As someone who has followed celebrity culture in Hollywood for decades, watching famous actor couples find love on set and flaunt their relationships to the public never gets old. From the early days of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall lighting up the silver screen in the 1940s to modern pairs like Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson posing on Instagram, Hollywood power couples capture our imaginations.
Let me tell you, keeping up with A-list love lives is practically a full-time job! One day I’m reading that Portia de Rossi filed for divorce from Ellen DeGeneres and the next there’s reports of Ben Affleck and JLo apartment hunting in LA. If I had a dollar for every “close source” or “insider” throwing celebrity couples like Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet under the divorce bus, I wouldn’t need to work another day in my life!
But who has time to fact check relationship rumors when Gwen Stefani is debuting her giant new wedding ring from Blake Shelton on The Voice or when George and Amal Clooney make their yearly appearance hand-in-hand at a movie premiere? Sorry Brad and Jen 2.0, but I can only keep track of one tabloid-breaking rekindled romance at a time!
In all seriousness though, as drawn as we all are to their stunning looks, lavish lifestyles, and ability to trend on Twitter simply by strolling through an airport together, Hollywood supercouples prove that fame, wealth, and success can’t protect even the most enviable of marriages from ending (here’s looking at you, Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton).
However, amongst the sensational celeb breakups and over-the-top vow renewals, some real love stories do stand the test of time. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell dazzle on red carpets decades after falling for each other on set. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick raise their family quietly away from cameras. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are closing in on 35 years together and still exchange adoring looks as if they just met yesterday.
So are Hollywood fairytale endings just a fantasy? I’ll be the first to admit I have no clue. But if writing obsessively about famous love lives has taught me anything, it’s that when it comes to romance, celebrities really are just like us. Their relationships have highs and lows,require hard work, make mistakes, and if they’re lucky, learn how to keep the magic alive. And that’s the insider scoop no tabloid could ever deliver as gleefully.