10 Couples Whose Relationships on Set Grew Into Something Bigger After Filming Was Over

Colleagues on movie sets spend days and months together. Perhaps that’s the reason why their relationships often grow into something bigger than simply working together. Actors, directors, costume designers, assistants, and other participants of the process find not only their best friends but their big loves on set as well.

We at Bright Side decided to find out whose creative unions didn’t finish when the filming was over and grew into friendship or love. The bonus at the end will show you a couple of examples of when relationships on set don’t always go well.

Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter, Dexter

After a couple of years of working together on the series, the main characters started to date in real life. They got married in 2008, but in 2010 they announced their breakup due to “irreconcilable differences.” The on-screen siblings are now divorced spouses in real life.

Nevertheless, they managed to keep a warm, friendly relationship. Otherwise, filming Dexter’s last season, which was released in 2021-2022, would’ve been in real danger.

Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song, Changeland

The couple met in 2017 on the set of Changeland. At first, the artists tried to keep their relationship a secret. But eventually, they stopped hiding and shared the joyful news with the world — they are now dating in real life and recently had their first baby together. The couple is planning to get married soon.

Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage

The actors played spouses on screen. They would also often flirt while off set too — perhaps due to PR reasons or because they simply liked it. That’s why rumors about their romance have been around for a long time. But it was quickly revealed that playing lovers was just a game for the actors.

In fact, Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac are both married and are only good friends in real life.

Alexis Denisof and Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The actors met each other while filming the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At that time, Alexis Denisof was invited to the series for an episodic role. Alyson Hannigan confessed that he impressed her instantly. But the actor himself declared that he didn’t want to date a girl he worked with.

Everything changed 2 years later — in 2001, the actors finally started to date and got married in 2003. Today, they are raising 2 daughters.

Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, The Painted Veil

The actors knew each other before their work on The Painted Veil. But when they started to work on this project, they were already a couple. A couple of years after completing filming, they had their first baby, then a second one.

However, 11 years later, the former lovers decided to break up. They got through their break-up wisely, and it didn’t stop them from raising their kids together, plus, they continued to portray lovers on screen.

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, The Oranges

The actors met each other in 2011 on the set of The Oranges. Though Brody confessed that he had known Meester by her role in Gossip Girl, at that moment, he failed to realize that she was his Mrs. Right. In 2014, the couple had a modest wedding ceremony and have been living happily together, raising their 2 kids since then.

Josh Hartnett and Tamsin Egerton, The Lovers

The actors have been in a long and stable relationship and have already had 3 kids. They met each other on the set of The Lovers in 2010. At first, the colleagues didn’t pay any attention to each other. But when they met each other again on set, they couldn’t resist it.

Aimee Lou Wood and Connor Swindells, Sex Education

In the first season of Sex Education, the characters of these 2 actors were having an affair. Approximately at the same time, the couple started to date in real life. However, their relationship wasn’t that successful, and in 2020, Wood announced their break-up, adding that this relationship was not bringing any joy to either of them.

María Pedraza and Jaime Lorente, Money Heist

The young Spanish actors met each other while working on the Elite movie, and they later became colleagues on Money Heist. Lorente played a bandit named Denver, while Pedraza played one of the hostages.

Their relationship lasted for 2 years, after which the actors unfollowed each other on social media and tried to erase most of the evidence of their affair from there.

Martin Freeman and Amanda Abbington, Sherlock

In the British series about Sherlock Holmes, the relationship between Dr. and Mrs. Watson ended romantically — we see the happy ending and their wedding on screen (though the fate of Abbington’s character develops tragically in the future). In real life, the relationship of the actors was much more dramatic.

They met each other in 2000 and had 2 kids. In 2016, Abbington said that their union was hit by a heart-breaking breakup. “I had thought Martin was the love of my life. This wasn’t meant to happen to us,” the actress added.

Bonus #1: Blake Lively and Leighton Meester, Gossip Girl

On Gossip Girl, the actresses played close friends, Serena and Blair. But as it turned out, their relationship was far from being friendly in real life. The actresses had to spend a lot of time together: not only on set, but also at promotional events, award ceremonies, and photo sessions. And once the show was finished, their relationship ended as well.

However, according to their colleagues and despite rumors, there has never been an open confrontation between the actresses.

Bonus #2: Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel, High School Musical

The on-screen siblings, Ryan and Sharpay, had a very close relationship on the screen. But the actors who played these characters failed to find a common language with each other. “We were not good friends, let’s just be honest. It’s been 10 years... We can totally talk about this now. We hated each other,” the actress laughed and added, “Like, I’m not kidding.”

Do you think romances are okay on set?