really got to me
    You gave me everything
    I've really fallen

    The quiet Beatle and Olivia remained together until Harrison's passing in 2001.

    • Category: Person
  • Warren Beatty was the playboy of the 1970s. He has a long list of Hollywood actresses that he's dated. One of the longest relationships he had before he married Annette Bening was with actress Diane Keaton. The couple started a romance in 1979 while working together on the movie Reds, an epic that Beatty also wrote, starred in, and directed. 

    They were the Hollywood "it couple" until around 1981. Decades later, the pair still spoke affectionately about each other.

    In a 2016 interview, Keaton spoke about Beatty's charm:

    He is curious about everyone. He is so seductive in that regard. He makes you feel like you are the only one, the person that matters; that you are just absolutely fascinating, you know? And it’s with everyone, across the board. He just has this presence.

    Beatty also spoke fondly of Keaton during a 2016 interview: “I love her. She’s a combination of integrity and humor and intelligence and fairness and, did I say beauty? A brilliant comedic sense.”

    • Category: Person
  • What goes better than one of the biggest rock stars in the world paired with one of the most beautiful models in the world? Jerry Hall and the Rolling Stones frontman started dating in 1977. They got married in Indonesia, but a court in London declared their wedding invalid. Either way, the couple spent 21 years together and had four kids. There are reports that Jagger's wandering eye ultimately led to their separation. 

    "Getting a divorce is always horrible, because you feel you've failed," Hall said in 2010. "Everyone hates to give up on a marriage. You think your family's broken up. But we managed to keep the family quite strong, and to still be friendly. Divorce is not the end of the world. It's worse to stay in an unhealthy marriage. That's a worse example for the children."

    • Category: Person
  • 1981: Prince Charles And Lady Diana Spencer

    1981: Prince Charles And Lady Diana Spencer

    Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer got married on July 29, 1981. The star-studded fairytale wedding was televised around the world. Many Americans were so fascinated by the event that they took off from work or school to watch it.

    The wedding was such a big deal that it was declared a national holiday in England. A crowd of 600,000 people lined the streets of London. Around 750 million, a record, watched the prince marry his 20-year-old princess on live television. (By contrast, an estimated 600 million watched the moon landing.)

    The royal couple went on to have two sons, but were divorced in 1996. Diana lost her life in 1997 at age 36 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

  • One of the best rock guitarists on the planet and the child actress were one year into their marriage in 1982. Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli were rock's royal couple in the 1980s. They had a son named Wolfgang in 1991.

    The couple had their struggles. The One Day at a Time actress even admitted that she cheated on the Van Halen guitarist just a couple of years into their marriage. The couple split in 2001 and signed the divorce papers in 2007. 

    “I got tired of, once again, hiding and thinking this is not the life I want for myself, for Wolfie, especially, and I don’t want to keep treating Ed so badly," said Bertinelli.

    • Category: Band/Musician
  • The big-screen princess and the acclaimed singer-songwriter started dating in 1977 when Fisher was starring in the first Star Wars movie. They got married in 1983. However, their marriage would only last one year, as Fisher was dealing with drug problems. They continued to see each other sporadically for an entire decade after the dissolution of their marriage. 

    Simon's 1983 song "Hearts and Bones," off of his sixth studio album of the same name, references his relationship with Fisher:

    Thinking back to the season before
    Looking back through the cracks in the door
    Two people were married
    The act was outrageous
    The bride was contagious
    She burned like a bride
    These events may have had some effect
    On the man with the girl by his side
    The arc of a love affair

    In 2016, at age 60, Fisher passed after suffering a heart attack. Simon wrote on his Twitter page, "Yesterday was a horrible day. Carrie was a special, wonderful girl. It's too soon."

    • Category: Person
  • 1984: Goldie Hawn And Kurt Russell 

    Maybe not getting married is the key to true romance longevity. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn met way back in 1968 on the set of the movie The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. He was only 16 at the time; Hawn was five years older.

    The two parted ways, marrying - then divorcing - other people. They started dating in 1984 when they were making the comedy Swing Shift. Both actors were at the height of their movie fame and the timing seemed perfect. 

