PAYING THE PRICE FOR LOVE

Footballer Declan Rice declares his love for his long-term girlfriend as we check out the most famous long-term lovers

ARSENAL and England superstar Declan Rice took to social media to announce his love for his partner and how much he fancies her after she was subjected to cruel online abuse by trolls who believe she is “not good enough” for him.

Lauren Fryers has been with Rice for nearly eight years. The pair even have a child together, as if we need to prove their ‘lifer’ status.

The school darlings are strong together and are yet another couple proving that you can actually find love early on.

They have a bit to go yet though before they join this list of celeb couples who have avoided scandal and divorce to prove that love can last while in the public eye.

BONO AND ALI HEWSON

Bono and Hewson met when they were teenagers at school and are now happily together for over four decades. Hewson played hard-toget, since she didn’t want to be known as “just another of Bono’s girls,” but eventually his pursuit of her was successful. Their first date culminated with him walking her to the bus stop. The U2 star has called their relationship “a magic carpet ride” and they’re regularly seen together despite his hectic schedule.

PATRICK AND BRITTANY MAHOMES

The Super Bowl champion has been with Brittany, his now-wife, since they were classmates in Tyler, Texas. Being one of the biggest names in the NFL means he has had gold diggers throwing themselves at him and sliding into his DMs for years, but anyone who follows the game or watched the hit Netflix show that followed them around their lives will know how rock solid they are.

She is so much more than his plus one and in recent years has become a business partner while also raising their son and daughter, and building their dream home.

SNOOP DOGG AND SHANTE BROADUS

The rapper and his wife Shante have been together for over 25 years and even went to prom together. Their first son, Cordé, was born in 1994 and they were married three years later. Snoop even shared an adorable throwback shot of the two at prom on Instagram.

The ups and downs of their marriage were all documented on their reality TV show, Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood. There was a wobble in 2004 when the couple filed for divorce, but reconciled and renewed their vows in 2008 and have been inseparable ever since.

LIN MANUEL MIRANDA AND VANESSA NADAL

Miranda and Nadal attended the same New York City high school, but they never actually spoke — though that didn’t stop Miranda from developing a crush on his future wife.

“She was gorgeous and I’m famously bad at talking to women I find attractive. I have a total lack of game,” Miranda told The New York Times in 2010. They reconnected on Facebook years after leaving school and tied the knot in September 2010. They now have two sons.

JEFF DANIELS AND KATHLEEN TREADO

Daniels and his wife, Kathleen, still live in their childhood hometown with their kids.

Daniels and Treado grew up in Chelsea, Michigan, and met in high school. Throughout his highly successful career, the couple still call Chelsea their home, and they raised their three kids there.

In 2014, Daniels spoke about why he chose to stay close to home rather than move out to industry hubs Los Angeles or New York City, saying, “[Chelsea] was home. Kathleen and I had both been raised here; good enough for us, good enough for them.”

LEBRON JAMES AND SAVANNAH BRINSON

The LA Laker had his first date with his wife as teenagers while still in school. “I knew he loved me when I left my leftovers from dinner in his car,” Brinson said.

“I’d totally forgotten about them, and he brought them to me. I think he just wanted another excuse to come and see me.” The pair had their first of three children very early on and while Brinson was nervous that it would derail their lives, the MVP assured her that everything was going to be OK. He finally proposed to her after 10 years of dating.

JON BON JOVI AND DOROTHEA HURLEY

During the height of his fame (1989) the musician and his then-girlfriend Dorothea Hurley

eloped in Las Vegas and were married by an Elvis impersonator. Having met at Sayreville War Memorial High School in their New Jersey hometown, the couple have lasted the test of time with four kids and healthy marriage.

PIERCE BROSNAN AND KEELY SHAYE SMITH

This is an unusual choice as the pair were not together until the Bond star turned 41. But since 1994 they have been truly madly in love, married in 2001 and have four children together.

Sadly, prior to Smith, Brosnan had been married to his first wife, but she passed away after 17 years together. Not sure if he would ever find love again, it was only when he met journalist Keely that he found the (new) one. And despite the global fandom of being the planet’s best known movie spy, the couple are one of Hollywood’s everlasting couples.

STEPH AND AYESHA CURRY

They met when they were only 14 at their church’s youth group and had a good friendship for years chatting on the phone regularly, but when the basketball star was flown out to LA for the ESPY Awards five years later, his first thought was of his childhood crush.

They met up, saw the sights, and the rest is history.

Now, he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players in the game, and she’s turned herself into her own mega brand. Ayesha has written a cookbook, opened a restaurant, and hosts a cooking show on the Food Network called Ayesha’s Home Kitchen.

The couple have three children with a with a fourth on the way.

‘I knew he loved me when I left my dinner leftovers in his car... and he brought them to me’