Entertainment
15 Celebs who married their fans
Our society is completely and totally obsessed with celebrity culture. In particular, we love celebrity weddings! The fancy venue, the expensive dress, and the guest list packed with A-list stars. Who wouldn’t want that for their special day? Our obsession with celebrity culture is a form of escapism that may stem from the fact that most of us will never even come close to a famous person over the course of our lives. In many ways, they are the elite social class of American society. It is only natural then that many of us who are excluded from this elite social class dream of one day joining it. And what better way than with a wedding!
Many of us fantasize about marrying our favorite celebrities, and for a lucky few this dream actually comes true! Whether they ran into a fan randomly on the street or met them while working on a television show or movie, sometimes celebrities really do fall for average citizens. And it is true, not all of these marriages were built to last. That’s just one more way celebrities are no different from us. So, take heart! There is no reason to stop dreaming. One of these lucky fans could easily be any one of us. Below, we have compiled a list of 15 celebrities who married fans. Read on and keep dreaming!
15. Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Dempsey, best known today for his role as Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy, has been married twice. His first marriage was to Rochelle Parker. They were married for seven years before divorcing. It was quite the controversy at the time because there was such a big age difference between the two. Sadly, Parker passed away in 2014.
Dempsey is currently married to Jillian Fink, a hairdresser. In fact, they met in a chance encounter when he walked into her salon looking to get his hair cut. The couple married in 1999 and have three children together. Things have not always been so rosy for these two. Fink filed for divorce in 2015, but the couple has been working on their issues and have since called off the divorce. Dempsey cites couples therapy as a very important part of their reconciliation process.
14. Tom Cruise
Rumors have swirled around this couple ever since their shocking relationship went public in 2005. Cruise’s involvement in Scientology left many worried for Katie’s wellbeing. There were rumors of forced Scientology sessions and very strict rules for Katie’s labor with daughter Suri. The universe breathed a collective sigh of relief when Katie left Tom in 2012.
The crazy thing is, Katie had been in love with Tom Cruise, from afar, ever since she was a teenager. There are many interviews in which she references him as a childhood crush of hers. One of her old classmates has even suggested that Katie kept pictures of Tom inside her school books. We are not sure if that makes their relationship more or less creepy.
13. Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey has had a long a varied career. He hosts a radio show, a daytime talk show, Family Feud, and has recently been hosting the Miss Universe pageants. Harvey has also made headlines for his oftentimes controversial remarks concerning atheists, Asians, and the crisis in Flint, Michigan. Just this year he made headlines for a memo he sent to his staff ordering them not to talk to him without making an appointment.
Steve Harvey has been married three times and has seven children. His first wife was Marcia Harvey and his second was Mary Shackelford. However, it is Harvey’s third wife, Marjorie Harvey, who started out as just a fan. It’s reported that they first “met” when she attended a taping of his talk show. He made a joke about marrying her someday, and the two dated for a couple of years before splitting up. Years later they found their way back to each other and were married 2007.
12. Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong has made quite the name for himself as the frontman for the band Green Day. He’s also another celebrity who married a fan. Armstrong first met his wife, Adrienne in 1990 when she went to one of the band’s earliest shows. The two got married in June of 1994 and only one day later Nesser discovered that she was pregnant.
Their first son Joseph was born in 1995. Their second son Jakob was born in 1998. Both are currently pursuing careers in the music industry just like dear old dad. Armstrong has since referred to settling down and starting a family so suddenly as “mental.” It seems to have worked for him though, as the couple are still going strong.
11. Ruben Studdard
Ruben Studdard is most well-known as the winner of the second season of American Idol way back in 2003. Since then he’s made a career for himself as a singer focusing primarily on pop, gospel, and R&B. He has also appeared on the reality television program The Biggest Loser. He credited his weight loss during the show with helping him perform better on stage.
He met his ex-wife Surata Zuri McCants at an album signing in 2006. The location of the meeting was the always romantic Wal-Mart. But it seemed to work for the pair as they soon began dating. They were married in a private ceremony in 2008. The couple began divorce proceedings in 2011 and it is reported that, because of Studdard’s amazing prenup, McCants received next to nothing in the divorce.
10. Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld is a Hollywood mainstay. From Seinfeld to Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, everyone knows who Jerry Seinfeld is. However, we bet that very few people would guess that his wife started out as just a fan of his work. It is reported that the couple, who have been together for a couple of decades now, originally met at a gym in 1998! How very normal!
The problem here is that Jessica had just returned from her honeymoon in Italy. That’s right! Jerry’s soon-to-be wife was already married to someone else! She must have divorced her first husband pretty quickly because by the end of 1999 Jerry and Jessica were married. The couple, who have been together ever since and have three children together.
9. Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway is another celebrity who married one of her fans. People may remember Anne for her relationship with Raffaello Follieri. The two were a couple for many years until it was uncovered that Follieri was a conman of the highest order! He had committed fraud to the tune of several millions of dollars. Not surprisingly Anne beat a hasty retreat after she found out!