    They moved in together. Both had kids from their other marriages, and they made it a point to raise all the kids as if they were their own. The couple had one son together, Wyatt, in 1986. Russell and Hawn are still together today.

    Hawn was once asked why she and Russell never married. She gave a simple, common-sense reply: "What is marriage going to do for us?"

    • Category: Actor
  • The Piano Man and the Uptown Girl met in 1983 when they both happened to be vacationing in St. Bart's. They started dating a short time later and got married in 1985. 

    Brinkley appeared in several of Joel's music videos in the 1980s, most notably the video for "Uptown Girl," which is a direct reference to the supermodel. Joel and Brinkley had one daughter together, but decided to call it quits in 1994.

    There were reports that Brinkley wanted to move out west. But Joel is an East Coast guy. He did write a song called "New York State of Mind," after all. Brinkley also was reportedly unhappy with Joel's life on the road.

    • Category: Person
  • The Terminator actor and the Kennedy heir met in 1977 after being introduced by Tom Brokaw at a celebrity tennis tournament. At the time, Shriver was a prominent journalist and Schwarzenegger was a world-class bodybuilder making a transition to acting. The couple got married in 1986. They went on to have four children together, but separated after 25 years of marriage. 

    Their breakup seems to mostly stem from the former California governor's affair with housekeeper Mildred Baena, who had a secret baby boy from her relationship with Schwarzenegger. Their affair happened in the late 1990s. The Twins actor did not know that he was the father until the boy was about 7 years old. The actor said during a 2012 interview with 60 Minutes that he “started looking like me, that’s when I kind of got it. I put things together."

    • Category: Person
  • Demi Moore and Bruce Willis met in 1987 at a movie screening. However, she was still with her fiancé Emilio Estevez at the time. After Moore and Estevez split, the actress and Willis started dating. It wasn't long before they found themselves in Las Vegas. Willis asked Moore to marry him right then and there in Sin City. 

    The actors, who were both approaching the height of their fame, tied the knot impromptu style at the Golden Nugget hotel in 1987. They went on to have three daughters together. However, they officially separated in 1998. 

    Moore and Willis have not just remained friends, but they've also remained active parts in each other's lives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the former couple quarantined together along with their three daughters at Moore's house in Sun Valley, Idaho. They actually looked like they were having fun. Their Instagram accounts were filled with pictures of everyone wearing matching pajamas and playing games together.

    • Category: Person
  • Here's another rare couple that has stood the test of time. Michael J. Fox first met Tracy Pollan on his sitcom Family Ties back in 1985. Pollan played Alex P. Keaton's (Fox) girlfriend for one season. The pair would meet again two years later on the set of the movie Bright Lights, Big City.

    They started dating and got married in 1988. They have four children together. 

    Following the celebration of their 30 year wedding anniversary, the couple talked about the secrets to their success.

    “Just give each other the benefit of the doubt. He assumes I’m doing the best I can,” said Pollan. 

    “Find the best things about you and the best things about life and celebrate them,” added Fox.

    • Category: Person
  • 1989: Kevin Bacon And Kyra Sedgwick

    Here's another rare famous Hollywood couple that is still together. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick met in 1987 while they were both performing the play Lemon Sky for the American Playhouse. They married one year later.

    The couple have two children together. They have both managed to have long, successful careers in movies and television. Bacon is also a musician and movie director. 

    Sedgwick talked about one of the reasons for the couple's longevity: 

    I think the biggest fight we ever had was when I wanted to move back to Manhattan and he wanted to stay in Connecticut. That was a big one, and it lasted a long time. But we don’t hit below the belt. Neither of us has the constitution for that, and I mean that in a good way. I don’t think we could dish it out or take it, frankly. Ultimately, I don’t want to fight and he doesn’t either.

    • Category: Person
  • 1990: Tom Cruise And Nicole Kidman

    Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman met on the set of their 1990 movie Days of Thunder. They married on Christmas Eve 1990; Kidman was only 23. Cruise was an A-list star at the height of his fame, while Kidman was making a big name for herself. Cruise and Kidman reigned as a Hollywood power couple for an entire decade and adopted two children together. 

