20+ Iconic Exes Whose Love Was Erased From Our Memories

Hollywood romances are like a real-life fairytale, but in most cases, they sadly tend to be short-lived. Some might say that it is the pressure of the industry that makes the relationship crack, others blame it on the endless temptations that come with fame and fortune. Whatever the reason may be, these famous ex-couples remind us that while passion is crucial for starting a romance, commitment is the key to making it last.

At Now I’ve Seen Everything we did a little time travel to bring you 21 Hollywood couples who made us dream in the past.

1. Ryan Gosling and Sandra Bullock

The then 37-year-old Bullock and 21-year-old Gosling met in 2001, on the set of the movie Murder by Numbers. Their romance lasted for 2 years and the 16-year-old age gap didn’t seem to cause any bother for the lovebirds.

2. Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow

After dating for 3 years on and off, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck parted ways in 2000. The actress admitted that they’ve remained friends since, adding that Affleck is ’’super intelligent and really, really talented.’’

3. Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz

In the mid-2000s, the media was buzzing about this power couple, but still, we often forget that the 2 were ever together. The actress and musician met in 2003 and for the next 4 years, it seemed like they were the perfect match. However, it appears that neither of them was ready to commit at that time.

4. George Clooney and Lucy Liu

George Clooney and Lucy Liu were rumored to be dating in 2000 while Liu’s fame skyrocketed after she starred in Charlie’s Angels. Although neither of them confirmed the speculations, they were seen kissing on New Year’s Eve in 2006.

5. Kate Moss and Johnny Depp

Both Kate Moss and Johnny Depp were one of the biggest stars of the ’90s and early 2000s, so it’s no surprise that their 4-year relationship was the focus of the paparazzi at that time.

6. Angelina Jolie and Jonny Lee Miller

Angelina Jolie and British actor Jonny Lee Miller first met on the set of the ’90s movie hit, Hackers, in 1995. They got married the following year and divorced in 2000. Judging by recent rumors, the ex-couple could be rekindling their relationship.

7. Edward Norton and Salma Hayek

Salma Hayek and Edward Norton were one of Hollywood’s most talked-about couples in the early 2000s, but remained notoriously private about their relationship. They stayed together for 4 years.

8. Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey

Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey started a 2-year relationship after filming a movie together in 1996. Both of them are now in happy relationships, and they’ve remained close friends.

9. Kim Kardashian and Nick Cannon

Kim Kardashian briefly dated Nick Cannon back in 2006. According to Cannon, he was getting ’’serious’’ about the relationship and was heartbroken when Kardashian left him.

10. Ryan Reynolds and Alanis Morissette

Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, may just be one of the most adorable couples in Hollywood. However, before marrying the Gossip Girl actress and having 3 children with her, Reynolds was in a committed relationship with Canadian rocker Alanis Morissette.

11. Tom Cruise and Penélope Cruz

Tom Cruise and Penélope Cruz started as a behind-the-scenes fling on the set of Vanilla Sky back in 2000 that turned into an almost 3-year romance. At the time, Cruise publicly acknowledged his new relationship, even though his divorce with Nicole Kidman was not yet finalized.

12. Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford

The supermodel was 26 when she got married to the then 42-year-old Gere in 1991. The couple divorced in 1995. Years later Crawford opened up about their relationship saying "I think part of the problem in our relationship was that we were a lot of other things, but I don’t know if we were ever friends — like peers, because I was young, and he was Richard Gere.’’

13. Blake Lively and Penn Badgley

Unlike the rest of us, Gossip Girl fans probably still remember that Lively once dated her co-star on the popular series, Penn Badgley. Sparks flew in 2007, but the pair tried to keep their relationship under wraps. They parted ways 2 years later, also keeping their breakup a secret from the Gossip Girl crew.

14. Matt Damon and Winona Ryder

The two actors dated for two years after being introduced by non-other than Gwyneth Paltrow in December 1997. When asked about her exes, Ryder said “Matt couldn’t be a greater, nicer guy. I’m really lucky that I’m on good terms with him.”

15. Seal and Tyra Banks

Seal seems to have always been attracted to models. Before marrying supermodel Heidi Klum in 2005 and spending 9 years with her, the British musician dated another gorgeous model, Tyra Banks. Their 9-month romance ended in 1996.

16. Madonna and Dennis Rodman

The queen of pop has been known to get involved in a number of high-profile romances, like with basketball star, Denis Rodman, whom she dated in 1994. They were together for only 2 months, but their relationship was highly-publicized. Rodman later revealed that Madonna allegedly offered him $20 million to have his child.

17. Bradley Cooper and Renée Zellweger

Bradley Cooper and Renée Zellweger had a 2-year relationship that ended in 2011. Their first meeting was in 2006 while working on a movie together, but they started dating 3 years later, in 2009. During the course of their time together, both of them tried to keep the affair under the radar and neither of them publicly discussed their breakup.

18. Christina Applegate and Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt had quite a few flings with female A-listers throughout his career, and sometimes it’s hard to keep track of them all. Back in 1989, he briefly dated fellow actress, Christina Applegate, who left him for another guy.

19. Charlize Theron and Sean Penn

In 2013, Charlize Theron began dating Sean Penn — a fellow actor who is 15 years her senior. The 2 split just a couple of years later. According to the actress, they called it quits because their relationship ’’just didn’t work out.’’ Although the couple seemed happy together, Theron denied that they ever planned on getting married.

20. Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd

Since both Aniston and Rudd remained pretty secretive about the romance, the exact timeline of the relationship cannot be explained, but according to some sources, they dated for several years. The pair appeared to be very much into each other in 1998 when they were working on a movie together, the same year Aniston and Brad Pitt began their romance. Rudd and Anniston continued co-starring in Friends from 2002 to 2004.

21. Jake Gyllenhaal and Kirsten Dunst

It’s Jake’s sister, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, who introduced the pair, as she co-starred alongside Dunst in Mona Lisa Smile. The pair began dating soon after, in 2002. Dunst later blamed their split on the duo having radically different lifestyles, she explained ’’He’s a stay-at-home boy and I’m an out-on-the-town girl."

Do you remember when these couples were on TV all the time and all over magazine covers? Do you think some of them should have stayed together?