Celeb Exes Who Still Had to Work Together Post-Breakup

The pair met on the set of Netflix's The Kissing Booth in 2017 and went public that same year, but quietly broke up in the fall of 2018. They had to reunite, however, for The Kissing Booth 2, which came out in July 2020. In the sequel, the 21-year-old actress reprised her role of Elle Evans, while her Elordi returned as Noah Flynn. King told Cosmopolitan that she wasn't going to let her personal life get in the way of her job, explaining in the September issue, "No one’s thinking to themselves, 'That was easy,' because it wasn’t. I'm sure people will analyze every movement and every detail. And you know what? Let them. But at the end of the day, I was just thrilled to be Elle Evans again. Elle Evans needs her Noah Flynn, and whatever that means for my personal life, I’ll do anything to make sure the story of my character who I care about so much is complete." Since her split from Elordi, rumors have swirled that King is dating her Kissing Booth 2 co-star Taylor Zakhar Perez. While the Cosmo article notes that the actress seems to be dating someone new -- and King admits her last text was to the actor -- when ET spoke to Zakhar Perez, he denied that he and King are an item. As for Elordi, he has been linked to Euphoria co-star Zendaya since mid-2019. 

The on-again, off-again couple began dating in 2015 but split in November 2016. One month after their breakup, Hadid had to strut her stuff down the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show runway, where her then ex-boyfriend was the performer. The model and the hit-maker got back together in 2018 and since then, they've frequently sparked breakup and make-up rumors. "The couple travels a lot, works a lot and that often creates tension," a source told ET. "However, the two love one another, have lost one another in the past and want to try and make it work. Right now they are together and working on keeping it that way."

The Riverdale stars began dating in October 2018, making their love official with a cute PDA pic, but the broke up in December 2019. In the late summer of 2020, the former flames were back together in Canada to continue filming their CW series. 

The Flip or Flop stars were married from 2009 to 2018. The couple publicly announced their split in 2017 and continue to host the HGTV series together. There's no bad blood between, with El Moussa even offering to babysit his ex's new baby boy, whom she had with her new husband, Ant Anstead. In July 2020, El Moussa proposed to his girlfriend, Selling Sunset star Heather Rae Young. 

These hilarious writers met on the set of The Office in 2004 and, like their characters, they were also frequently on-again and off-again. "We kind of fell in love through [writing for the show], and then dated on and off for a couple of years, and now we are just, like, best friends," Kaling told Vulture in 2012. The two remained close after the series ended. Novak was Kaling's date to the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar party, and he is also godfather to the Ocean's 8 star's daughter.

Life seemed to imitate art when the One Tree Hill co-stars, who played lovebirds Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott on the high school drama, wed in April 2005. Married life didn't last long for the pair, who separated just five months later, and Bush later described both their relationship and divorce as traumatic. Thirteen years after their divorce, she told Andy Cohen in an interview for his show, Radio Andy, that she felt didn't want to get married in the first place. “Everybody’s been 22 and stupid,” she shared in 2018. “It was not a thing I actually really wanted to do. Ladies have to learn how to take up space in a way men are taught they are entitled to!” Upon hearing Bush's remarks, Murray's rep released a statement to ET, calling the comments "ludicrous." 

Bush starred on all nine season of One Tree Hill, which aired from 2003 through 2012, but Murray left after the sixth season, though he did make a brief appearance in its last year. Murray is now married to Sarah Roemer and they have two children together.

Onscreen they played Serena van der Woodsen and Dan Humphrey, the drama-filled on and off golden couple of Gossip Girl; off-screen, the actors dated during the show's first two seasons. Lively and Badgley tried to keep their relationship and eventual breakup a secret as to not affect the show. Executive Producer Joshua Safran told Vanity Fair in 2017 that he found out on the set of the season two finale that his show's stars had broken up a few months earlier. "They kept the breakup hidden from the crew, which you could never do now. I don’t even know how they did it," Safran revealed. "They kept it from everybody which is a testament to how good they are as actors. Because they did not want their personal drama to relate to the show.”



Gossip Girl didn't end until 2012, but Chace Crawford recently revealed that his co-stars' relationship status didn't cause strain in the last few seasons. On an August 2019 episode of Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen asked if the relationship and breakup caused drama, to which the Boys star replied, "Not at all. Not in the least. Most mature people in the world." Lively is now married to Ryan Reynolds, with whom she shares two daughters. They're expecting their third child in 2019.

