When Jerry Seinfeld met Jessica Sklar at the gym in 1998, she was already a fan of his show, and still technically married. That relationship was falling apart, and the two began seeing each other quietly as things unraveled. By the end of 1999, the secrecy was over, the divorce finalized, and Seinfeld and Jessica were married. | © The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Long before they worked together, Kelly Preston was already a fan of John Travolta and his movies. When they met during a screen test in 1987, the spark wasn’t instant, but a difficult period in Preston’s personal life brought them closer over time. They married in 1991 and stayed together through decades of highs and lows until Preston’s death in 2020. | © Miramax Films
Kyra Sedgwick first met Kevin Bacon as a kid, after seeing him perform in a play and working up the nerve to tell him she liked his work. Nothing came of it then, but years later, they crossed paths again while filming Lemon Sky, this time as adults on equal footing. They married in 1988, turning an early fan moment into one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting relationships. | © The Graham Norton Show / YouTube
Matthew Lewis met Angela Jones during an event at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where she was working behind the scenes. A fan moment quickly turned personal, and Jones later admitted she never really believed in soulmates until meeting him. Two years after that first encounter, the Harry Potter fantasy became real when they got married. | © Magic Radio / YouTube
After landing a small role in Big Daddy, Jackie Titone went from admirer to real-life partner of Adam Sandler. The two started dating not long after, married in 2003, and later welcomed two daughters together. Jackie has stayed part of Sandler’s world ever since, popping up in many of his films, including a cameo in Hubie Halloween. | © Netflix
After spotting a 2006 photo of Kim Kardashian, Kanye West became an early admirer, famously asking around about the woman he jokingly misnamed “Kim Kar-dijon.” Years later, with both of their careers at new highs, that long-distance fandom finally turned into a real relationship in 2012. They married in 2014 and went on to have four children together. | © Jimmy Kimmel Live / YouTube
When Steve Harvey spotted Marjorie Bridges sitting in the front row of his Memphis comedy show back in 1990, the moment stuck with him. They dated briefly, then went their separate ways, leaving the story unfinished for years. When they reconnected in 2005, the timing finally worked, leading to marriage two years later and a relationship that’s lasted ever since. | © The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / YouTube
For years, celebrity hairstylist Jillian Fink quietly crushed on Patrick Dempsey while giving him haircuts, waiting for him to finally notice. When he did, things moved fast, they were living together within three months and married in 1999. The relationship has had its rough patches, but they’ve stayed together, even finding their way back after a near divorce. | © Jimmy Kimmel Live / YouTube
Corey Feldman met Susie Sprague while she was celebrating her 19th birthday, and she happened to be a fan, something he’d always sworn to avoid. He broke his own dating rules anyway, even marrying her on his reality show The Two Coreys in 2002. The relationship didn’t last, with the couple separating in 2009 and finalizing their divorce a few years later. | © The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan / YouTube
Both Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose were already stars when they got together, but it was clear there had been real fan energy between them long before things went public. Rose even joked about it herself, once sharing that the first photo she ever saw of Wiz turned into the man she eventually married. The marriage didn’t last, but after their 2016 divorce, the mutual respect and support never fully disappeared. | © Vanity Fair / YouTube
Long before they ever met, Chris Martin was already joking about dating Gwyneth Paltrow, half-crush, half-wishful thinking. That fan energy turned real when Paltrow attended a Coldplay show and was invited backstage to finally meet him. The connection stuck, leading to marriage and two children together, Apple and Moses, years before their famously friendly split. | © Vogue / YouTube
Long before they met, Katie Holmes openly talked about her crush on Tom Cruise, even admitting she once thought she’d marry him. That teenage fandom turned real in 2005, when the two started dating, got engaged almost immediately, and welcomed their daughter, Suri, the following year. The romance burned fast and publicly, but by 2012, the marriage had come to an end. | © Paramount Pictures
A whole generation imagined ending up with Justin Bieber, and Hailey Baldwin turned out to be the one who actually did. Long before the marriage, she was a very real Belieber tweeting about him, waiting outside hotels, and doing what fans do when their idol is nearby. Years later, that early fandom came full circle in a whirlwind romance that led to their 2018 wedding. | © Justin Bieber / YouTube
Among her admirers was Anne Hathaway’s future husband, Adam Shulman, who had been a fan long before they ever crossed paths. They met through mutual friends, and that quiet admiration eventually turned into a real relationship, not just a celebrity crush. In 2012, the fan-to-partner story became official when the two got married. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Growing up, Mariah Carey was more than just music to Nick Cannon; she was the crush, the fantasy, the whole picture. When the two actually met and married, it felt like a fan’s long-shot dream somehow turning real. It didn’t last forever, though, and by 2016, the fairytale version of the story had come to an end. | © Mariah Carey / YouTube
Celebrity crushes usually stay safely imaginary. But every once in a while, fandom slips into real life, and the person cheering from the sidelines ends up walking down the aisle instead. These are the rare cases where admiration turned into marriage, and the fairytale actually happened.