    Cruise and Kidman made three movies together, including 1992's Far and Away. The stress of filming Stanley Kubrick's 1999 erotic psychological drama Eyes Wide Shut, and the film's subsequent mixed reception, is sometimes cited as sparking the couple's breakup. They divorced two years after the film was released. Others speculate that Cruise's dedication to the Church of Scientology caused the rift. 

    Regardless of why the power couple decided to end their relationship, calling it quits was especially difficult for Kidman. She revealed: 

    Our life together was perfect. It took me a very long time to heal. It was a shock to my system. That was a great relationship. I think it ran its course. I was really damaged and not sure whether [love and marriage] was ever going to happen again to me.

    • Category: Person
  • 1991: Kurt Cobain And Courtney Love

    Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love served as grunge rock royalty in the early 1990s. The couple started dating in 1991 and married just a few months later. 

    At the time, Nirvana had just exploded onto the mainstream music scene and Cobain was suddenly one of the most popular singers in the world. That extreme level of success was not a comfortable position for Cobain. The pair allegedly became hooked on heroin.

    “We went on a binge,” Love revealed in 1992. "We did a lot of drugs. We got pills and then we went down to Alphabet City and Kurt wore a hat, I wore a hat, and we copped some dope. Then we got high and went to SNL. After that, I did heroin for a couple of months.”

    Cobain took his own life at his home in Seattle, Washington, in 1994. He was 27.

    • Category: Person
  • 1992: Annette Bening And Warren Beatty

    It finally happened. Annette Bening tamed the legendary playboy Warren Beatty. The pair met while having lunch to discuss the 1991 movie Bugsy, in which they would star together. 

    Beatty became instantly enamored of the actress, but held off on asking her out until the film wrapped production. They married just one year later in 1992 and went on to have four children together. 

    Many thought Beatty would never settle down with just one woman. However, the actor/director knew immediately that Bening was "the one."

    “It didn’t really surprise me,” Beatty said during an interview in 2016. “I always felt I wasn’t trying to avoid marriage, I was trying to avoid divorce. I had no doubt when I met Annette that it was time to get married.”

    • Category: Person
  • 1993: Alec Baldwin And Kim Basinger

    Both Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger were mega stars when they acted together in 1991's The Marrying Man. The coupled tied the knot in 1993. Basinger gave birth to their only child, a daughter named Ireland, in 1995. 

    Baldwin and Basinger called it quits in 2001, and went through an ugly public divorce that involved a custody dispute concerning their daughter. 

    Baldwin did marry again in 2012. The actor has four children with current wife Hilaria.

    • Category: Person
  • 1994: Michael Jackson And Lisa Marie Presley

    The general public did not even know that Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley were dating when the following statement was released on August 1, 1994:

    My married name is Mrs. Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson. My marriage to Michael Jackson took place in a private ceremony outside the United States weeks ago. I am very much in love with Michael, I dedicate my life to being his wife. I understand and support him. We both look forward to raising a family.

    Was it a publicity stunt? Was Lisa Marie pregnant? Rumors spread about why the couple suddenly got married. 

    The reasons for their divorce just two years later were equally confusing. Following Jackson's passing in 2009, Presley did an interview with Oprah Winfrey to discuss her relationship with the King of Pop. 

    Presley said the couple argued over whether or not to have a child together: "I did want to, but I just wanted to make sure. I was looking into the future and thinking, 'I don't ever want to get into a custody battle with him.'"

    Presley admitted that she loved taking care of Jackson. She also revealed that his substance use turned out to be a breaking point in their marriage. She said, "He had to make a decision. Was it the drugs and the vampires or me? And he pushed me away."

    • Category: Person
  • 1995: Tom Hanks And Rita Wilson

    Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson prove that true love can exist in Tinseltown. The pair met in 1981 on the set of the television series Bosom Buddies. Wilson appeared as a guest during one episode. Hanks said that he instantly felt something for his future wife. "Rita and I just looked at each other and - kaboing - that was that," he said. "I asked Rita if it was the real thing for her, and it just couldn't be denied."

    However, Hanks was married to his first wife at the time. Hanks and Wilson met again a few years later, but didn't start an official romance until Hanks was divorced. 