The pair met while filming the X-Men franchise and they dated for five years before ultimately splitting in 2014. There were still superhero movies to make, though, so the pair kept professional. They both starred in this year's X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and Hoult compared working with his ex to the "big family" dynamic he also experienced on Skins. "We’ve been doing those movies since we were 20 years old. As much as the Skins crowd grew up together, the X-Men crowd really grew up together," he told ES Magazine. "It’s been a good eight, nine years making those movies. We’ve all got to get along, we’ve all got to have fun." The pair was even photographed sharing a big laugh together at the film's premiere in Hollywood in June 2019. Since their split, Hoult has welcomed a child with his girlfriend, model Bryana Holly, while Lawrence is engaged to Cooke Maroney. 

Even though the separated in 2011 after seven years together, the Latin crooner still helped his ex on her Spanish record, 2007's Como Ama una Mujer, and they worked together on the short-lived competition show Q'Viva! The Chosen in 2012, which was filmed during the three years it took to finalize their divorce. While recording the album, Lopez appeared on Live With Kelly, where she admitted that she and Anthony, who share twins Emme and Max, "are like best friends." "At first I was like, we’re good with the kids, but if we start working together, are we going to start going at each other again? But it’s been awesome," she revealed. "Honestly, I think it’s even helped our relationship and it’s made things even better." Lopez is now engaged to Alex Rodriguez, while Anthony wed Shannon De Lima in 2014 before filing for divorce in December 2016.

The Big Bang Theory co-stars secretly dated from 2007 to 2009, wanting to keep their relationship private as to not distract the audience from their characters' storyline. They're still good friends to this day, which is good to hear, considering the CBS hit lasted 12 seasons, ending in May 2019. Their characters, Leonard and Penny, even wed in season nine. Back in 2010, Cuoco admitted to CBS Watch! magazine, "It was such a huge part of my life and no one knew about it. It was a wonderful relationship but we never spoke a word about it and never went anywhere together. We were so protective of ourselves and the show and didn't want anything to ruin that... That's not the kind of relationship I want. I don't want to be hiding. We couldn't do anything. It wasn't as fun as we wanted it to be. Everyone was always asking, and we deny-deny-denied. And I'm like, 'Why am I denying this person that I love?' It took a little bit of a toll on me and I think it did for him, too." After Galecki, Cuoco was married to Ryan Sweeting from 2013 to 2016 and is now with fellow horse lover Karl Cook, whom she wed in 2018. Galecki and his girlfriend, Alaina Meyer, are expecting their first child together.

The retired actress and the former *NSYNC singer broke up in 2007 after four years of dating, but they still acted together in 2011's Bad Teacher. Even though they were no longer together by that point, Diaz still had kind words to say about her former beau. Before accepting the award for Female Star of the Year at CinemaCon in March 2011, she admitted that working with her ex "really wasn’t a big deal" and that they "had a great time." "Justin and I have always had a good laugh together, and to make a movie where we get to have a laugh together,” she said. “There really was no one else who was more perfect for this part. That’s why he got the part.” Diaz has been married to Good Charlotte's Benji Madden since January 2015, while Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel wed in 2012 and share one child together, son Silas. 

The pair co-starred in Heroes and were together for almost two years before breaking up in 2009. They had a 12-year age gap that was much talked about, as Panettiere was still a teenager when they started going out. They didn't have to work together for long after their split, however -- the NBC hit ended its four-season run in 2010. So what did Ventimiglia learn from his highly publicized relationship?  “Never do it again,” he said bluntly in an interview with The Journal, MR PORTER. "There are things that happen to you in your life that shape who you are. Everything I’ve been through from jobs to friendships to partnerships, everything has built me to who I am. You learn from it. You learn a better way of doing things." Panetierre was engaged to boxer Wladimir Klitschko, whom she began dating in 2009, until 2018. They welcomed daughter Kaya in 2014. She has since been linked to actor Brian Hickerson, though that relationship has had its fair share of troubles.

It was ridiculously fun to hear Rachel utter "Joshua!" on Friends, but it was probably a little uncomfortable for Aniston -- the role of Rachel's crush was played by the actress real-life ex-boyfriend, Donovan. The two were on the outs when Donovan was cast in the season four guest role, and he admitted that it was "painful" to work with his ex. “I was just happy to be on the team. The only bummer was Jennifer and I were breaking up at the time,” the actor told Us Weekly in 2018. “And so that was tricky to sort of act, and act like we are just meeting each other and falling in love or whatever, interested in each other, when we’re sort of breaking up. That was just tough.”

