Though we cherish our own real-life love stories, a lot of times they start in pretty boring ways. We're set up by a friend, we find our future spouses on dating apps, or we meet someone at work or while doing an activity we love — it's all pretty common. But once in a while, there's a "how we met" story that sounds like a straight-up fairy tale, and some of our favorite celebrity couples have gotten to live those kinds of magical stories in their own love lives.
In movies, it's called a "meet cute," and some celebs have all the luck because they've managed to live out in real life what might as well be scenes from actual romantic comedies. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, we're looking at you — along with Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas, just to name a couple of the lucky ones in love.
Read on for the cutest "how we met" stories that celebs have shared publicly. If any movie producers are out there looking for ideas, there are plenty of real-life stories to inspire them … and plenty of leads who have lived them to play the part.
Nikki Bella & Artem Chigvintsev
Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev first met when they were paired up on Dancing With the Stars. Though they didn't end up getting together right away, once Nikki was single after splitting from longtime love John Cena, it wasn't long before they ended up together. Now, they're engaged and parents to a son named Matteo.
Carey Mulligan & Marcus Mumford
Carey and Marcus' love story goes way back to before either of them were famous. As Bustle reported, they first met at a Christian church camp as children and were pen pals, staying in communication long after church ended. Years later, they ended up tying the knot in 2012 after less than a year of dating.
Sophie Turner & Joe Jonas
Sophie and Joe were introduced to each other the way a lot of people are: through mutual friends. According to what Sophie told Elle, after Joe's agent had the chance to meet her, he realized how similar they were, so he had Joe DM her the next time he was in town.
He did, and Sophie agreed to hang out, as long as they could both bring friends along, and they hit it off much better than she expected.
"I remember the two of us spending only a couple of minutes on the dance floor, and then we found a space far in the corner and we just talked," she said. "We talked for hours. And I was not bored. It wasn't contrived. It wasn't small talk — it was just so easy. And soon we were inseparable."
Ryan Reynolds & Blake Lively
When Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds realized they were meant to be together, they were actually on dates with other people. While on EW Radio, Ryan said they were on a double date and figured out that they should have been on that date together, just the two of them.
"We were just like — fireworks coming across," he said, noting that it must have been awkward for the people they were on a date with.
Kate Winslet & Ned Rocknroll
Kate was actually in a house fire with her kids while on vacation on Necker Island — which her future husband's uncle, Richard Branson, owned — and the fire is what brought them together for the first time.
"He was the only dude to have a head torch and a pair of shoes. Everyone else left everything behind," she told ET. "I took a bra and passports and my children. So I married him! I was like, 'I'll go for the guy with a head torch!'"
Nick & Vanessa Lachey
Nick and Vanessa first met on the set of his music video for "What's Left of Me" — the song he recorded after splitting with Jessica Simpson. At the time, she admitted to having a "mini-crush" on Nick, and lo and behold, they announced their relationship as soon as his divorce from Jessica was final.
Victoria & David Beckham
It's hard to remember a time before Victoria and David Beckham were a couple, but it all started with David admitting that Posh was his favorite Spice Girl.
In 2007, he told W magazine that he saw her in the "Say You'll Be There" music video with his friend and was instantly enamored. "I turned around to Gary and said, 'That one there, that's the girl I'm going to marry.'"
As it turns out, he was right. The following year, they finally got to go out on their first date, and the rest is history.
Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani
Blake and Gwen met because they were both coaches on The Voice, and they leaned on each other while they were each going through their own divorces. "It was like being handed this gift of a friend who was going through the exact same thing at the exact same time," Gwen told Harper's Bazaar.
Prince William & Kate Middleton
It's hard to imagine a more idyllic first meeting than the one that Kate Middleton and Prince William shared. Even though he was royalty and she was not, they met in a pretty normal way: They were both attending the University of St. Andrews. Though they had a few ups and downs over the years, their relationship ultimately stood the test of time, and they've been married for more than a decade.
Katy Perry & Orlando Bloom
Katy and Orlando, who are now engaged and parents to 1-year-old daughter Daisy Dove, first met thanks to an In-N-Out burger at the Golden Globes. "We bonded over an In-N-Out burger about three years [ago] at the Golden Globes," she said in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel. "He stole one off of my table. He took it, and I was like, 'Wait! Who — oh, you're so hot. Fine, take it.'"
Reese Witherspoon & Jim Toth
Reese and Jim met when he saved her from a drunk guy who was hitting on her at a party, clearly making her uncomfortable. The drunk guy just so happened to be Jim's friend.
"Jim came over and said, 'Please excuse my friend, he's just broken up with someone,'" she told Elle. "I remember thinking, 'Jim was a really good friend, pulling him out of that situation.' That's just kind of who he is, a really good person."
Will Smith & Jada Pinkett-Smith
Will and Jada first met when she auditioned for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, though they didn't actually hit it off until later. It just goes to show exactly how significant that role was in his life.
"I met him when I was 19 at an audition for The Fresh Prince," Jada told YourTango. "After we had known each other for many years, we went out for dinner one night [with mutual friends], and I saw that he had grown from this lanky kid to this really responsible man. We started courting each other, and our friendship turned into romance."
Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis
Years after meeting on the set of That '70s Show, Mila Kunis said she and Ashton Kutcher had a movie-worthy moment where they realized they were supposed to be together when they ran into each other at an awards show.
"So I see this guy and I see his back and he's really tall and then [Ashton] just turns around and it was literally like if we were in a movie, the music would start playing," she said in an interview with Howard Stern. "I think that he, for the first time ever, took my breath away."
Amy Schumer & Chris Fischer
Amy Schumer first met husband and professional chef Chris Fischer thanks to her personal assistant, Molly — his sister. As Amy said in an interview with Howard Stern, she was filming her movie I Feel Pretty on Martha's Vineyard when Molly suggested Chris come and cook for them, and it wasn't long after that they were officially dating.
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
Before becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met in an adorable (and surprisingly normal) way: a blind date set up by a mutual friend.
"I'm from the States. You don't grow up with the same understanding of the royal family and so while I now understand very clearly, there's a global interest there," she told the BBC of her early days with Harry in their engagement interview. "I didn't know much about him, and so the only thing that I had asked her when she said that she wanted to set us up was, 'Well, is he nice?' Because if he wasn't kind, it just didn't seem like it would make sense."