    Hanks and Wilson said "I do" in 1988. They have been together for over 30 years. Hanks spoke about the reality of his marriage to Oprah Winfrey in a 2001 interview. He said:

    I won't deny that providence was part of us finding each other, but our relationship isn't magic - the way it's shown in movies. In real life, our connection is as concrete as me sitting here. Not that marriage doesn't come close to being hell in a handbasket sometimes. But we both know that no matter what, we'll be with each other - and we'll get through it.

    • Category: Actor
  • 1996: Brad Pitt And Gwyneth Paltrow

    Two of the prettiest blonds to ever appear on the silver screen became the Hollywood "it couple" of the 1990s. Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt met on the set of David Fincher's disturbing neo-noir Seven in 1995. They played a married couple. Things did not work out for them in the movie - who can forget the infamous line, "What's in the box?"

    The couple began dating in 1995. Pitt was a 31-year-old movie star and Paltrow was only 22 at the time. The handsome leading man and the ingenue were engaged a year later in 1996. They were together for a total of four years before calling it quits in 1997. The beautiful couple was constantly in the media spotlight. Paltrow later revealed in 2015 that Pitt was a good boyfriend to her but she was too young and simply not ready to get married. 

    Since their breakup, they have both been married twice - Pitt has also been divorced twice.

    • Category: Actor
  • Johnny Depp has a long dating history filled with beautiful actresses and models. In the mid-1990s, Depp and supermodel Kate Moss were one of the hottest couples in Hollywood.

    They hooked up in 1994 and were even engaged at one point. However, after four years, they called it quits in 1998.

    It's been quite a while since the '90s couple split; however, there are still several internet fan pages devoted to the Moss/Depp experience. A 17-year-old named Linn Tolgraven has a Pinterest page devoted to Moss and Depp's union. She explains why the couple is still so popular on social media: "They were very good looking, and such a power couple. She’s the most famous model of all time, and he’s a cool and gloomy lad. He has this aura around him that is unforgettable. So does Kate Moss - she will always be iconic."

    • Category: Person
  • 1998: Ethan Hawke And Uma Thurman

    Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke were already established A-list movie stars when they met in 1996 on the set of the science-fiction film Gattaca. The story goes that they fell instantly in love and started a romance. Hawke proposed twice to Thurman, and she allegedly turned him down twice. At some point, she changed her mind; the couple got married in 1998.

    Their daughter Maya was born a couple of months after the wedding and their son Levon arrived in 2002. However, the couple decided to call it quits five years later. Rumors spread that Hawke was unfaithful, and he did say years later that he was too young to get married (he was 27). Their divorce became official in 2005.

    • Category: Person
  • Here's another happy, successful love story. Soccer superstar David Beckham and Victoria Adams, AKA Posh Spice, met in 1997. Their meet-cute is that Beckham saw a Spice Girls video and became interested in Posh. They officially met at a charity football match in 1997. He was bashful but managed to get her phone number. 

    Despite his alleged "shyness," Victoria knew it was love at first sight. "I knew as soon as I met him that one of the most attractive things about David was that he shared the same sort of family values as me," said Victoria. "I really liked that."

    The beautiful British couple got engaged in 1998 and were married a year later. The English media calls them "Posh and Becks." They have four children together.

    • Category: Person
  • Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were just the couple to end the 20th century and start the new one. In 1998, the biggest movie star and the biggest television star were set up by their managers. Aniston would later reveal that she knew immediately there was something special between them. Just two years later, the hottest celebrity couple in Tinseltown married in a lavish Malibu wedding fit for Hollywood royalty.

    The couple remained in the public eye. There were always rumors floating around that Aniston was pregnant. Then, new rumors cropped up in 2004 that Brad Pitt and his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie were having an affair. The rumors turned out to be true. In January 2005, the couple publicly announced their separation: 

    We would like to announce that after seven years together we have decided to formally separate. For those who follow these sorts of things, we would like to explain that our separation is not the result of any of the speculation reported by the tabloid media. This decision is the result of much thoughtful consideration. We happily remain committed and caring friends with great love and admiration for one another.

    • Category: Person
  • 2001: Will Smith And Jada Pinkett Smith

    Here's another success story. Will Smith met Jada Pinkett when the actress auditioned for the role of Will Smith's girlfriend on the sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Pinkett did not get the part because she was too short. However, the pair became friendly. They started dating in 1995 after Smith divorced his first wife Sheree Zampino.

