19 Stories From Celebs About How They Courted Their Current Partners

The cute, funny, and romantic stories of how celebs approached their significant others!

Every great love connection has a background story of how romance bloomed.

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Love may not look like this for everyone. Donald Duck is a specific case.

And celebrities are no different!

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I don't know about you, but I love hearing each unique way someone began to court their partner. It's relatable, fun, and really sweet!

Here are some times when celebrities opened up about how they got to know their current significant others.

1. George Clooney asked his now-wife, Amal, to grab dinner after a recording at Abbey Road Studios.

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In a Howard Stern interview, Clooney described how the relationship between him and his wife, human rights attorney Amal Clooney, developed. 

The two were first introduced by a mutual friend when Clooney was in Lake Como, Italy. They kept in touch for months, but Clooney waited to court Amal. He later invited her to a recording session for a film score at Abbey Road Studios in London, and pursued her once he knew she felt the same way for him romantically.

"We went out to dinner and...it became romantic very quickly," Clooney said. "It was kind of clear once...I knew that she was interested, then I think we were together from that moment on."

The couple is married and together have twins Alexander and Ella.

2. Jimmy Fallon got to know his wife, Nancy Juvonen, on set.

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In a 2020 episode of The Tonight Show: At Home Edition, Fallon and Juvonen discussed their love story. The two first met while Fallon was an SNL cast member and Juvonen visited the SNL set with her production partner, Drew Barrymore.

Later, they reconnected on the set of Fever Pitch, which starred Barrymore and Fallon. They got along well while working on the movie, and later saw each other in London to promote its release. Upon this third meeting, Fallon approached Juvonen to spend time together again.

"I was like, hey, I miss you. I wanna hang out with you," Fallon said of reconnecting with Juvonen. The two then began dating, eventually married in 2007, and now have two daughters: Winnie and Frances.

3. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith courted each other after growing as friends.

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The pair met when Pinkett Smith was 19 and auditioning to play Smith's love interest for an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The two later reconnected and formed a bond that turned into love.

"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," Pinkett Smith told YourTango. "We started courting each other and our friendship turned into romance."

Their love has resulted in a 24-year marriage and two children: Willow and Jaden.

4. Alexis Ohanian traveled to Paris to see Serena Williams.

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Ohanian and Williams first met while sitting at separate tables outside of a hotel they were both staying at. The two briefly discussed Ohanian's expertise in technology and his website, Reddit, and exchanged information. Williams also invited him to see her play tennis in France, which Ohanian eagerly followed up on.

"I didn't know this was a thing, but she made the invite with no intention of actually taking me up on it," Ohanian said in an interview with Stephen Colbert. "I let her know that I was actually going to be in town — it was just a perfect coincidence I was supposed to be in Paris anyway. I wasn't."

Ohanian and Williams spent a day together sightseeing in Paris, and the rest is history. They are now married with one child: Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

5. John Krasinski brought Emily Blunt to a gun range for their first date.

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The couple's first date was at a gun range. Krasinski explained that he chose this untraditional spot because he was certain Blunt wouldn't be interested in him, regardless of where the date was.

"I was so sure that I would never end up with her because she'd be like, this is ridiculous, I can have anyone, not you, that I was like, you know what, I'm gonna blow it right away," Krasinski said to Conan O'Brien.

Instead, this move led to a long-term relationship, and Krasinski and Blunt have now been married for over a decade. They have two daughters: Hazel and Violet.

6. Lin-Manuel Miranda let his now-wife, Vanessa Nadal, know her importance to him as the two dated.

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Lin-Manuel Miranda grew up just 20 blocks away from his now-wife, Vanessa Nadal, and the couple first met in high school. They didn't begin dating, however, until 2005, after Nadal attended a couple of Miranda's hip-hop improv shows.

Miranda won Nadal over with how he made sure to bring her around the people closest to him in his life. "He made a concerted effort to introduce me to every person who was important to him, which showed me I was important," Nadal said to the New York Times in 2010. 

In addition, Miranda has always been open with Nadal about his interests since the early stages of their courtship. "Our first date, we dance to Marc Anthony, we watched the Jay-Z documentary Fade to Black, and we did Grand Theft Auto all night," Miranda said in an interview with Access Hollywood. "The secret is to keep sharing what you're passionate about."

The two are married with two sons: Francisco and Sebastian. 

