Hollywood Stars Who Kept Their Relationships Private

Hollywood stars have to live their lives in the public eye; constantly worrying about being hounded by the paparazzi or having their personal lives blasted on social media. Dating as an A-lister is even tougher which is why many celebs choose to keep their romantic relationships private. Celebrity couples such as Cole Sprouse and Lili Reinhart, Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx, and Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden hid their relationships from fans for as long as they could. Read on to learn which stars might be packing on the PDA behind the scenes.

Adam Brody And Leighton Meester

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody posing for a photo
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Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

Leighton Meester met Adam Brody about a decade ago while the two filmed an independent movie called The Oranges. According to InStyle, they officially started dating in 2013 after a trip to Bangkok and got engaged that same year. Shortly after, they had a private wedding ceremony in Northern California for close friends and family.

It took about a year for Brody to finally admit that the two were together after an "Ask Me Anything" series on Reddit. The couple have two kids including a daughter who is five and a son who was welcomed in the latter part of 2020.

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Paul Thomas Anderson And Maya Rudolph

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Maya Rudolph and Director Paul Thomas Anderson at the oscars in 2018
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Although the origin story of director Paul Thomas Anderson and actress Maya Rudolph isn't concrete, there are some theories. Some think the couple started dating after Anderson accompanied ex-girlfriend Fiona Apple to her Saturday Night Live appearance in 2000. Anderson and Rudolph began their relationship in 2001 and rarely speak about it.

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The two aren't married, yet they are the parents to four children ranging between the ages of seven to 15. When fans questioned why they call each other husband and wife Rudolph said, "...It means he's the father of my child, and I live with him, and we are a couple, and we are not going anywhere."

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Cameron Diaz And Benji Madden

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Guitarist Benji Madden and actress Cameron Diaz posing for a photo
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The first time the public heard about the relationship between musician Benji Madden and actress Cameron Diaz was in May of 2014. His twin brother Joel is married to Nicole Richie, who introduced the couple that year. Multiple sources confirmed that they were engaged after seven months of dating.

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Their wedding took place in January 2015 and included celebrity guests such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Samantha Ronson. Madden is so madly in love with Diaz that he had her name tattooed across his chest. It was announced that they welcomed a baby girl named Raddix via surrogate on December 30, 2019.

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Jamie Foxx And Katie Holmes

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Jamie Foxx and Katie Holmes attend The 2019 Met Gala
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Jamie Foxx and Katie Holmes kept their relationship private for a long time. They became friends back in 2004 when Foxx filmed the movie Collateral with her ex-husband Tom Cruise. They remained friendly throughout her marriage to Cruise but were spotted dancing together in the summer of 2013. This sparked major dating rumors.

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Flirty photos continued to surface of the pair, but they would both deny that they were in a relationship. They finally made their Met Gala debut in 2019 after years of saying very little about what was really going on. Unfortunately, they broke up shortly after the Met Gala when Foxx was spotted with another woman.

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Kirsten Dunst And Jesse Plemons

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Similar to many celebrity couples, actors Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons met on a set. They were filming season two of Fargo in 2015 and Dunst was still married at the time. She was divorced a year later. According to Us Weekly, the couple was spotted kissing in 2016 and were engaged by 2017.

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While they remain engaged, Dunst and Plemons became the parents of a son named Ennis in 2018. In a joint interview with The New York Times, the couple gushed over one another. "I knew that she would be in my life for a long time," said Plemons.

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Joe Alwyn And Taylor Swift

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Taylor Swift has been in many public relationships with celebrities such as Harry Styles, Joe Jonas, and John Mayer. Now, she's ready to keep things private. Elle suggests she met actor Joe Alwyn at the 2016 Met Gala and they were seen together shortly after her breakup with Tom Hiddleston.

