12 Times Actors Broke Up But Had To Still Film Together Afterwards

Awkwaaaard.

Break ups are never easy, but it's probably even more awkward if you have to continue working with them.

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Well, here are 12 acting couples that continued to work together post-breakup

1. Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder

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The two actors worked on The Vampire Diaries together for six seasons. During that time, their characters dated on the show, and the relationship was mirrored off-screen too. 

The relationship was something that Nina wasn't intending on, as she said: "I didn't want to be dating one of my costars — my goal on the show was to be professional. But sometimes you can't help who you have a connection with, and you can only fight it for so long — which I did for a really, really long time."

However, the two split in 2013 after three years together, while they were still shooting the show where their characters were still together. Thankfully though, the breakup was drama-free and they continued to have a good relationship on and off the screen!

2. Blake Lively and Penn Badgley

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Early on during the show's run, the on-screen couple also became an off-screen one. Despite denying rumours after the end of the first season, it became clear the two were dating in real life too. However, real life isn't a TV show, and after three years, the couple ended things – something they kept quiet from the crew and production team, as executive producer Joshua Safran revealed: 

“I found out on the set of the season 2 finale that Blake and Penn had broken up months before.” 

Thankfully though, the two remained consummate professionals, and their off-screen breakup didn't affect production whatsoever – they even continued to be friends. In fact, there was far less real-life drama than there was on the show, with Penn saying: 

"I think we should both pat ourselves on the back for getting through it. … We handled it.”

3. BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling

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The pair's on-screen relationship was very up and down, and pretty complicated, and this was also the case with their relationship off-set, as BJ described it: 

“We were never really dating, we were never really not dating. We didn’t know. No one knew. All you’d know for sure is that you’d always find one of us next to the other, even if we weren’t getting along.”

Mindy concurred with this evaluation, calling their relationship "weird as hell." She did admit though that the splitting up, or something similar, was fairly challenging at first, particularly as they continued to work together: 

“I can’t speak [for] him, but I think for me it was challenging to be in your mid-twenties — I’m such a sentimental person and I take things very hard — but that’s the nice thing about long friendships. That was like 12 years ago when that happened, so you get over things like that. But it totally was very challenging.”

4. Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki

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Kaley and Johnny dated while they were filming The Big Bang Theory, where of course, their characters were in a relationship. They said the reason for their split was due to different interests and sort of "running out of things to talk about." 

On breaking up, Johnny said: "We just had very different interests in what I think we wanted from our experience of life." Meanwhile, Kaley added, "Johnny and I also ran out of things to talk about, because we'd be at work all day, and then we'd go back to one of our places together, and say, 'So how was your day? Simon was funny today, right?' 

While admitting there was initially some hurt after they broke up, Kaley was happy that there was no ill will between the two: 

"We really adored each other, and we were lucky because as our breakup was happening, there was no foul play, there was nothing bad about our relationship ... it just ended."

5. Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes

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The costars became an off-screen couple while working together in 2020 and dated for over a year before ending things. The two continued to work together on the show, and they'd always planned to be professional when it came to the show, even in the event of a breakup, as Chase said: 

"Mads and I have been working together now for 30 episodes, and we made a promise to each other before we even started dating that the work was always going to come first. No matter what happens in our personal lives, and the ways that life sometimes takes you in different directions, that we're always going to honor the work."

Series co-creator Jonas Pate praised the pair's professionalism, saying: "It's a credit to Chase and to Maddie, they just put their heads down and did the work, so good for them."

6. Camila Mendes and Charles Melton

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The two got into a relationship while they were filming Riverdale, but the show wasn't over by the time the two ended things. There wasn't a particularly dramatic incident that led to their breakup, more just the stress of work and managing their careers. 

After their breakup, their manner on set was described as "cordial." As one source said: 

"They are still in touch and both understand they need to be cordial while on set and throughout press for the show. They have been filming together while being split and things have been normal."

7. Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse

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Sticking with Riverdale, Lili and Cole met on set, and were on and off from 2017 to 2020 until they finally ended things for good. 

Cole said the split was difficult, and that they should have ended things earlier: “The work thing got difficult because it was hard to suspend all the way we felt about each other and it didn’t afford us the luxury of distance to really overcome that.”

While saying that the two did "damage" to each other, he went on to say that they are good friends, and "work really well together." 

8. Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody

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The couple on and off The OC didn't actually break up until right towards the end of filming the show, but the one episode that they had left to film was the two's marriage. Rachel said that the writers trolled them deliberately, which sounds a bit mean, saying: 

“We broke up at the very end so there wasn’t much [for us to film] after the breakup. We did get married after we broke up. … That’s always fun. They totally did that on purpose. That was the only scene left to shoot, was the wedding. They’re like, ‘You broke up? Let’s give you a wedding.'"

9. Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray

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After meeting on the set of One Tree Hill in season one, the two began seeing each other. By the end of season two, the two (actors) had wed – a month before the episode where Chad's character confessed his feelings for Sophia's. The marriage only lasted five months though, and they announced their separation just as their characters were getting back together. 

However, Sophia was clear that she was never going to let any personal drama get in the way of the show, saying: 

"I was always going to put Brooke Davis ahead of everybody and everything else. Nothing mattered to me but being honest for her.”

While their characters ended up splitting at the end of season three, the two spent three more seasons together on the show. 

10. Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer

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The House costars announced their engagement in 2007, leaving fans full of excitement for the big wedding. Alas, it wasn't to be, and just a few months later. The two didn't really explain why they broke things off, but Jesse released a statement announcing it: 

"After much consideration, we have decided not to get married. We are still very close, and we look forward to continuing to work together on House."

They would go on to work together on the show for a number of years after the cut-short wedding. 

 

11. Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter

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The costars who played brother and sister on Dexter started a different type of relationship off-screen. It was a couple of years into the show when they began dating, and they would eventually elope together and get married. Two years later though, the couple filed for divorce. 

A year after the divorce, Jennifer said that of course things had changed, but their friendship was still there as they continued to work together on set, saying: 

"Just because the marriage ended doesn't mean the love isn't still there. We take very good care of each other and our cast, we always have, and I'm just really lucky."

12. Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson

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The two met on the set of Dawson's Creek, and they quickly started dating. However, the coupling wasn't to be, as they ended things just after the first season of the show had aired. Katie spoke about their relationship, and continuing to work after the break up: 

"I met somebody last year. I fell in love, and it was something so incredible and indescribable that I will treasure it always… and that I feel so fortunate because he's now one of my best friends."

What other couples broke up and continued to work together? Let us know in the comments below!