The couples that time forgot

Twenty years ago, JLo and P Diddy split after three years together. Now you’d be forgiven for forgetting they were even a thing. Which other surprising celebrities once coupled up?

Jennifer Lopez & Sean Combs When they dated: 1999-2001

The pair met while JLo was recording her first album, and were the “it couple” of 2000. Diddy was even JLo’s date to the Grammys, when she wore that Versace gown. It wasn’t to be: they announced their split on Valentine’s Day 2001. JLo has referred to it as a “crazy time in my life”.

Jessica Biel & Chris Evans When they dated: 2001-2006

Jessica and Chris were an item for half a decade, working together on 2004 thriller Cellular, and romantic drama London in 2005. They discussed getting married but split in 2006 – the year before she met Justin Timberlake.

Nicole Kidman & Lenny Kravitz When they dated: 2002-2003

The whirlwind romance happened after her divorce from Tom Cruise and resulted in a secret engagement. It wasn’t until 2017 that news broke, when Nicole revealed she knew Big Little Lies co-star Zoë Kravitz, “because

I was engaged to her father”.

Mila Kunis & Macaulay Culkin When they dated: 2002-2011

Meeting when Mila was 18 and Macaulay was 21, the child stars spent the best part of a decade together, when Mila was working on Family Guy. The split, Mila said in 2018, was “a horrible, horrible break-up. I f*cked up. I was an a**hole in my twenties.” Sounds dramatic.

Renée Zellweger & Bradley Cooper When they dated: 2009-2011

Yep, Bridget Jones and Jackson Maine were a thing. After meeting on the set of Case 39 (2009), reports say they hit it off and moved in together, splitting two years later. Pics of him congratulating her on her Best Actress gong at the 2020 Oscars went viral.

Cher & Tom Cruise When they dated: 1985

Wait, what? After meeting at Sean Penn and Madonna’s wedding (side note: bet you forgot about that, too), the singer dated the Top Gun actor, who is 16 years her junior. She joked in a 2013 interview that he was “in the top five” lovers she’d ever had.