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Over the last few years she's written numerous songs that allude to their relationship including "Dress" and "Gorgeous." Her buddy Ed Sheeran officially spilled the beans about Swift and Alwyn during a 2017 performance. The pair are still going strong with Swift continuing to write songs about their relationship on her most current album, Evermore.

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Lili Reinhart And Cole Sprouse

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Cole Sprouse and Lily Reinhart attend The 2019 Met Gala
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Working closely on the set of the hit teen drama Riverdale brought actors Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse together. They were a couple both on and off-screen, which came with a lot of attention and criticism from avid fans. Reinhart and Sprouse didn't share too much about their relationship, but would occasionally post photos of each other on social media.

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Within the last year, they both shared that they are no longer a couple. Both are still working on Riverdale and continue to remain friends. "...I'll always feel lucky and cherish that I had the chance to fall in love...," said Sprouse.

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Rose Byrne And Bobby Cannavale

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According to InStyle Australia, actors Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale met while filming the 2014 adaptation of the movie musical Annie. After Annie, they went on to star in three more films together including Adult Beginners, Spy, and Martha the Monster. Although they aren't married, they still refer to each other as husband and wife.

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Cannavale has a son from a previous marriage and has two others with Byrne. She gave birth to Rocco in February 2016 and Rafa in November 2017. During a joint interview with Vanity Fair, the couple talked about how they are generally pretty private, but love working together.

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Paul Dano And Zoe Kazan

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Marriage isn't for everyone and that's the case for celebrity couple Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. The two met while working on a play in 2007 and have collaborated on a few other films. Dano is best known for roles in There Will Be Blood and Love & Mercy, while Kazan, granddaughter of director Elia Kazan, has been in The Big Sick and What If.

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Kazan didn't share any news of her pregnancy but welcomed a daughter named Alma Day with Dano in August of 2018. "I'm so tired and I'm so in love," Dano said to Jimmy Fallon.

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David Cross And Amber Tamblyn

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Amber Tamblyn was inspired by her famous father, Russ Tamblyn (West Side Story), to get into the entertainment industry. She met actor and comedian David Cross in 2007 and the two were married on October 6, 2012. They have an age gap of about 19 years.

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Tamblyn and Cross became the parents of a daughter around the early part of 2017, but choose to keep most of their relationship private. "[I] believe I've earned the right to privacy," said Tamblyn in an interview with NPR. She went on to say that she appreciates that Cross is able to change when he's done something wrong.

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Lady Gaga And Michael Polansky

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Lady Gaga is one of the most popular pop stars in the world, which means her fans want to know everything about her. This includes who she is currently dating. She was first spotted with current boyfriend Michael Polansky at the end of 2019.

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Polansky is an entrepreneur who co-founded successful tech companies such as Napster and Facebook. They keep their relationship pretty private, but sources close to the couple shared that they're quite a good match. "Anyone that has spent any time with them can see the connection," said one source during an interview with Cosmopolitan.

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Dave McCary And Emma Stone

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According to People, actress Emma Stone met husband Dave McCary in 2016 when she hosted Saturday Night Live. He worked there as a segment director from 2013 to 2019. They kept their relationship private during its first few years; seldom making red carpet and other Hollywood appearances together.

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Stone and McCary had a very intimate wedding ceremony during 2020 and her fans found out they were married after they were spotted wearing matching gold wedding bands. Also, it was announced in January 2021 that the couple are expecting a baby sometime this year.

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Ryan Gosling And Eva Mendes

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Actors Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling are known for being a notoriously private Hollywood couple. Mendes has acted in Hitch and Ghost Rider, while Gosling can be seen in LaLa Land and The Notebook. The two met during the fall of 2011 while shooting The Place Beyond the Pines.

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Although they aren't officially married, they have two daughters named Esmeralda and Amada. Gosling and Mendes make a conscious effort to keep their daughters out of the spotlight as well. "We are definitely just mom and dad to them, and we're trying to keep it that way as long as possible," said Mendes in an interview with O Magazine.

