8 Famous Couples Whose Stories Are Far From Having a Typical Romantic Start

All couples have their own special, and sometimes quirky, stories about how they met and how that initial spark between them started. And even though we see celebrity couples as the peak of glamour, the context in which they fell in love can be far from picture-perfect or the romantic ambiance we see in movies. This is why we wanted to share how 8 of our favorite celeb duos prove that sometimes real love needs some time to develop.

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton

Stefani, 53, and Shelton, 46, first met in 2014 while they were both coaches on The Voice. At the time, they were both still married to their exes. However, the colleagues turned into confidants when they both experienced trouble in their respective relationships in the summer of 2015, and gradually, the 2 started to develop deeper feelings for each other.

This is how, in November 2015, the singers started dating and eventually tied the knot in July 2021.

It is obvious that this is a match made in heaven, as Shelton once admitted, ’’Gwen saved my life...’’ and Stefani, in her turn, once revealed in an interview, ’’It was one of those miracle situations where I didn’t see it coming.’’ She even noted that she thought her life was over and that she’d never kiss a man again before she fell for Shelton.

The power couple is still going strong after 7 years of being together, and it seems that being friends first really helped strengthen their bond. Stefani explained that Shelton is not only her soulmate, but also her ’’best friend.’’ She added, ’’We’re so different, yet we’re so the same on so many levels.’’

Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade

The actress and the professional athlete first met back in 2007 when they were both co-hosting a party together, but it seemed that they weren’t attracted to each other from the get-go. Union later recalled, ’’I stayed on one side of the room with my people [...] He was on the other side of the room.’’

However, 2 years later, things between them took a turn and the pair became a couple and even got married in 2014. 4 years later and after many fertility struggles, this power couple welcomed their first baby together.

Noah Galvin and Ben Platt

Platt and Galvin initially met when Galvin replaced the actor as the main role of an award-winning musical in November 2017. And consequently, the actors started a close friendship that lasted for years.

In May 2020, the pair announced that they were actually dating. Platt explained, ’’We were friends for 5 years [...], we finally decided to really give it a shot.’’ And in November 2022, the couple revealed on Instagram that they were engaged.

Darren Criss and Mia Swier

The Glee alum and his writer/producer wife first met in 2006 through mutual friends, and it was 4 years later that they actually started dating. The couple tied the knot 9 years later, and in 2022, they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Bluesy Bell.

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

When Teigen met Legend on the set of his music video in 2006, an attraction between them started instantly. However, the pair decided to take it slow afterward, as the model admitted, ’’I left him by himself for a while.’’

The singer also revealed that he didn’t expect things to evolve between them when he first met Teigen. He explained, ’’I wasn’t like, ’This is the woman I’m going to marry’ from day one.’’ However, 7 years after they first met, the couple tied the knot and are now the proud parents of a boy and a girl, with a third child on the way.

Aaron Paul and Lauren Parsekian

The Breaking Bad actor met the actress during a music festival in 2010 and the 2 became good friends. However, it wasn’t until a year later that the 2 fell in love. The duo tied the knot in 2013, and in February 2018, they became parents to a baby girl. In 2022, a baby boy came to expand the family.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen

When recalling the time he first met Steenburgen during an audition in 1983, Danson admitted, ’’I was a hot mess.’’ The actress further explained, “I was married. He was married. That was not our moment.”

Luckily, the pair reconnected 10 years later on the set of their movie, Pontiac Moon, and things were different this time around. In fact, the 2 fell in love and ended up tying the knot 2 years later. Currently, they have been married for 27 years and are still going strong.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker

The reality star and the musician lived in the same neighborhood and knew each other for years before falling in love. Barker had previously even made brief cameos on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

In early 2021, the pair started dating, and a source revealed, “Travis has liked her for a while.” A little more than a year later, the glamorous couple tied the knot in a Las Vegas wedding.

Do you believe that a relationship is stronger when the pair starts out as friends? How did you meet your soulmate?