The House co-stars called off their engagement in 2007, five years before the Fox hit wrapped. In a joint statement made at the time of their split, the pair claimed they would be nothing but professional on set. "We are still very close, and we look forward to continuing to work together on House," they told People at the time. They even told Australian newspaper the Herald Sun that they agreed to not kiss during rehearsals, with Morrison saying, "Out of respect, I saved it for the take." Their characters on the show, Allison Cameron and Robert Chase, wed in season five, after the two had already broken up offscreen. 

That wasn't the only time Ventimiglia dated a co-star, however. The This Is Us actor first met Bledel when he joined Gilmore Girls in 2001, and they began dating a year later. Ventimiglia's main stint as Jess Mariano lasted through 2004, save for a couple of one-off appearances, so by the time they broke up in 2006, he wasn't a regular on set. The pair was later reunited for the CW fave's Netflix revival, 2016's Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Bledel had also dated Supernatural's Jared Padalecki -- he played Rory Gilmore's first love, Dean, during Gilmore Girls initial run -- meaning she was reunited with two former loves while making the reboot, though the Supernatural star's guest spot was much shorter than Ventimiglia's. As for her time with Ventimiglia, Bledel admitted to People in 2005, while they were still together, that they had some very serious relationships chats. "I think everybody who has been dating for more than a couple of years probably talks about it at some point," she said. "It's a fun thing for us to talk about, but that's it." Bledel has been married to has been married to her Mad Men co-star, Vincent Kartheiser, since 2014, and they welcomed a son together in 2015.

The actors were an item during the early seasons of The Vampire Diaries, from 2010 to 2013. Many speculated the reason why Dobrev left the show as a regular in 2015 was due to their breakup, but it seems like they had an amicable split. Dobrev has even been seen hanging out with Somerhalder and his wife, Nikki Reed, who wed in 2015 and welcomed a daughter, Bodhi, in 2017. A big reason for that is Dobrev and Reed were friends, and still are, before Somerhalder began dating his now-wife. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen in January 2019, a caller asked if Dobrev thought it was weird that she was still friends with her ex and his wife, and she did not. "I think that's great. I think, 'Why can't everyone be friends?'" the Fam star replied. I think that they have a beautiful baby, and they are happy and so am I, and what's bad about that? I don't see any problem with that."

Dawson's Creek was full of teen drama, which meant plenty of hookups on set -- but this relationship warmed the hearts of WB fans everywhere! Back in 1998, the then-19-year-old actress seemed nearly google-eyed while talking about her first love in a Rolling Stone cover story. "I'm just going to say that I met somebody last year, I fell in love, I had my first love, and it was something so incredible and indescribable," Holmes said, adding, "I feel so fortunate because he's now one of my best friends. It's weird, it's almost like a Dawson-and-Joey type thing now." Dawson's Creek ran from 1998-2003, and the pair broke up while the show was still airing. Still, Holmes said it was "very nice" to receive a phone call from her "old friend" a few years later in 2012. The call came shortly after her split from husband Tom Cruise, with whom she shares a daughter, Suri. Before that, she was dated American Pie's Chris Klein for five years, calling off their engagement in 2005, and she is currently dating Jamie Foxx. Jackson went on to have a 10-year relationship with Diane Kruger, which ended in 2016.

The duo dated for three years after meeting on the set of 2008's Mamma Mia!, and they were thrown back together again when the sequel, 2018's Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, went into production. Cooper admitted that it was "nice to spend time" with his ex again, telling Attitude magazine in August 2018, "She's a friend. It was always going to be OK. You just have to be delicate with those situations." Seyfried has since married her Last World co-star, Thomas Sadoski, and the pair have a 2-year-old daughter, Nina.

Summer and Seth may have been forever on The O.C., but the actors' real-life romance was far shorter. Bilson and Brody dated for three years, breaking up in 2006, one year before their show officially ended after four seasons. There didn't seem to be any bad feelings between the pair, with Brody calling his ex "one of the all-time greats" during a Reddit AMA in 2014. Still, Bilson admitted in 2012 that she didn't expect all the attention her then-relationship brought. "I just had absolutely no idea that all that -- being on The O.C., dating Adam -- was going to end up being so invasive," she admitted to Lucky magazine. Both later had relationships with people they worked with on other projects. Brody is now married to The Oranges cohort Leighton Meester and they have one child together, while Bilson dated Jumper co-star Hayden Christensen, with whom she shares a daughter, for almost 10 years before their split in 2017.

