I Literally Can’t Believe That Hollywood Hasn’t Turned These Real-Life Celebrity Love Stories Into Movies Yet

Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso

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Matt Damon was an Oscar-winning Hollywood A-lister when he walked into the Miami bar where divorced single mom Luciana Barroso was working back in 2003.

Before long, Matt started to get hounded by fans and sought refuge behind the bar, where Luciana promptly put him to work.

By the end of the night, it’s safe to say that Matt was besotted with Luciana, but when he invited her to join him and his friends after her shift, she was forced to decline on account of her four-year-old daughter, Alexia.

This didn’t deter Matt, and he and Luciana started dating around her childcare arrangements before getting married in 2005.

They have since welcomed three more daughters together, and 21 years after their first meeting, the couple are happier than ever.

Colman Domingo and Raúl Aktanov

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When actor Colman Domingo was walking into a Walgreens in 2005, he was immediately taken by a handsome stranger who was walking out at the same time.

The two ended up locking eyes across the parking lot once Colman left the store, but the handsome man and his friend left before Colman could approach.  

Unable to get the encounter off his mind, self-proclaimed “hopeless romantic” Colman decided to check out the Missed Connections section of Craigslist three days later, and on the second page, he saw an ad about him from the man — Raúl Aktanov.  

Colman had no doubt that the listing was for him, and in an even bigger twist of fate, Raúl had only posted the ad two hours before Colman got the urge to look.  

Three days later, the two arranged to meet, and when they were still together at 4 a.m. the following morning, Colman said: “I think I love you, and you’re about to change my life.”

Suffice to say, he was right. Colman and Raúl have been together ever since, and married in 2014.

Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford

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British actor Carey Mulligan first met American-born British singer Marcus Mumford at a Christian youth summer camp when she was 12 years old, and the two remained pen pals for years afterward.  

They eventually lost touch, and though they briefly reconnected on Facebook more than a decade later, the reunion was short-lived when they both deactivated their accounts.  

Then, in 2011, Carey and Marcus were brought back into each other’s lives when they both worked on the movie Inside Llewyn Davis, and this time around, they weren’t going to let their love slip away again.  

Carey and Marcus were engaged within months of reconnecting, and got married the following year. They have since welcomed three children together.

Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud

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When singer Shania Twain’s husband of 15 years, Robert Lange, aka “Mutt,” cheated on her with her married best friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud, she was understandably devastated.  

Shania and Mutt had married in 1993, and she learned of his affair with her “confidante” Marie-Anne in 2008. They immediately separated and divorced two years later, but Shania did not publicly share the details of this massive betrayal until 2015.   

And if you’re wondering why such a devastating story has earned a place on this list, it’s for the happy ending that came afterward.   

You see, amid the drama and the heartache, Shania ended up falling for Marie-Anne’s husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, who had also suffered the pain of Marie-Anne and Mutt’s affair.  

The two seemingly bonded over their horrific shared experience, and all’s well that ends well as Shania and Frédéric have been happily married since 2011.

Patrick Dempsey and Jillian Fink

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When hairstylist Jillian Fink saw a booking at her salon, Delux, under the name of established TV actor “Patrick Dempsey” back in 1994, she immediately wrote it off as a joke.  

So, when Patrick actually walked in for his appointment, Jillian was shocked, to say the least.

In true “slow burn” Hollywood fashion, both Patrick and Jillian were in relationships with other people at the time, but over the course of three years — and regular haircuts — they finally got together, and have been married since 1999.

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham

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When David Beckham and Victoria then-Adams first started dating in the ‘90s, they were two of the most famous people on the planet, and really had to put the effort in if they were going to make it work.  

With David a globally renowned soccer star and Victoria a literal Spice Girl, the two’s grueling schedules could have easily forced them apart, but David’s total adoration for Victoria ensured that this was not an issue.  

In fact, David was so besotted with Posh Spice that he would regularly drive four hours across the country just to spend a few precious minutes with her before making the long drive back again.

And it’s safe to say that his dedication paid off, with David and Victoria celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary earlier this year.

Steve Harvey and Marjorie Bridges

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TV favorite Steve Harvey was performing a comedy show in 1990 when ticketholder Marjorie Bridges interrupted his set by walking in late.  

Rather than be irritated by Marjorie’s disruption, or even opting to ignore it entirely, Steve was so taken by her that he paused his show and told the crowd: “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know who this is, but I’m gonna marry her.”  

Needless to say, he did exactly that, and Steve and Marjorie have been married since 2007, with he adopting her three children, and she stepmom to his four kids.