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Alison Brie And Dave Franco

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Dave Franco and Alison Brie posing for a photo in 2020
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Actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco kept their relationship private for many years before sharing details about it with the public. The couple met in 2011 during a Mardi Gras celebration and found several chances to work together in films such as The Lego Movie, The Disaster Artist, and The Little Hours.

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Franco proposed about four years into their relationship and they got married on March 13, 2017, in a ceremony for close family and friends. The couple told The Sunday Times that they don't really want to have children, but have two cats who are a "handful."

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Darren Criss And Mia Swier

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Darren Criss and Mia Swier posing for a photo in 2020
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Darren Criss has become one of Hollywood's biggest breakout stars after roles in Glee, American Crime Story, and Hollywood. According to People, Criss met his wife, Mia Swier, back in 2006 when he hadn't become famous yet. Swier works as an actress, writer, producer, editor, and director.

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They started dating around July 2010 and announced their engagement about seven and a half years later. The two kept most of their relationship private the entire time, even up to tying the knot on February 16, 2019. Criss told People that Mia is his "ultimate plus-one."

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Brad Falchuk And Gwyneth Paltrow

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From Brad Pitt to Chris Martin, Gwyneth Paltrow had been in very high-profile relationships. In her later years, she's decided to keep things more private. Paltrow met TV executive Brad Falchuk while she did a guest spot on Glee in 2010, but they didn't start dating until four years later.

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They finally went public about a year into their relationship after fans had been speculating they were a couple. In 2018, the couple said their "I dos" in a "private and small" wedding in The Hamptons. Both have two children from their previous marriages.

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Taran Killam And Cobie Smulders

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Cobie Smulders and husband Taran Killam at an event in 2019
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Some of today's biggest TV stars include Hollywood couple Taran Killam and Cobie Smulders. Killam is best known for his work on Saturday Night Live and Single Parents, while Smulders is most recognized for playing Robin Scherbatsky on How I Met Your Mother.

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The husband and wife duo met while in their early 20s and haven't really shared too much about their relationship. They married in Solvang, California in 2012 and have an 11-year-old daughter named Shaelyn and a six-year-old daughter named Janita. "I'm a very lucky woman," Smulders told People.

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Don Gummer And Meryl Streep

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Meryl Streep and Don Gummer at the oscars in 2018
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One of the darkest times in Meryl Streep's life brought her to the love of her life. After the sudden passing of her boyfriend in 1978, Streep moved in with a friend of her brother's named Don Gummer. Within six months, they were married.

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Gummer is a sculptor whose work has been shown in many museums and exhibitions around the world. Gummer and Streep have four children and one grandchild. Although they keep their marriage private, she is thankful for their prosperity. "...I want him to know that everything I value most in our lives, you've given me," Streep said in her 2010 Academy Awards acceptance speech.

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Thomas Sadoski And Amanda Seyfried

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Marie Claire states that Amanda Seyfried met her husband Thomas Sadoski while working on a Broadway show when he was still married. They got to work together again in 2016 in a film called The Last Word and fell in love after Sadoski's divorce.

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"[He] never flirted, never disrespected his wife. That was another reason why I thought, later on, that I could marry him," Seyfried shared with Porter Magazine. The couple got married in 2017 in a very small two-person ceremony and are parents to a three-year-old daughter and four-month-old son.

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Lucy Boynton And Rami Malek

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Lucy Boynton and Rami Malek attending an event in 2020
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Actors Lucy Boynton and Rami Malek met while filming the Queen and Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, in 2017. The film became an instant box office hit, so Boynton and Malek were often spotted attending red carpet events and other Hollywood functions together.

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They didn't confirm their relationship until April of 2018 when a source told Us Weekly that he visits her all the time in London. One of their most iconic moments was during Malek's acceptance speech for Best Actor at the 2019 Oscars. "Lucy Boynton, you're the heart of this film...You have captured my heart...," said Malek.