Something about college has opened my “millennial” eyes to how fickle ~love~ can be. Every day, new relationships rise and fall, replaced by temporary Tinder rebounds and taking quarters “off” from relationships to find yourself. In the realm of Hollywood, relationships can be even more complicated to maintain. Between toxic tabloids and ridiculously busy schedules, it’s well known that famous relationships last as long as an episode of TMZ. That’s why we idolize these couples that have stood the test of Hollywood’s clock.
1. Chrissy Teigen + John Legend
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How they met: The pair met back in 2007 when Teigen played the role of Legend’s love interest in the music video for his song “Stereo.” They quickly hit it off and hooked up after the “Stereo” shoot. Obviously things didn’t end there… while Legend was touring Europe, Teigen tried to play things cool as she believed that “the worst thing [she] could do is try to lock someone like that down early on.” The two of them took things slow by getting to know each other and learn to be comfortable with one another.
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How long they’ve been together: This couple has definitely proven that long and steady wins the race! They’re slow yet progressive pace led them down the aisle in 2016 where they exchanged wedding vows in Lombardy, Italy. They welcomed their beautiful daughter Luna back in April 2016 and their family is growing as Teigen is pregnant again, as of November of 2017.
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This couple has proven time and time again that they have each others backs. They fully support each others endeavors and stop at nothing to let the world know that they stand up for what’s right. The two, especially Tiegen, have been known to speak out against injustices within America. I think I speak for all of us when I say this couple will thrive for eons!
2. Will Smith + Jada Picket Smith
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How they met: Will and Jada meeting is full of irony. In 1994, back in his Fresh Prince of Bel Air days, Will was helping cast the role of Lisa Wilkes— his onscreen love interest. Jada, who at the time was starting to land small roles on other shows and movies, auditioned for the role of Lisa but unfortunately the producers believed she was “too short” for the role standing at five feet. The role ultimately went to Nia Long. However, that didn’t stop Jada and Will from becoming friends and eventually starting to date in 1995.
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How long they’ve been together: The beautiful couple have stood by each other since they made their marriage official in December of 1997 with a secret New Year’s Eve ceremony at Baltimore’s Cloisters Mansion. They’ve stood by each other through the nasty tabloid rumors and hectic schedules they amassed with being both movie stars and performers. Now they have a crazy talented family consisting of their DJ son *Trey, their singer-songwriter daughter Willow and their actor turned rapper son Jaden.
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Will and Jada have endured the test of time celebrating 20 years of marriage with more to come in the future. They avoid unnecessary drama and cultivate their own happiness in private while sharing their love with the world, too.
3. Blake Lively + Ryan Reynolds
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How they met: We’ve all experienced watching movies and tv shows where the two people who were ~obviously~ suited for each other, ended up dating the wrong people! But, like always, by the end of the film, the couple somehow ends up together. This frustrating phenomenon pretty much spells out how Lively and Reynolds became a couple. The pair met through the superhero-action film Green Lantern as they were playing love interests. At the time they were both already dating other people; Lively with Gossip Girl’s Penn Badgley and Reynolds actually being married to Scarlett Johansson. A year later, after the two of them were newly single, they went on a double date with different partners. But by the end of the date it was obvious who the real sparks were between as they hit if off with each other.
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How long they’ve been together: The couple has been married since their ceremony at Boone Hall Plantation in 2012. They welcomed their first beautiful baby girl James Reynolds in 2014 and their another beautiful bundle, Ines Reynolds in 2016.
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The pair never fails to make their fans swoon over the love they share. Every picture of them together on the red carpet shows them giving each other genuinely loving gazes. They always seem to be deeply in love and have personalities that balance each other out. I’m sure we all agree when I say long live Blake and Ryan!
4. Jay Z + Beyonce
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How they met:The two mega-stars first met when their careers began in 1999. After building a foundation between each other, the two started dating in 2001. In the early stages of their relationship, Bey and Jay kept things “hush hush” and referred to each other as “just friends,” but the paparazzi’s evidence proved otherwise as they were always spotted attending events together.
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How long they’ve been together: It wasn’t until April 4, 2008 when the couple secretly tied the knot with a private ceremony at Jay’s Tribeca apartment in New York. The pair decided that in lieu of wedding rings the couple decided to get matching finger tattoos with the Roman numeral 4 on their fingers stating that it was significant to them because they were both born on the fourth of the month.