Cut to four years later and Anne marries Adam Shulman at an interfaith ceremony in California. So, how did they get there? Well, the adorable couple were introduced by a mutual friend. Adam had admired Anne from afar for years, but after that first meeting, Anne was the one telling her friends that she would marry him someday.
8. Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire is an actor best known for staring as Spider-Man in the three Spider-Man films that were released in the mid-2000s. He has done a lot of other stuff too! We promise! He has appeared in scores of other films including The Great Gatsby, in which he played Nick Carraway.
Tobey’s now ex-wife, Jennifer Meyer, was just a fan of his work when they met in 2003. At the time, Tobey was filming Seabiscuit and Jennifer was working as a jewelry designer. The couple married in Hawaii in 2006, about a year after the birth of their daughter. They also have a son, born in 2009. Unfortunately, we were shocked with news that the couple intended to divorce in 2016. The divorce was made official this year.
7. Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler is an actor and comic known for numerous movies including The Waterboy, 50 First Dates, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. In addition to acting, he also runs his own production company called Happy Madison Productions. He has even released several comedy albums over the years. Sandler also seems to genuinely enjoy being a family man, which is always nice to see.
He met his wife, actress Jackie Titone, on the set of his movie Big Daddy. She was already a fan of his and had been cast in a small role. Titone converted to Judaism and the two were married in 2003. They have two little girls, Sadie and Sunny. By all reports, they are still together and going strong.
6. John Travolta
John Travolta got his start on the series Welcome Back, Kotter in the 1970s, but he really made his mark starring in Saturday Night Fever and Grease. In fact, it was Grease that first got Kelly Preston’s attention. In an interview, she mentions that while leaving a movie theater she saw the poster for Grease, which was to be released soon, and knew then and there that she would marry the guy on the poster. The couple was married in 1991.
They have three kids together. Their eldest, Jett, tragically died in 2009. They also have a daughter, Ella, and a son, Benjamin. This couple is not without their share of controversy, some of which stems from their involvement in the Church of Scientology. There have also been rumors of affairs and allegations of sexual assault.
5. Chris Martin
This former Hollywood couple shocked the world when they announced their decision to “consciously uncouple” in 2014. But before that, they were just a couple of crazy kids who were in love. Gwyneth Paltrow first met Chris Martin when she was backstage at a Coldplay concert in 2002. That’s right, this Hollywood A-lister was just another enthusiastic Coldplay fan. The couple married just over one year later, in December of 2003.
They share two creatively named children: Apple and Moses. And they seemed to live a picture-perfect life. In fact, they may have seemed a little too perfect, which makes sense given Paltrow’s other career as a lifestyle guru with her site GOOP. Since their split, both Gwyneth and Chris have dated other people. Most recently Gwyneth announced her engagement to Brad Falchuk.
4. Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer is certainly most famous for his role as Frasier Crane on both Cheers and Frasier, but perhaps he should be equally famous for the sheer number of times he has been married. Grammer has been married four times so far. He married his first wife Doreen in 1982, but they divorced in 1990. His second marriage, to Leigh-Anne Csuhany, lasted barely a year. But his third marriage, to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, Camille Grammer is definitely the relationship he is most known for.
Today Grammer is married to flight attendant Kayte Walsh. Despite their 25-year age difference they seem very happy. It is reported that Kayte was a fan of Grammer’s work before they met. The couple have three children, a girl and two boys, born in 2012, 2014, and 2016.
3. Conan O’Brien
Famous for hosting many a late-night talk show including Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, and (the more succinctly named) Conan, Conan O’Brien has been working steadily since the 1980s. Considering how busy he is, we would think that Conan wouldn’t have time to meet anyone who wasn’t in the business. And we would be wrong! Conan actually met his wife at a taping of his show.
Liza Powel was there, sitting in the audience, after participating in a skit involving the company that she worked for. Conan has said in interviews that somewhere out there, there is a video of him falling in love with Liza while he does that show. Isn’t that just the sweetest thing? The couple was married in 2002. They have two children together, a daughter born in 2003 and a son born in 2005.
2. Matt Damon
Matt Damon is one of the most well-known actors working today. With films including Saving Private Ryan, The Bourne Identity, and Ocean’s Eleven, Damon is a household name. In 2002, while filming Stuck on You in Miami, Damon happened to wander into the bar where Luciana was working as a bartender. There, he spied her across a crowded room and the rest, as they say, is history. The couple married in 2005 after just over two years together.
Matt and Luciana have since had three daughters born in 2006, 2008, and 2010. Matt is also stepfather to Luciana’s daughter from a previous marriage. He’s definitely outnumbered in that house! By all accounts, they live a very normal, very boring life.
1. Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon has been a mainstay in Hollywood since the 1990s. She’s probably most well-known for her role as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde. Recently Reese has received rave reviews for her work producing and acting in Big Little Lies. She’s also famous for her marriage to Ryan Phillippe, which lasted from 1998 to 2006.
In 2010 Reese was rumored to be dating Jim Toth. Jim works at Creative Artists Agency, which is the agency that represents Reese. So basically, it is his job to advocate for her and to be her biggest fan! The couple got engaged in late 2010. They married in early 2011 and welcomed their son, Tennessee, in 2012. Reese quite literally married her professional fan.