7. Dylan Sprouse slid into Barbara Palvin's DMs, but didn't hear back for six months.

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"She followed me [on Instagram], so I was like, I guess I’ll give her something. And I slid into her DMs," Sprouse said to W Magazine of reaching out to Palvin. "I was like, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you’re in New York for very long, but we should hang out if you want to. Here’s my number.’ And she didn’t message me for six months."

After messaging Palvin, Sprouse went to China for a six-month film shoot. Sprouse's manager later asked him if there was anything he wished he had completed before leaving his home for the shoot, and Palvin again entered his mind.

"For the first time in six months, Barbara popped in my head, and I thought, I wish I had time to take this girl on a date," Sprouse said. "Ten minutes later, Barbara texts me for the first time in six months.”

The two subsequently began a romance and have been together for three years.

8. Justin Timberlake courted Jessica Biel with an old-school approach.

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Us Weekly detailed Timberlake's comments on his relationship with Biel made during a press conference with the Hollywood Foreign Press in 2012.  After their first meeting, Timberlake asked a mutual friend if he could ask Biel out, and, although she was hesitant at first, Biel confirmed to their friend that Timberlake could give her a call. He then followed up and began to pursue her.

"I did it the old fashioned way — by telephone," Timberlake said. "That's something I learned from both my stepdad and my grandfather — that there is a thing called chivalry and it doesn't have to die with the birth of the internet... I had to be pretty persistent in order to get her to say yes. But I have a fair amount of tenacity and if I want something I stick to it. And in the end she agreed."

Timberlake and Biel wed in 2012 and have two sons: Silas and Phineas.

9. Joe Manganiello flew to date Sofía Vergara.

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In a 2018 interview with Jimmy Fallon, Manganiello spoke about when he knew Vergara, who he has now been married to for six years, was the one for him. "I knew...right away," Manganiello told Fallon. "She was in New Orleans shooting this movie...I was on a press tour; I was flying back and forth to date her."

Vergara had just ended a long-term relationship, so Manganiello asked her if she needed time to heal before dating again. At the time, he had also been named as People Magazine's hottest bachelor, so he bought a copy of the magazine to present to Vergara after posing this question to her.

"I said...before you answer, I want to show you something," Manganiello said. "And so I reached into my bag and I pulled out the magazine and I said, 'Numero uno.'" Vergara then jokingly looked through the magazine and told him, "I'm seeing who else is on the list." This sealed the deal for Manganiello, and he and Vergara have remained inseparable ever since.

10. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were friends first, and both eventually realized they could be more.

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Reynolds and Lively met on the set of Green Lantern and were first "buddies for a long time," Reynolds said in an interview with SiriusXM. They later went on a double date with other people, which resulted in the pair starting a courtship.

"For about a year after Green Lantern had come and gone, we were both single [and] we went on a double date," Reynolds recalled. "She was on a date with another guy, and I was on a date with another girl, and that was the most awkward date for their respective parties because we were just like fireworks coming across."

Lively elaborated on how their friendship led to a lasting marriage when she visited SiriusXM. "We were such good friends for so long," Lively said. "It didn't click for a good year and a half, like, oh, hey, wait...we could date. But that's what I appreciate about our relationship...he is my friend first."

Since marrying in 2012, Lively and Reynolds have had three children: James, Betty, and Inez.

11. Russell Wilson ditched his dinner plans to meet with Ciara.

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Wilson initially had a meeting with a friend planned on the same night he was to have a date with Ciara, he explained to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. "I had texted C; I said, hey, can we meet up around 10, 10:30? She said, "...Sorry, I gotta go to New York the next morning...so if it's meant to be it will be," Wilson recalled.

He delayed his dinner plans in order to spend time with the Grammy Award-winning singer. He enjoyed being around Ciara so much that he lost track of time and missed the other meetup. "I completely forgot about the [other] meeting, and I fell in love that day," Wilson said.

Ciara and Wilson were married in 2015 and are parents to Sienna, Win, and a child from Ciara's previous relationship, Future.

12. Joel Madden pleaded with Nicole Ritchie to give him a shot.

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"I'm not the tall, dark, handsome guy," Madden said to 60 Minutes Australia. "I don't think I'm the obvious choice. I'm always like, 'Just give me a shot. Just give me one date.' If I can get my foot in the door…that's how it was with my wife."

Ritchie gave Madden his one shot, which worked out in his favor. The two wed in 2010 and have two children together: Harlow and Sparrow.

