We’ve all fantasized about meeting and marrying a celebrity crush – but for some fans it really happens! Here is a list of celebrities who met and married their fans, proving that sometimes dreams really do come true. Happily ever after, however, is not guaranteed.
1. Matt Damon
Luciana Barroso was working as a bartender in Miami when she spotted Matt Damon walk in. He was in town filming Stuck on You. Apparently, it was love at first sight. “I literally saw her across a crowded room, literally,” he told Ellen DeGeneres. “I don’t know how else our paths would have crossed if that didn’t happen.” The pair had a discreet ceremony at City Hall in Manhattan in 2005. Thirteen years and four kids later the pair seems as strong as ever.
⏩
2. Ringo Starr
Before the Beatles were the biggest band in the world, Maureen Cox was a fan. The hairdresser was an avid fan of the group, attending all of their local concerts. Ringo Starr eventually noticed and they began dating just as the band started to gain prominence. In 1965, after the two discovered she was pregnant, they married. Unfortunately, the rock star lifestyle took a toll on the marriage and they divorced 10 years later.
⏩
3. Tom Brady and Gisele Bündchen
You wouldn’t think that one of the most beautiful models in the world would have trouble finding a date, but it seems Gisele had eyes for only one man, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. She told mutual friends who set the pair up on a blind date. The two hit it off and were married in 2009. They have two children together and if you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of her in the stands at his football games.
⏩
4. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
It’s not unusual to find photos of celebrities decorating the bedroom walls of teenage girls. It’s much more unusual for those girls to grow up to marry the stars. But, that’s exactly what happened to Katie Holmes. She met her teenage crush Tom Cruise in 2005 and began a whirlwind courtship that culminated in an opulent wedding ceremony in 2006. Not long after, rumors of trouble began to surface due to Tom’s devotion to Scientology. The pair divorced just six years later.
⏩
5. Ruben Studdard
It was a typical CD signing event for American Idol winner Ruben Studdard until he looked up to find Zuri McCant waiting to get his autograph. He was instantly smitten and briefly left the signing to ask her for her phone number. They began dating shortly after and married in 2008. Unfortunately, the relationship wasn’t meant to be and they divorced just three years later.
⏩
6. Jerry Seinfeld
Former public relations manager Jessica Sklar met Jerry Seinfeld while working out at a gym in 1998. She soon made headlines when she left her first husband shortly after their honeymoon in order to date the comedian. The duo married the next year and have three children together. Jessica now writes cookbooks and does charitable work.
⏩
7. Kate Middleton and Prince William
Kate had a crush on William at the age of 13 and even had a poster of him in her dorm room at her boarding school Marlborough College. Years later she found herself face to face with her childhood crush at the University of St Andrews where they were both studying. “I actually think I went bright red,” she told the Telegraph in an interview shortly after the engagement. “I sort of scuttled off, feeling very shy.” Apparently the feelings were mutual and they eventually began dating. The world looked on as the pair married in 2011. The couple has two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and another on the way.
⏩
8. Conan O’Brien
When Conan O’Brien saw Liza Powel in the audience at a taping of his show Late Night with Conan O’Brien, he was instantly smiten. “Somewhere, in the vault at NBC, there’s footage of me literally falling for my wife on camera,” he told said in an interview with Piers Morgan. They married two years later and have two children together.
⏩
9. Patrick Dempsey
The hair stylist was surprised and excited to find that one of her favorite actors had booked an appointment for a haircut with her. She proceeded to flirt with the Grey’s Anatomy star, a strategy that obviously worked. The couple were married in 1999 and have three children together.
⏩
10. Reese Witherspoon
After a string of high-profile romances, it looked as though Reese Witherspoon’s “type” was other actors, but all of that changed when she met talent agent Jim Toth, who had long been a fan of her work. He came to her rescue when a drunk friend tried to hit on her. The couple has been married since 2011 and have a son together.