    Will and Jada got married in 1997 and had two children together, Jaden and Willow. Smith became one of the biggest Hollywood box office draws in the late 1990s and early 2000s. What's the secret to the couple's longevity? Pinkett Smith explained in 2019 that the couple make their own rules, instead of clinging to traditional societal norms. The actress explained:

    I knew that I was not built for conventional marriage. Even the word "wife": it’s a golden cage, swallow the key. Even before I was married, I was like, "That’ll kill me." And it damn near did! So why wouldn’t you share what you’ve been through, when you see that other people are out there, trying to figure this crap out? We decided to make it public because it’s part of the healing. I feel like if we don’t have real understanding about it, I don’t know if interpersonal relationships are possible.

    • Category: Person
  • 2002: Charlie Sheen And Denise Richards
    • Photo:

    Forget about Charlie Sheen's complete and total "Tiger Blood/winning" breakdown of 2011. Back in the early 2000s, he was several years sober with a career resurrection as the new star of the sitcom Spin City. Also in the 2000s, Denise Richards was at the height of her modeling career and had recently been a Bond girl in 1999's The World Is Not Enough.

    The couple married on June 15, 2002. It looked like Sheen had shed his bad-boy, partying ways. The couple went on to have two daughters together. However, Richards filed both divorce papers and a restraining order in 2006. They were officially divorced by the end of the year. At that time, Sheen could only visit his daughters under supervision.

    • Category: Person
  • 2003: Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez

    Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez created such a media storm of publicity in 2002 and 2003 that oversaturation nearly ruined their careers. The union of the Hollywood leading man and the pop diva/actress was labeled "Bennifer." Tabloids couldn't get enough. 

    Rumors circulated that Affleck and Lopez were an item while they were making the movie Gigli. The problem was that Lopez had just gotten married to her second husband Chris Judd. The singer filed for divorce just nine months after saying "I do." Affleck and Lopez became an official public Hollywood couple not soon after. The whirlwind of press began. They even became engaged in 2002.  

    Then, Gigli hit the silver screen in the summer of 2003. The film was an epic box office disaster, derided by critics and audiences alike. The fallout from Gigli and the constant media presence surrounding their relationship took their toll. Bennifer called off their wedding just days before they had planned to walk down the aisle.

    • Category: Person
  • Both Josh Brolin and Diane Lane were established movie stars in the business for decades when they began dating in 2002. They were married a couple of years later in 2004. They seemed to be the perfect grown-up couple, both on their second marriage, and looking beautiful on the red carpet together.

    The facade quickly faded on December 19, 2004, when Brolin was arrested for spousal battery. However, Lane did not press charges. They publicly stated that the situation got out of hand and that it was not a big deal. The couple remained together for the next few years.

    Brolin carried a lot of residual anger regarding his arrest. In a 2010 interview with Playboy, he discussed the incident:

    I feel rage about that. I feel I've gotten to a point where I can't explain it, defend it or compensate for it. I can't say, "No, I'm actually a really good guy and that didn't happen." Everybody knows what happened because it's all out there. I talked big, she said "F**k you" and called the cops, and somebody had to go to jail. This will be there for the rest of my life. That f***ing sucks. It's been so disruptive to our lives. It's also post-O.J., and that horrifies us both.

    On New Year's Day 2013, Brolin was arrested for public intoxication. Two months later, the couple announced their separation.

    • Category: Person
  • 2005: Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt

    The story of how Brad and Angelina met on the set of their movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston is well documented. 

    The couple denied, denied, denied for months until Pitt's divorce was finalized. In 2005, they publicly outed themselves in a feature article for W magazine called "Domestic Bliss." They became "Brangelina," and people took sides. Millions of fans around the world declared their allegiance to Aniston.

    In January 2006, Jolie's two children legally changed their last names to Jolie-Pitt. The couple also announced that Jolie was pregnant. The actress gave birth to twins in July 2008. After years of wedding bell rumors, they finally married in August 2014. Just two years later, in 2016, Jolie filed for divorce and asked for primary custody of the couple's six children. 

    Brangelina started in scandal, yet eventually, they managed to mostly win over the public.

    • Category: Person