13. Terry Crews stated his willingness to show up for his now-wife, Rebecca King-Crews.

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Crews asked his future wife to dance during a date early into their courtship. King-Crews was a single mother at the time, and Crews realized in that moment he was ready to be there for her and her child.

"It was like magic," Crews said of the date in the documentary series Black Love. "I took her home, and I knew...I actually spoke it. I didn't want to shake anything up. I looked at her and I said, 'Listen. I don't know what this is going to be, but I just wanted to let you know right now that I'm willing'...I'm willing to take the baby. I'm willing to take her...it was her decision to make."

The two married in 1989 and are the parents to five children: Naomi, Azriel, Tera, Wynfrey, and Isaiah.

14. Bill Rancic showed Giuliana Rancic around his hometown early into dating.

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The stars of Giuliana and Bill hit it off immediately, and within their first few dates Giuliana visited Bill's hometown of Chicago. He took his now-wife to a Cubs game, got her a gift basket and Giordano's pizza, and cooked for her during the trip.

“It was just so much fun," Bill said to Today. "We were with all my buddies; just a wild three days. It was Memorial Day weekend, I think eight years ago, and that was it. That was the end of my dating world.”

The couple tied the knot 14 years ago and have a son, Edward, who was born in August 2012.

15. Matthew McConaughey approached Camila Alves at a club.

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McConaughey discussed how he approached his now-wife Camila Alves in the summer of 2006, while making margaritas at his table in a club on Sunset Blvd. 

"Out of the corner of my eye, this...aquamarine figure went sort of floating across the frame about 20 feet in front of me... I went, 'What is that?" McConaughey said in an interview with Jess Cagle. He then invited Alves and her friends to sit with him at his table, and three nights later they went on their first date.

"The next night after [the first date], I wanted to go on another date. The next night after that, I wanted to go on another date. And I've been wanting to go on a date with her for the last nine years, and not with anybody else."

The couple has been married for nearly a decade and have three children together: Livingston, Levi, and Vida.

16. Michael J. Fox pursued Tracy Pollan after her divorce.

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The actors initially crossed paths while Pollan was a guest star on Family Ties, which Fox was a series lead on. They were both seeing other people at the time, but Fox later got the chance to court Pollan after he heard she had separated from her previous partner, Kevin Bacon.

"It sounds really horrible, but it was one of those things," Fox said to People. "Someone goes, ‘Did you hear that so-and-so aren’t together anymore?’ and you go, ‘Hmm, that’s too bad. Where’s the phone?’"

Fox and Pollan married in 1988 and have four children: Sam, Aquinnah, Schuyler, and Esmé.

17. Michael Douglas told Catherine Zeta-Jones they'd have children together upon meeting her.

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The Hollywood Reporter detailed a speech Douglas gave at a 2019 luncheon that was held in his honor. During his talk, he mentioned meeting Zeta-Jones at the Deauville Film Festival and the bold way he began to woo her.

“I looked at her, and I said, ‘Catherine, I’m going to be the father of your children,'” Douglas said. “The first time I met her! You think that went over big?”

Douglas's prediction was accurate, as he and Zeta-Jones have two kids together: Dylan and Carys, along with Cameron, his son from a previous marriage. They were married in 2000.

18. George Takei asked his now-husband to help train him for a marathon.

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George Takei was a member of a gay running club in Los Angeles when he noticed Brad Altman, a fellow runner who caught his eye.

"[Altman] was the best runner in the club," Takei said in an Oprah: Where Are They Now? interview. "And also great looking. And so I went up to him and asked him to train me for my first marathon."

Takei and Altman went on to date secretly for 18 years, until Takei came out in 2005. They have been married since 2008.

19. Stephen Colbert had to approach his now-wife, Evelyn Colbert, when he experienced love at first sight.

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Colbert was in a theatre lobby in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, when he noticed Evelyn, his future wife.

"I walk in and I see across the lobby this...beautiful woman in a black linen dress," Colbert said about meeting his wife. "Honest to God, I thought, there's your wife. You're gonna marry her... And I [thought], you will kick yourself for the rest of your life if you do not turn around and say hello to her."

Colbert struck up a conversation with Evelyn that lasted for two hours, during which the two discovered they had grown up with each other and had many friends in common. 

They went on to marry and have been wed for nearly three decades. The couple have three children: Peter, John, and Madeline.