These two played brother and (adopted) sister on Dexter, but they were married in real life! After two years of dating, the pair eloped on New Year's Eve 2008, only to announce their separation two years later; the divorce was finalized in December 2011. The most awkward part? After they separated, their characters became romantically involved. They continued to work together through the show's eighth season in 2013. During a Paley Center for Media panel during their show's finale season, Hall and Carpenter only had kind words for each other. "It's gratifying, honestly," Hall said of working together on the show. "The fact that Jennifer and I worked through whatever was going on with us personally in the way we did and maintained our commitment to telling this story was never in question. It was always what we needed and wanted to do." Both Hall and Carpenter wed their current spouses -- Morgan Macgregor and Seth Avett, respectively -- in 2016.

The actors dated for a couple of years after meeting on the set of 1985’s Blue Velvet. Decades later, they were reunited with each other and director David Lynch for the Twin Peaks revival. The two even had to film a love scene for the show's 2017 return, which MacLachlan spoke to Ellen DeGeneres about. "It's very funny because [Lynch] would sit down and say, 'OK, this is what we're gonna do.' He talks you through it, so you feel pretty comfortable. And then you sit down, and Laura and I were kind of like, 'OK, here we go.' Welcome back, 25 years later..." he explained on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "Yeah, it was weird. We had a couple of laughs, for sure."

Another Gossip Girl couple bit the dust! After dating for two years, Meester and Stan parted ways in 2010. Meester's song "Heartstrings" is rumored to be about Stan, and she admitted to Seventeen in 2010 that their breakup was tough to get through, admitting, "I've only had one experience where it was really hard and I was really sad when it ended, but that’s what taught me a lot about myself and love and life -- and that’s good." These days, the Single Parents star shares one daughter, Arlo, with her husband of five years, Adam Brody. After Meester, Stan, who is very quiet about his personal life, briefly dated Dianna Agron and Jennifer Morrison, as well as Revenge co-star Margarita Levieva.

The Alias co-stars became a couple shortly after Garner split from her first husband, Felicity star Scott Foley, dating for a few months before confirming their split in August 2014. Though their spy show lasted two more years, Vartan told USA Today in 2005 that they were still close, even describing their breakup as "benign." "We're much better off as friends," he admitted. Vartan even noted that Garner told him about her engagement. "Jennifer and I were best friends first, during [the romance] and after." Garner and Affleck wed in 2005 and share three children, daughters Violet and Seraphina and son Benjamin; they separated in 2015 but didn't finalize their divorce for another three years. Vartan went on to wed Lauren Skaar in 2011, and they divorced in 2014.

The duo met on the set of Roswell in 1999, when they played alien siblings, and were even rumored to be engaged, but they broke up after two years as the series was beginning to wrap up. Heigl now has three kids with her singer husband, Josh Kelley, while Behr and his wife, Private Practice alumna KaDee Strickland, have one son.

The Dancing With the Stars pro dancers were engaged in December 2008 but called it quits in September 2009. At the time, Chmerkovskiy told People that he was moving on, making comments reportedly spurred from the pair's awkward encounters on set and Smirnoff's behavior with her partner that season, Aaron Carter. "I feel completely betrayed. I'm done," Chmerkovskiy said, declining to get into any specifics. Four years later, the pair surprised fans when they did a routine together on the show. "It was so fun. It was drama-free and so refreshing. I enjoyed it. I really did... It was a little awkward in the beginning, but once we started, it was great," Smirnoff told People. "[Our relationship is] back to where it should be -- professional and fun. We're wearing heels, rhinestones and spandex. Let's put everything into perspective." A few months later, she even gave her ex a kiss on the cheek after he shared kind words about her dance with Corbin Bleu just ahead of the season 17 finals (they were ultimately the runners-up). 



Chmerkovskiy is now married to a different DWTS pro, Peta Murgatroyd. They both wed and welcomed son Shai in 2017. As for Smirnoff, she has ended two additional engagements in the years since dating Chmerkovskiy, first to MLB pitcher Brad Penny in 2011 and then entrepreneur Jason Adelman in 2015.