Much like rom-com storylines, some celebrity love stories are easy to predict. Co-stars with incredible chemistry onscreen becoming real-life couples, for example, we’ve seen before. Though we’re still big fans of them (we’re looking at you Tom Holland and Zendaya and Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively), celebrity couples that take us completely by surprise are so fun to keep up with too.
Remember when news broke about Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton dating? Though they’re two singers and worked together on The Voice, no one saw that one coming. After all, it’s hard to know what makes two celebs connect behind closed doors. The same thing goes for Dua Lipa and Jack Harlow. Though they’re both musicians of similar ages, something about their combination felt ultra-unexpected.
In the spirit of celebrating these out-of-the-blue couples, check out the unexpected 2023 couples below and let us know who you were most shocked by!
A version of this article was originally published on Jan 2023.
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Candice King & Steven Krueger
Image Credit: Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for Beautycounter, Photo by Leon Bennett/FilmMagic. There’s something about those vampire projects! First we had Vampire Diaries alum Ian Somerhalder and Twilight star Nikki Reed, and now, we have Vampire Diaries alum Candice King and The Originals alum Steven Krueger!
King seemingly confirmed their relationship in a compilation video on Instagram, where they were seen smooching!
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Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images, Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images Selena Gomez’s romance with her music producer Benny Blanco isn’t neccesarily out of left field but her approach to announcing the romance definitely took us by surprise.
After photos emerged of the couple looking cuddly, Gomez responded to a series of Instagram comments confirming the relationship and targeting fans who criticized the new romance.
“I don’t understand. If you actually care about me. This is my happiest. If you don’t feel free to say whatever you want. But I will never allow your words to guide my life. Ever. I’m done. If you can’t accept me at my happiest then don’t be in (m)y life at all,” one comment read.
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Jeremy Allen White & Rosalía
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images, Swan Gallet/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images In one celebrity combo no one saw coming, The Bear star Jeremy Allen White and Spanish singer Rosalía are reportedly an item! “Rosalía and Jeremy Allen White have recently started dating,” a source told Us Weekly of the couple, who have been pictured by paparazzi now a couple of times. “They started out as just friends, but things have turned romantic recently.” Talk about unexpected!
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Joshua Jackson & Lupita Nyong’o
Image Credit: Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic Singles unite! On Wednesday, Oct. 18, newly divorced Joshua Jackson and newly single Lupita Nyong’o were spotted together attending the Janelle Monáe concert in Los Angeles, TMZ first reported.
And though these two have been photographed together in the past, like in this backstage moment during the revival of the play Children of a Lesser God, given how recently single these two are, their outing definitely made us take a double-take!
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Ashlyn Harris & Sophia Bush
Image Credit: Todd Williamson/Peacock Almost two months since her split with ex-husband Grant Hughes, People confirmed Sophia Bush is now dating professional soccer player Ashlyn Harris.
“After being friends for years, and running in the same social circles, Sophia and Ashlyn went out on their first dinner date a couple of weeks ago,” a source told the outer. “This is so recent, and they are both beginning new chapters.”
Harris, for her part, also recently split with her partner. In September, she filed for divorce from fellow soccer star Ali Krieger after almost four years of marriage. The two share two kids together, Sloane, 2, and son Ocean, 14 months.
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Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift
Image Credit: MEGA. Following Taylor Swift’s split from Joe Alwyn and Matt Healy, Kansas City Chiefs tight end and known Swiftie Travis Kelce made his move on the pop star. Soon after, Swift made everyone do a double-take as she attended her first Chiefs game.
Since then, despite their busy schedules, the two have managed to see each other quite often, including some PDA-filled paparazzi pictures. “Taylor’s really enjoying getting to know Travis,” a source recently told Us Weekly. “They’re taking it day by day, but she has high hopes. She likes that he’s a normal, nice guy. He’s down-to-earth and isn’t affected by fame. She also thinks he’s hot.”
Kelce, for his part, is just as interested. “Travis is completely smitten,” the source revealed.
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Ariana Grande & Ethan Slater
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage, Jenny Anderson/Getty Images After the news broke that Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez were headed for a divorce, Grande’s fans were in for another surprise as TMZ reported she was dating her Wicked co-star Ethan Slater.
