We really have to admire long-lasting celebrity couples. After all, it ain't easy dating in Hollywood — let alone having rumors about your relationship splashed across the internet and the front pages of magazines on a near-constant basis. But stars who marry regular people seem to have pretty good luck making their relationships work, even in the spotlight, and some of them have even been together since they were very young.
High school relationships don't always last, but when it comes to fame, we can see why being married to someone who's known you since before you were successful can come in handy. They've seen each other grow and change from a young age, and it's easy to know that their partner isn't in it for the money or the fame, like someone they just met recently might be. Not to mention that so many of them have really sweet love stories!
Here are 15 celebrities who married their high school sweetheart — and most of whose marriages are still going strong today.
Patrick Mahomes & Brittany Matthews
Patrick Mahomes and Brittany Matthews have been together since long before the NFL star played in the Super Bowl. According to Yahoo! Sports, they started dating when they were in the 10th grade, and they've been together ever since — and now they're parents to baby Sterling and set to tie the knot soon.
Jon Bon Jovi & Dorothea Hurley
Rocker Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea, have been together for actual decades — and it all started when her boyfriend was out of town when they were both in high school.
"I met my future wife in 1980 in high school. We were in the same class. Dorothea was going out with one of those guys who joined the service. He left town, and hey, you know the five-second rule when you drop a piece of toast on the ground? I gave him three weeks. We started dating, and that was the end of that," Jon said while talking to The Purist.
LeBron James & Savannah Brinson
LeBron James and his wife, Savannah Brinson, met while they were both in high school — they just didn't go to the same one. As she told Harper's Bazaar in 2010 (via Bustle), LeBron saw her for the first time at a football game and asked her out on the spot, and their date included dinner at Outback Steakhouse.
"I knew he loved me when I left my leftovers from dinner in his car," she 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."
Thomas Rhett & Lauren Akins
Thomas Rhett often sings about his sweet relationship with his wife, Lauren Akins, so many fans already know that these two go back to their teenage days. They've actually known each other since they were in first grade, and though they dated at 15, it didn't work out — until a few years later he realized he had to make his move.
"The night of her sister's graduation party, we were buddies and I was there. I'd loved that girl since high school, and I told her father how I felt," Thomas told HITS Daily Double in 2019. "He said, 'If you don't tell her, I'm going to.'"
Snoop Dogg & Shante Broadus
Though they've had their ups and downs, Snoop Dogg and his wife, Shante Broadus, have been married since 1997 — and as Snoop shared on Instagram, they even attended the prom together in high school. They have four children together: Cordell, Cori, Julia, and Corde.
Bono & Ali Hewson
Rocker Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, have been together for almost 50 years, and it all started when they were teenagers. According to what he told Entertainment Tonight, their first date included him walking her to the bus stop. So sweet! Sadly, they divorced in 2019.
Misha Collins & Victoria Vantoch
Supernatural star Misha Collins first met his wife, Victoria Vantoch, when they were in the same English class, where he was the only boy. In a fan Q&A, Misha shared that they really found a connection on a field trip to Boston (where alcohol may have been involved), and the rest is history.
Ja Rule & Aisha Atkins
Rapper Ja Rule and his wife, Aisha Atkins, go back even further than high school — they actually met in eighth grade shop class, as he wrote in his memoir, Unruly: The Highs and Lows of Becoming a Man.
"It's good to meet your soulmate, so to speak, at an early age, and go through life together, growing together," he wrote via Time. "I watched her grow up, she watched me grow up."
Witney Carson & Carson McAllister
Dancing With the Stars pro Witney Carson also happened to marry her high school sweetheart, and from what Carson McCallister said in an interview with People, he actually had his eye on her even before that.
"She was my dream girl since seventh grade," he said. "But she didn't know I existed until senior year. We became really close friends and kinda started dating. From the second I got to know her, I could tell she was the most loving and understanding girl I'd ever met."
Heather Morris & Taylor Hubbell
In 2015, Glee star Heather Morris married her high school sweetheart, Taylor Hubbell, in California, two years after they had welcomed their first child. Heather and Taylor are still together and they have two sons, Owen and Elijah.
Ron Howard & Cheryl Alley
Director Ron Howard met his wife, Cheryl Alley, while they were both juniors at John Burroughs High School in California, and the rest is history. As he told People, "I met her, and there was never anybody else."
The couple has been married for more than 45 years.
Catelynn & Tyler Baltierra
It's not all that common for couples on Teen Mom to stay together from the beginning, but Catelynn and Tyler have beaten the odds. After Catelynn was pregnant at 16 and she and Tyler placed their daughter, Carly, for adoption, the couple stayed together, married in 2015, and is still going strong. They even have three other daughters of their own.
Anthony Mackie & Sheletta Chapital
We can count Captain America star Anthony Mackie among the celebrities who married their childhood sweethearts. In 2015, he and Sheletta Chapital tied the knot after first meeting in elementary school.
"I was coming from a very bad school and going to a very good school. And when I walked into second grade, it was Dr. Seuss Day, and we had the little hot plate out and the teacher was making green eggs and ham," Anthony said on an episode of The Queen Latifah Show (via People). "So I walk in and I looked and I see this little girl with these ratty pigtails and skinny legs, and I was like, 'Wow!'"
Jordan Fisher & Ellie Woods
To All the Boys I've Loved Before star Jordan Fisher met his future wife when he was just 13. As he told People, when he and Ellie Woods got engaged, they were best friends right away before things eventually turned romantic. It didn't take long before they realized they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
Steph & Ayesha Curry
Steph and Ayesha Curry first met when they were teenagers and in the same youth group. As they told Parents magazine, Ayesha wasn't allowed to date in high school, so Steph had to avoid asking her out. He kept his crush on the down low for a few years, and they married in their early 20s.
"I was 23, she was 22. But I knew I had found the right woman and I wanted to start a life with her," he said.
