People who love celebrity gossip (hello, friends, welcome to the club) know that celebrity hookups, relationships, and breakups are always the most fun kinds of stories to dissect. They are also a sure-fire source of tabloid headlines for publicity-thirsty stars, even if we never get all the answers for what really happened. Some celebrity relationships seem to end with a permanent bang — like whatever went down with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, for example. We know those two will, in the iconic words of Taylor Swift, never, ever get back together.
But other couples, like half of the Kardashians, seem to end relationships but keep the door open for a reunion. While celebrity relationships may fizzle for lots of reasons, including infidelity, the challenges of long-distance love, and crazy movie schedules, it can apparently be hard for some stars to give up the hope for love to conquer all.
What's interesting is that while there are some of these on-again, off-again relationships that seem really, truly done this time (don't take him back, Khloé Kardashian!), others have turned into enduring marriages that are still going strong, proving that a couple of false starts don't necessarily doom a relationship to permanent failure.
Let's do a deep dive on some of the most famous couples who couldn't quite decide if they were in or out of love after that first breakup.
Prince William & Kate Middleton
We all know how this one turned out! Prince William and Kate Middleton had an epic royal wedding in 2011, but it wasn't exactly a straight line from college sweethearts to the altar at Westminster Abbey. The pair is thought to have begun dating in 2001 but broke up at least once in 2007. They reunited later that year and were engaged in 2010.
Kylie Jenner & Travis Scott
We know for sure that Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott have a sweet daughter together and another baby on the way (Or possibly arrived? Things have been awfully quiet on Kylie's Instagram lately!). But we are never sure if they are actually back together or are more of a friends/parents-with-benefits situation, or some other on-again, off-again situation. Kylie has been publicly supportive of Travis following the Astroworld tragedy that left 10 fans dead, so our current guess is that they are together as of early 2022.
Khloé Kardashian & Tristan Thompson
Kylie isn't the only Kardashian-Jenner sister riding the on-again, off-again roller coaster. Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson (father of her daughter, True) have broken up and gotten back together at least twice. Given the recent news that the NBA player cheated (again) and fathered a child with another woman, the two seem quite off-again at the moment. But it's too soon to tell if this is the breakup that will really stick.
Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez
Other than celebrities, the other group who loves an on-again, off-again relationship is teenagers. So no big surprise to find a teenage celebrity couple leading the pack when it comes to number of breakups and makeups. Selena Gomez was 18 and Justin Bieber was only 16 when the two first got together in 2010. While nobody knows for sure how many times they called it quits, there are at least four confirmed reconciliations between 2011 and 2018. Given that Justin is now married to Hailey Baldwin (scroll on for more on that mess), it seems safe to put these two in the off-for-good category now.
Cardi B & Offset
Rappers Cardi B and Offset have had the combo platter of relationship drama. There's been a secret wedding, a cheating scandal, a breakup, public Instagram apologies and begging to get back together, reconciliation, divorce papers filed, divorce papers taken back, two babies, and a whole lot of inspiration for future music. As of 2022, the two are still married and raising their children together.
Kourtney Kardashian & Scott Disick
When it comes to relationships, the Kardashian-Jenner women certainly aren't quitters. Like her sisters Khloé and Kylie, Kourtney Kardashian has also had a notable on-again, off-again relationship with her children's father, Scott Disick. These two went back and forth for years, and many celebrity gossip fans thought it seemed likely that they would eventually get back together, especially since Scott has stayed so close to the family. But in 2021, that dream was dashed when Kourtney fell head over heels for Travis Barker. Those two are very on (hello, PDA for days!) and are engaged to be married.
Justin Bieber & Hailey Baldwin
A person could lose their mind trying to figure out the exact relationship timeline for Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey Baldwin. Not only did they have more than one breakup, there are some blurry lines between their relationship timeline and Justin's on-again, off-again timeline with Selena Gomez. The bottom line is that Justin and Hailey have been married since 2018 and seem committed to making it work.
Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck
Of all the couples on this list, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck may have had the biggest gap from when they were last together and when they got back together. The two broke up in 2004, and J.Lo went on to marry Marc Anthony while Ben married Jennifer Garner. In 2021, with two divorces and a broken engagement to A-Rod between them, the lovebirds reunited and appeared to be going strong as 2022 started.
Gabrielle Union & Dwyane Wade
If Instagram is any indication of reality, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade are relationship goals. The pair first got together in 2008, but broke up sometime in 2012 or 2013. During that time, Dwyane fathered a child with another woman, something that Gabrielle said left her feeling broken inside. The two got back together and were married in 2014. They are still together now, raising a blended family and taking epic vacations that leave us feeling so jealous!
Megan Fox & Brian Austin Green
Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green's relationship began when she was just 18 years old (he was 30), so it's safe to say that she's been in an on-again, off-again pattern for most of her adult life. The two started dating in 2004 and got engaged in 2006. By 2009, they'd called it quits on the engagement, but got back together and re-engaged in 2010. They secretly wed the same year, but by 2014 the marriage seemed to be on the rocks.
The couple officially separated, and Megan filed for divorce in 2015. The divorce was put on hold, and by 2016 Megan was pregnant with their third child. In 2019, she officially withdrew the divorce papers but by 2020 the pair called it quits again. Megan is now hot and heavy with Machine Gun Kelly (and they just got engaged), so it looks like this breakup is going to stick.
Gigi Hadid & Zayn Malik
Model Gigi Hadid and singer Zayn Malik started dating in 2015 and welcomed their daughter, Khai, in 2020. Between 2015 and 2020, the couple broke up at least two times but seemed to be back together following Khai's birth. Sadly, in October 2021 there was reportedly some sort of altercation between Zayn and Gigi's mother, Yolanda Hadid, and the couple are now broken up. Hopefully they'll find a way to peacefully co-parent whether they stay apart or not.
Ryan Seacrest & Shayna Taylor
Ryan Seacrest is certainly famous, but his relationship with model Shayna Taylor was fairly under the radar for most gossip hounds. The two dated off and on for almost eight years, breaking up at least three times from 2013 to 2020. Ryan, 46, is now dating a 24-year-old Instagram model named Audrey Paige, so we'll be watching to see if this one goes the distance.
Justin Timberlake & Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake first met at a friend's birthday party (so relatable!) sometime in 2007. They dated until 2011 when they confirmed their breakup to People magazine. They reunited and got engaged in 2011. They've been married since 2012 and are now parents to two sons.
Miley Cyrus & Liam Hemsworth
The odds that a couple will make it long-term when they get together before they are even of legal drinking age are always pretty low, but Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth gave it several tries. The two started dating in 2010 and were together off and on for years before tying the knot in 2018. They divorced in 2020 and both seem to have moved on. Thankfully, we all have Miley's songs Wrecking Ball, Malibu, and Midnight Sky to remember the relationship by.
Rihanna & Drake
It would be easy to lose an entire day trying to figure out what exactly Rihanna and Drake's relationship timeline is — the two have definitely hooked up, most likely dated, and may or may not been official more than once. In that time, Drake has described Rihanna as his dream girl, rented a billboard in her honor, and got matching tattoos with her. We suspect he'd still be into a reunion.
Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are one of those couples who are open about the fact that relationships take work. They met and started dating in 2007 but broke up for the first time just three months into the relationship. They quickly got back together and eventually married in 2013. Since then, they've been open about the fact that they've had some rocky times when they had to turn to therapy for help. We love a couple normalizing therapy!
