YOUNG LOVE

Celebrity Couples Before They Were Couples, From Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin to J.Lo and A-Rod


Justin Bieber
New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

It might be hard to believe that at the ripe old age of 24, Justin Bieber is now engaged to Hailey Baldwin, but all things considered, the pair have already shared quite the past together and a lot of things in common—especially when it comes to significantly improved hair. Luckily, Bieber managed to see Baldwin (and her dad, Stephen) out from under his fringe when the pair attended the premiere of his film Never Say Never, all the way back in 2011. Together with their fellow newborn, already engaged couple Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande, they—assuming, you know, they actually go through with the weddings—are about to join the club of celebrity couples who, thanks to their insular industries, have known each other for what’s in some cases ages. (Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, for example, married in 2015 but first met on the set of That ’70s Show when Kunis was just 14.) Take a look back at all of their early days together, along with other couples without whose eventual unions we wouldn’t have, for example, the portmanteau “Kimye.”

1
Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin

Yes, even before they were engaged, Hailey Baldwin and Justin Bieber have had remarkably similar hair. The pair has, after all, as they’ve repeatedly stated, been longtime friends, as evidenced here in this photo of them with Hailey’s dad, Stephen Baldwin, on the red carpet of the Times Square premiere of Bieber’s 3D film Never Say Never in 2011.

2
Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson

Before showcasing their love for each other via many tattoos and Pete-emblazoned sweatshirts, Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson, who of course are now engaged, first met when Grande appeared at Davidson’s workplace, Saturday Night Live, and made a joke about them smoking crack.

3
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez

At the time of this meeting Lopez was with Marc Anthony, but it’s only fitting given that more than a decade later, J.Lo would move on from her then-husband to the much more fittingly named A-Rod, both seen here at a Yankees game in 2005. Their relationship started off with a bang late last year, when they had to evacuate the restaurant during their first date.

4
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

Before Instagram, their family’s platform of choice, was even invented, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen met when it came time for Legend to film the music video for his 2006 song “Stereo,” which starred a nearly naked (and at times animated) Teigen.

5
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

Feast your eyes upon Kim Kardashian with bangs—as well as her sister Kourtney and, of course, Kanye West, at a get-together all the way back in 2008. The pair looks a world away from the Kimye they are today—and even the Kimye they were when they first began, seeing as early on, Kanye transformed Kim’s grin into tears by throwing away 250 pairs of her bangs-era shoes.

6
Victoria Adams and David Beckham

Back in 1991, there was no Victoria Beckham. Instead, there was a Victoria Adams, aka Posh Spice, who hung out with David Beckham and Elton John on red carpets, before marrying the soccer star later that decade, in 1999.

7
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher

Long before they married in 2015, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher were red carpet pals and costars on That ’70s Show, beginning when Kutcher was 20 and Kunis was just 14.

8
Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Pete and Ariana’s union is a bit less surprising when you consider that back in 2002, the power couple-to-be Jay-Z and Beyoncé Knowles also stood side by side on SNL‘s stage. (Technically, they began dating a bit earlier, when Beyoncé was 19, but they had a phone-only relationship for the first year and a half.)

9
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are perhaps one of the only couples who can say their relationship began backstage at the VH1 Awards, which is exactly where they first met in 2004. Making it official, though, took a bit of waiting: They didn’t marry until 2010, after the California Supreme Court ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional (and after de Rossi had split up with the director Francesca Gregorini, whom she’d been dating when she and DeGeneres first met.)

10
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem

The Olsen twins may be the first to catch your eye, but this photo primarily documents the early, 2005-era spark between Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, who’d go on to marry in 2010.

11
Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault

In 2007, Salma Hayek announced that she was both pregnant and engaged to the French billionaire and Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault. They wed on Valentine’s Day in 2009—and again that April, this time in Venice—and Hayek hasn’t stopped making Fashion Week front row appearances since.

12
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds was still married to Scarlett Johansson when he and his Green Lantern costar Blake Lively appeared at Comic-Con in 2010. Two years later, a then-divorced Reynolds in turn made things official with Lively, who, in addition to giving birth to two children, has made a point to troll him ever since.

13
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.

Back when she was still making a name for herself as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in 1997, Sarah Michelle Gellar starred in first-ever major movie: I Know What You Did Last Summer—and just so happened to meet Freddie Prinze Jr., her then-costar who, in 2002, would go on to become her husband.

14
Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra, one of this year’s most surprising couples, came to be after they met at the 2017 Met Gala, which saw Ralph Lauren, whose designs they each wore, pair them up. Fast forward to just over a year later, and suddenly they’ve become attached at the hip. They’ve wasted no time with their relationship, which they struck up less than two months ago; both Jonas and Chopra has already met the other’s family.