Samira Wiley and Lauren Morelli

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When Lauren Morelli first laid eyes on her now-wife Samira Wiley by watching Samira’s audition tape for Orange is the New Black, she was married to a man and identified as straight.

Despite this, she later told Out magazine that she “immediately” realized that she “had a crush on” Samira, and began to question her sexuality while working in the writer’s room for the show.

Lauren officially came out via an essay for Mic in 2014, the same year that she divorced her husband and began dating Samira.

The two women have been together ever since, getting married in 2017 and welcoming a daughter together in 2021.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

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He was a British prince, she was an American TV actor, and their love story is definitely one for the big screen.

While it is undeniable that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s romance has been somewhat tarnished by the way that she was treated by UK tabloids, as well as, allegedly, by the Royal Family itself, it’s undeniable that it has Hollywood-level roots.  

Harry first spotted his now-wife when he was scrolling on Instagram and saw her in a friend’s selfie, with the mutual friend going on to set them up on a blind date in London. Added drama saw Harry get stuck in traffic and turning up half an hour late for the date, which Meghan was very patient about.  

He ran into the building sweating, but thankfully, the rest of the date went perfectly.

Due to Harry’s royal status, all of his and Meghan’s early dates took place in total secret, with the two bonding over cozy nights in before getting married in 2018. The happy couple now have two children together and live in California.

10.

Riz Ahmed and Fatima Farheen Mirza

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British actor Riz Ahmed and his author wife Fatima Farheen Mirza have the kind of meet-cute that hopeless romantics dream of, with the two first crossing paths when they fought over a electrical outlet in a New York City cafe in 2018.

Both Riz and Fatima had gone to the cafe to write, and sat down at the same table before “jostling over the same laptop plug points.” Riz was actually on the cusp of his critically-acclaimed career at the time, and was in the cafe to prepare for his role in Sound of Metal.

His performance ultimately earned him his first Oscar nomination, and he and Fatima ended up getting married in 2020. As a result, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Riz credits the Sound of Metal with bringing “a lot of goodness” into his life.

11.

Matthew Lewis and Angela Jones

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Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis met his now-wife Angela Jones when she was working at a Wizarding World of Harry Potter event at Universal Studios, Orlando in 2016.

Writing on her blog, Angela said: “I never believed in soul mates until we met,” and acknowledged that the fact that he lived in Britain and she in the United States made things pretty tough at times.   

After spending months FaceTiming and going “days, weeks and month without being able to see each other,” Matthew proposed to Angela just 10 months after their first meeting.

The two got married in 2018, and he is believed to have relocated to the US to be with her.

12.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin

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While Hailey Bieber would probably prefer this story was forgotten, it is undeniably wild that she went from tweeting about how obsessed she was with Justin Bieber’s relationship with his ex Selena Gomez to being, well, married to him.

Yep, that’s right, when Hailey was a teen she was a self-proclaimed “Jelena” shipper, with one 2011 tweet reading: “I don’t care what anyone says but Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez together is the definition of a teenage dream!” Others referred to the couple’s romance as the “perfect relationship” while Hailey joked about being “forever alone.”

With this in mind, it’s a pretty big plot twist that just six months after Justin’s 2018 split from Selena, he’d not only struck up a relationship with Hailey, they were literally married.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the pair are preparing to welcome their first baby together.

13.

Cara Delevingne and Minke

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Earlier this year, Cara Delevingne paid adorable tribute to her girlfriend, Minke, real name Leah Mason, on their two-year anniversary — but the two actually go way back.

In fact, they first met as kids when they attended the same boarding school, but ultimately drifted apart after graduation.

After years of no contact, Cara and Minke happened to cross paths at an Alanis Morissette concert, and haven’t looked back since.

14.

Alan Alda and Arlene Weiss

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Finally, back in 2021, M*A*S*H and The West Wing actor Alan Alda went viral when the seriously wholesome way that he met his wife, Arlene Weiss, almost 70 years ago gained traction online.

The two were both attending colleges in New York City in 1956, and were at a mutual friend’s dinner party when a rum cake fell on the floor.

Alan and Arlene realized that they were meant to be together when they were the only two guests who didn’t hesitate to eat the cake, and got married a year later.

When their meet-cute went viral on X, Alan clarified that he already had his eye on Arlene before the cake incident.

He tweeted: “We did eat the rum cake off the floor and were inseparable after that. But I was captivated by her even earlier in the meal when I heard her at the end of the table laughing at my jokes. She had me at Ha.”

Alan is now 88 and Arlene 91, and they remain happily married.