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This pair is notorious for maintaining and demanding their privacy. This allows them to treat their relationship with care, patience and respect it deserves. As one of the most famous and richest couples in the world, they are genuinely down to earth and seem to understand that at the end of the day, what’s most important is maintaining and cultivating their love for each other.
5. Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez
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How they met: Jennifer and Alex Rodriguez (aka Arod) are a new couple! As of now there isn’t a lot of information as to how they met. Apparently the pair had known each other years ago and recently linked up when J-Lo noticed him passing by while she was eating lunch.
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How long they’ve been together: The pair has only been together since it was confirmed that they were dating last March. They made their first debut as an official couple during the 2017 Met Gala back in May. J-Lo describes she and Arod as “twins” stating that they’re both Leos, from New York and have had to deal with the pressures that come with largely successful careers at such young points in their life.
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In their short time of being together the couple has already made strides both in their relationship and their philanthropy. They’ve spent Christmas and basketball games with the family together. The pair also managed to raise $35 million that was donated to the relief effort in Puerto Rico after the country was devastated by the tremendous hurricane.
6. Ellen Degeneres + Portia de Rossi
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How they met: The way romance began between Portia and Ellen was love at first sight. The Arrested Development star describes her first meeting with Ellen as a moment that “took [her] breath away.” According to an interview with The Advocate, De Rossi, “experienced all of [the] things you hear about in songs and read about in poetry. [Her] knees were weak.” In another interview with Oprah, in 2009, de Rossi revealed that it took her more than a few years to reveal her feelings for Ellen as she had not yet come out as openly gay in fear of her career being destroyed as a result. But, the two couldn’t deny the chemistry between them and began dating back in December 2004.
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How long they’ve been together: Degeneres and de Rossi have been married since August 2008, right after the California Supreme Court overturned the band on same-sex marriage. The couple had a beautiful private ceremony with friends and family in their Los Angeles home. Ever since then, the couple has shown us how content and happy they are with each other. In an interview with Oprah, Degeneres explains that the reason why she wanted to be legally married to de Rossi is because [there’s] an anchor, there’s a safety.” Degeneres was confident that de Rossi would be the woman that she experienced the rest of her life with.
- Since getting married, the couple has shared cute moments like daytime boat rides and staying in bed on Sunday with their menagerie of pets. They have supported each other through some of the darkest moments in each others lives, and reveal that the strength of their relationship comes from being being completely honest with each other and maintaining that friendship with each other no matter how bad things can get.
7. Michelle Obama + Barack Obama
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How they met: Our favorite oval office couple has always been at the top of everything they set their minds to. Before Michelle took on Barack’s last name, she was known as Michelle Robinson, a Harvard graduate and mentor at the law firm Sidley Austin LLP. Barack, who was also a Harvard graduate ended up being her mentee and soon he fell hard for Michelle. After convincing Michelle to go on a date with him in 1989, the pair decided to spend the day strolling around Chicago and watched the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing. In an interview with The Telegraph, Michelle said that Barack “[Showed] all the sides— he was hip, cutting edge, cultural, sensitive.” He pulled all the right moves and was nothing less than a gentleman.
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The accomplished pair became engaged in 1991 after Barack surprised Michelle with an engagement ring on a desert tray during a celebratory dinner for Barack passing his bar exam. They quickly became married in October of 1992. Six years later, baby Malia was born on the Fourth of July. By this time, Obama was already heavily involved in government as state senator and had just won reelection. A year before his second reelection in 2002, Natasha, a.k.a Sasha, was born in July. Fast forward to 2008, Barack was officially elected as the 44th President of The United States of America with the immense help of his First Lady, Michelle. During his state of the Union address in 2010, Obama stated that if he were to list the most popular things he had done as president at the top of the list would be marrying Michelle.
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Between Michelle’s successful campaigns for education, healthy eating initiatives and Barack’s successful programs regarding health care and immigration, the couple made a bold name for themselves as our generation’s favorite presidential family. Through all the stress and attention of being in politics, they brought such positivity and hope to America and set such a beautiful example for what a supportive and healthy marriage looks like.
Though all of these couples come from different backgrounds and careers, they all have one thing in common—and that’s the the ability to let their love guide them through thick and thin. It’s important to not idolize them, but also appreciate having them as examples to look to for healthy and honest relationships.
Gifs courtesy of Giphy.