According to the source, Slater and Grande started dating only after Grande and Gomez split in January and Slater broke things off with his ex-wife Lilly Jay. For those of you unfamiliar with Slater, the actor is set to play Boq in Wicked and had his Tony-nominated big break playing Sponge Bob in SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.
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Taylor Swift & Matty Healy
Image Credit: Photo by Robert Kamau/GC Images. For those that don’t know, Taylor Swift and her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn called it quits in Feb 2023 after nearly six years together. Less than two months later, Swift was spotted with Matty Healy, but they broke up within a few weeks.
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Kylie Jenner & Timothée Chalamet
Image Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage, Rocco Spaziani/Archivio Spaziani/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images Believe it or not, Kylie Jenner and Dune actor Timothée Chalamet are dating! “They are keeping things casual at this point. It’s not serious, but Kylie is enjoying hanging out with Timothée and seeing where it goes,” the source told Entertainment Tonight. “It’s been really fun for her because it feels a lot different than her past relationships. It’s new and exciting for Kylie and she’s having a lot of fun.”
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Tyga & Avril Lavigne
Image Credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images Surprising the world at Paris Fashion Week, Tyga and newly single Avril Lavigne confirmed their romance as they attended the Mugler x Hunter Schafer party on March 6. In addition to spending the party together, the two were even seen kissing andpacking some major PDA. They call it the city of love for a reason, right?
“Tyga and Avril are getting to know each other,” a source told People. “It’s very new. It’s very casual.”
They split up after an on-again, off-again relationship throughout 2023.
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Lukas Gage & Chris Appleton
Image Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images, Rodin Eckenroth/WireImage White Lotus star Lukas Gage and celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton are dating! The pair confirmed their relationship in an Instagram gallery of them vacationing together in Punta Mita, Mexico. “Joyride,” Appleton wrote in the caption alongside pictures of the new couple driving an ATV and enjoying the Mexian waters.
They have since gotten married and divorced all by the end of 2023.
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Kendall Jenner & Bad Bunny
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Atlantis The Royal, Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images Taking everyone by surprise, model Kendall Jenner and Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny appear to be getting to know each other better. After a @deuxmoi blind item giving hints the two were “tonsil hockey” at a club recently, the two were then spotted on a dinner date on Feb 18 by Daily Mail. According to the outlet, the two had dinner together before exiting through separate exits. Talk about a power couple!
However, they broke up by Dec 2023.
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Selena Gomez & Drew Taggart
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/FilmMagic, Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy According to Us Weekly, Selena Gomez briefly dated DJ and one half of The Chainsmokers Andrew “Drew” Taggart. “They aren’t trying to hide their romance by sneaking around at members only clubs,” the source said, adding that the two are still keeping it “very casual and low-key.” Gomez’s last public relationship was in 2017 when she dated another fellow musician The Weeknd.
Taggart and Gomez appear to have fizzled out not long after they were first linked.
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Kelsea Ballerini & Chase Stokes
Image Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMT, John Phillips/Getty Images Country singer Kelsea Ballerini and Outer Banks star Chase Stokes are rumored to be dating. Rumors started swirling after Stokes posted a series of pictures to Instagram including one of them cozying up together during a football game. Ballerini and Stokes are both recently single, the “I Quit Drinking” singer announced her divorce from Morgan Evans in October 2022 while Stokes announced his split from costar Madelyn Cline in November.
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Emily Ratajkowski & Eric André
Image Credit: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Code8 Beauty, JC Olivera/Getty Images Following her short-lived fling with Pete Davidson, model Emily Ratajkowski was spotted with another comedian: Eric André. First reported by TMZ, the two were spotted going at for 3-hour-long dinner in New York City.
They broke up soon after making their debut.
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Matthew Lawrence & TLC’s Chilli
Image Credit: David Becker/WireImage, Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images Boy Meets World actor Matthew Lawrence is still going strong TLC’s Chilli, per TMZ. According to the outlet, the couple made things official just before Thanksgiving and spent all the end of the year holidays together.
The two also made their relationship Instagram official on Dec 31 posting a fun video of them dancing together to a-ha’s “Take On Me.”
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