Look, it's a small world, and sometimes you might find yourself working with someone you used to date. If you're an actor, that might involve pretending you're still dating your ex in front of a camera.
Here are some famous (former) couples who had to do just that:
They broke up in 2020, but continued playing love interests on Season 4 of Riverdale. Betty and Jughead have since broken up, but lots of fans are still rooting for a #Bughead endgame.
The two dated from 2018 to 2019 and reportedly got back together in 2021. Meanwhile, their fictional alter-egos dated during Season 3 and picked things back up at the end of Season 5.
3.Blake Lively and Penn Badgley dated in 2007 while they were playing love interests Serena and Dan on Gossip Girl.
The actors broke up in 2010, but their characters got back together during the show's final season and even got married.
4.Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst dated briefly in 2001, before Spider-Man (2002) had even premiered.
They'd go on to star in two more movies together as Peter and MJ.
5.Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray starred on One Tree Hill together, where the on-again/off-again relationship between Brooke and Lucas made up a good chunk of the first three seasons.
The pair dated, got married, separated, and got divorced during this time. They've answered a few questions about their relationship over the years, but have both made it clear they'd rather not be asked about it.
6.Alexis Bledel's Rory and Milo Ventimiglia's Jess dated during Season 3 of Gilmore Girls, but the actors themselves dated for three and a half years.
After breaking up in 2006, they reunited in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Their scenes weren't romantic, but it was heavily implied that Jess still had feelings for Rory.
7.Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter — who played Dexter and his sister Debra on Dexter — got married during the show's second season and made their first public appearance at the 2009 Golden Globe Awards.
They got divorced in 2011, but continued working together until the show ended in 2013. They even portrayed a storyline in which Deb realized she had romantic feelings for Dexter.
8.Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody played the iconic Summer and Seth on The O.C. and dated for most of the show's run. In fact, one of the only things they had to film after their IRL breakup was their characters' wedding.
The two have remained good friends over the years, and Rachel has said that she appreciates having had that support system while she worked on the show.
9.Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult met on the set of X-Men: First Class and dated from 2010 to 2014. After breaking up, they played Raven/Mystique and Hank/Beast for two more movies.
The romantic relationship between their characters was a running storyline throughout the movies, even though it wasn't prominently featured.
10.Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder started working together on The Vampire Diaries in 2009, and began dating in 2010 before breaking up three years later.
They filmed two more seasons as Elena and Damon, who were the main couple on the show at the time. Nina has since talked about her friendship with Ian and his wife, Nikki Reed, so all seems to be well between them.
11.Joey King and Jacob Elordi dated after playing a couple in The Kissing Booth, but broke up before it was announced that they'd be starring together in the second and third installments.
Regarding working with an ex, Joey admitted that it wasn't easy, but ultimately necessary for her character's arc.
12.Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson dated early on during Dawson's Creek's run. They broke up in 1999, about a year before their characters dated on the show.
Joey and Pacey dated and broke up a few times but ultimately stayed together in the series finale.
13.Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki secretly dated for two years while portraying Penny and Leonard's will they/won't they dynamic on The Big Bang Theory.
Penny and Leonard finally got together after the actors broke up, but it wasn't awkward for them because they remained good friends.
14.Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki played a couple on Roseanne and dated in the '90s. Sara said that her relationship with Johnny helped her realize she was a lesbian.
They've remained good friends over the years, so it was no sweat to play a couple again when Sara guest-starred on The Big Bang Theory and Johnny guest-starred on The Conners.
15.Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper played Sophie and Sky in Mamma Mia! and dated for some time afterward.
They returned to play Sophie and Sky (married by then) 10 years later, but according to Dominic, it wasn't awkward to work together again.
16.Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan played the will-they-won’t-they dynamic between Sydney and Vaughn on Alias, but they also dated in real life as well.
Even though the actors broke up after a year or so, the relationship between their characters — who eventually got married and had kids — continued until the end of the series.
17.Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett, who play Nini and Ricky on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, were rumored to be dating at some point between the first and second season of the show. Most importantly, it's widely believed that Olivia wrote "Drivers License" about Joshua.
The romance between Nini and Ricky was a huge plotline in Season 2 of HSMTMTS, but as of the finale, it seems like they've parted ways for good, especially considering that Olivia is stepping down as a series regular.
18.Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak have what appears to be a beautiful friendship these days, but they've both spoken about how the early years of their relationship mimicked the turbulent romance between their characters on The Office.
They dated on and off during the early seasons of the show, much like Kelly and Ryan. Their fictional alter egos eventually found their way back to each other in the series finale while Mindy and B.J. have remained best friends.
19.Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz started dating in 2003 after meeting at the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards and broke up in 2006.
Less than four years later, the two starred in Bad Teacher, in which their characters shared an ~intense~ sex scene. Not to worry though; they both said there was no awkwardness between them.
20.Sophia Bush and Jesse Lee Soffer met on the set of Chicago P.D. in 2013, started dating in 2014, and broke up after a year.
They still had to play a couple on TV though, since their characters Erin and Jay dated from Seasons 2 through 4 of the show.
21.Alexis Bledel and Jared Padalecki dated for a year or so when they were first cast as Rory and Dean on Gilmore Girls.
They kept working together for most of the show's run, since Rory and Dean dated until Season 3 and then got back together in Season 5.
22.Emily VanCamp and Dave Annable met on the set of Brothers and Sisters and dated for about a year. Their characters were originally half siblings, but the writers were forced to change that little detail after seeing the actors' chemistry together.
They might have broken up in real life, but their characters Rebecca and Justin had an up-and-down romance until Emily left the show after Season 5.
23.Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer met on the set of House in 2004 while playing doctors. They dated for three years and even got engaged, while their characters Allison and Robert got married at the end of Season 5.
Eventually art imitated life, and the characters got a divorce when Jennifer left the show during the sixth season.
24.Jennifer Aniston and Tate Donovan didn't meet on the set of Friends, but they had been dating for two years when Tate booked a guest role on the iconic sitcom. He played Rachel's new love interest for six episodes, which was awkward considering that the actors were actually breaking up at the time.
It was a difficult experience for both of them, but Tate said that the whole cast was understanding and compassionate throughout the situation.
25.Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck dated from 1997 to 2000, but played a couple in Bounce after they were no longer together.
Gwyneth encouraged Ben to take the role despite their breakup (and despite her family's advice) because it was a departure from what he'd done before.
26.Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern met while filming David Lynch's Blue Velvet in 1985, and dated until 1989.
Lynch brought them back together for the Twin Peaks reboot in 2017, in which they had a romantic storyline which involved a sex scene.
27.Chase Stokes and Madelyn Cline met while filming Outer Banks and dated from 2020 to 2021.
They may not be together in real life, but their characters are still going strong on the show.
28.Now for some speculation because these two are very private about their real-life romance: Kit Harington and Rose Leslie met while working on Game of Thrones in 2011, and Kit has said several times that he fell in love with her while they were filming in Iceland.
HOWEVER, Kit was asked several times over the years and insisted that he and Rose were just friends, while other sources reported that they had broken up at some point in 2013. This would have been around the time they were shooting Season 4 of Game of Thrones, during which their characters were estranged but still very much in love.
Regardless, these two had a happy ending. They finally confirmed their relationship with a red carpet appearance in 2016 and got married in 2018.
29.And finally, Courteney Cox and David Arquette were married for 13 years after meeting on the set of Scream in 1996. They played onscreen love interests Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley.
Even though they divorced in 2013, they have remained friends and reunited as Gale and Dewey in Scream 5 earlier this year. David called the experience "cathartic" given their 25-year history.
