17 Surprising Celeb Pairings Who Had Secret Relationships, Fling, And Affairs
Hollywood is filled with high-profile romances, but plenty of celebs keep their relationships underwraps for years or even decades.
Here are 17 celeb couples who didn't confirm they dated until years later:
1.During a 2024 appearance on the podcast Obsessed with Brooke Averick, YouTuber Connor Franta seemingly confirmed decadelong speculation that he dated Troye Sivan in 2014.
For context, when Chappell Roan was still performing under the name Kayleigh Rose, both Troye and Connor tweeted about her music. Screenshots of their old tweets and a picture of the two meeting Chappell resurfaced and went viral during her 2024 Coachella set.
Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation, Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images for GLSEN
2.In 2024, Hunter Schafer confirmed to GQ that she and Rosalía dated for five months in late 2019.
She said, "I have really beautiful friendships with people that I was once romantically involved with. She's family no matter what."
3.During a 2020 appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast, Kaley Cuoco shared that she had a low-key two-year relationship with her costar Johnny Galecki during their early days on The Big Bang Theory.
She said, "We got together and just fell mad for each other for two years, but then we broke up. Luckily, Johnny and I came out of it so brilliantly, and we're closer today than we ever were."
4.In her 2023 memoir The Woman in Me, Britney Spears revealed she had a short fling with Colin Farrell in 2003, following her breakup with Justin Timberlake.
She alleged that Justin slept with "six or seven girls" after their relationship ended. Wanting to move on herself, she let a "club promoter friend" set her up with Farrell. She said they "had a two-week brawl."
She wrote, "rawl is the only word for it—we were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight."
5.On a 2013 episode of The Talk, Sharon Osbourne shared that she had a brief fling with Jay Leno in 1978, before she started dating Ozzy Osbourne. She said that, after watching Jay perform at a club where her friend worked, she and her friend prank called him. He liked her voice, so she kept calling him.
She said, "One thing led to another. He came to my house and met me, and then we had a little fling. The fling was more fling for me and not fling enough for him.
Their fling ultimately fizzled, but they remained friends. She said, "A couple of months into it, he brought around the real love of his life for me to meet. She was lovely, and they took me to Fat Burger, and they showed me around town. They were so kind to me and continued the friendship over the years."
6.In his 2023 memoir Pageboy, Elliot Page revealed that he dated costar Kate Mara while filming 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past.
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He wrote, "The first person I fell for after my heart was broken was Kate Mara. She had a boyfriend at the time, the lovely and talented Max Minghella."
He also said that Max was supportive of Kate also dating him. He alleged Kate told him, "I never thought I could be in love with two people, and now I know I can."
Elliot and Kate have remained friends.
7.During a 2023 appearance on the Hey Dude... The 90s Called! podcast, Melissa Joan Hart shared that she "had a little thing" with Ryan Reynolds who played her love interest in the 1996 movie Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Previously, in 2014, she told Beyond Candid with Giuliana that the two kissed on the last day of shooting.
She said that, that day, Ryan gifted her a Bulova watch.
She added, "I chased him down, got in front of his car and just kissed him and then made out with him all night. Then I had to call my boyfriend the next day and explain it."
However, whatever Melissa and Ryan had between them ultimately didn't go much further. She continued, "He came to New York to visit me. But I think he wanted something more but I decided I was going to stick with my boyfriend."
8.During a 2016 appearance on the podcast RuPaul: What's the Tee? with Michelle Visage, Aubrey Plaza revealed that she dated her Scott Pilgrim vs. the World costar Michael Cera for "a year and a half." She also said they almost got married in Las Vegas
She said, "I dated him for a long time."
Then, in 2023, Michael told Rolling Stone, "Well, we were driving through Vegas, and we almost just spontaneously took a detour and got married."
He said, "Like something where you get a certificate. I think the idea was to then get a divorce right away, so we could call each other 'my ex-husband' and 'my ex-wife' at like…20."
9.Costars Vanessa Hudgens and Josh Hutcherson briefly dated while filming Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in late 2010. However, they didn't publicly acknowledge their relationship until a (low-key awkward) joint interview on Australia's Today in 2012.
Here's the full clip, with this part starting at the 3:22 mark:
10.During a 2013 appearance on Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Barry Williams confirmed decadeslong speculation that he dated Maureen McCormick, who played his sister on The Brady Bunch.
11.On Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Barry Williams also revealed that he kissed Florence Henderson, who played his mother on The Brady Bunch.
Here's the full clip, with these parts starting at the 0:57 mark:
12.In 2018, Carrie Ann Inaba told The Talk that she dated John Stamos in the early '90s. She said, "We did date. When I was a Fly Girl [on In Living Color], the dreamiest thing happened. Somebody was like, 'Somebody wants to meet you across the room.' The room parted, and on the other side of the room was John Stamos."
She continued, "[We] dated for a little while, and I have to tell you, he's the loveliest human being in the whole world...I pushed him away, and then I was like, 'Uh oh, that wasn't a good idea.' So I went back to his house. and I was outside on his driveway with a little note in his mailbox."
When they crossed paths again years later, he made sure she knew there was no bad blood.
She said, "Later on, he came to Dancing with the Stars and he's so cool because he knew I was embarrassed. He was performing and he came right up to me and said, 'I'm so happy for your success. I wish you all the best. It's great to see you.' And I was like, 'Oh my God.'"
13.In 2017, Nicole Kidman casually revealed she was previously engaged to Lenny Kravitz, her Big Little Lies costar Zo? Kravitz's dad. She told Net-A-Porter, "Well, I knew Zo? because I was engaged to her father."
"It’s all in the family! I love Lenny; he’s a great guy," she said.
According to People, Nicole and Lenny dated in 2003. At the time, she was renting an apartment from him. They reportedly met through friends.
14.In 2009, Lucas Till told Atlanta's Star 94FM that he had a two-month relationship with his costar Miley Cyrus while filming Hannah Montana: The Movie the year prior.
He said, "This is coming out now. Yes, I did. During the duration of the movie..I think it will make the movie a little better cause it was definitely real. [Our relationship] was before Justin [Gaston]. [We dated] about two months."
15.During his 2014 one-person stage show Lovesick, Justin Guarini reportedly confirmed speculation that he dated his fellow American Idol Season 1 contestant Kelly Clarkson, specifying their relationship began on the set of their 2003 movie From Justin to Kelly.
In 2015, Kelly told Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, "We didn't date during Idol, which everybody thought we were dating. We did date during...I feel like we weren't dating during the movie. But I feel like maybe we did. We did date a little bit. I think any two people who are thrown together that much [would eventually date]. 'Timeless,' you put that song on From Justin to Kelly — you can't fight it!"
16.On 21 Savage and Metro Boomin's 2020 track "Mr. Right Now," Drake, who's featured, rapped, "I used to date SZA back in '08." On Twitter, SZA clarified, "So It was actually 2009 lol."
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She continued, "in this case a year of poetic rap license mattered lol I think he jus innocently rhymed 08 w wait . Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm.. it’s all love all peace."
In a follow-up tweet, she added, "I just didn’t want anybody thinking anything underage or creepy was happening . Completely innocent . Lifetimes ago ."
17.And finally, in 2016, Carrie Fisher told People that she and her costar Harrison Ford had a three-month affair on the set of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in 1976.
She said, "It was so intense. It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend."
