16 Strange, Surreal, And Serendipitous Stories About How Celeb Couples Met

A lot of celeb couples meet through work or through friends, but sometimes, they connect with the future loves of their lives in a way no one could've predicted.

Here are 16 celeb couples who met in strange and surprising ways:

1.In 2020, Phoebe Bridgers tweeted about feeling "sad' after watching Normal People — then lead actor Paul Mescal replied, "I'm officially dead."

They got engaged in 2022.

2.When Kate Winslet was vacationing on billionaire Richard Branson's private island in 2011, a house fire broke out. While escaping with her kids, she met Branson's nephew, Edward Abel Smith (formerly known as Ned Rocknroll), who was "the only dude to have a head torch and a pair of shoes."

They got married the following year.

3.Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford reportedly met at a Christian youth camp when she was 12, and they stayed pen pals.

They got married in 2012.

4.When Wanda Sykes first spotted Alex Niedbalski on a ferry ride to Fire Island, she thought to herself, "Wow, that’s what you need." The following day, Wanda's friend advised her to stop boring people she liked with stories about her kitchen remodeling, so she defiantly told the next person she met all about her kitchen. That woman introduced her to a granite countertop salesperson — Alex.

They got married in 2008.

5.When Michael Caine saw Shakira Baksh in a Maxwell House coffee commercial in 1971, he fell so hard that he was ready to fly to wherever she lived to meet her — but it turned out she only lived a mile away in London. A mutual friend made the introduction.

They tied the knot in 1973.

6.In the early '70s, Lily Tomlin saw Jane Wagner's teleplay J.T., then reached out in hopes of writing together. A friend brought Jane to Lily's hotel room, and within two minutes, Lily was in love. She had to leave for a show in Chicago the next day but flew right back to New York to ask Jane out.

They got married in 2013.

7.Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry first met when he stole an In-N-Out burger from her table at the 2016 Golden Globes. She let him get away with it because she found him attractive, then talked to him about it at an afterparty later that night.

They got engaged in 2019.

8.Before playing her first match at the 2015 Italian Open, Serena Williams joined her team for breakfast at their hotel. When Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian sat at the empty table next to hers, her friend pretended there was a rat to get him to move. However, after he simply replied "I’m from Brooklyn. I see rats all the time," she invited him to join them.

They got married in 2017.

9.When former The Bachelorette contestant Wells Adams joined Bachelor in Paradise as the bartender in 2017, Sarah Hyland was watching from home. After a cute Twitter exchange, he slid into her DMs and asked her out for tacos.

They got married in 2022.

10.While filming in Miami, Matt Damon went out with the crew one night. When people started to hound him for autographs, he hid behind the bar with bartender Luciana Barroso, who put him to work since he'd previously trained as a bartender for a role.

They tied the knot in 2005.

11.Zooey Deschanel and Property Brothers' Jonathan Scott met while filming an episode of Carpool Karaoke with their siblings in August 2019.

That September, Zooey announced her separation from Jacob Pechenik. The next month, she went Instagram official with Jonathan.

12.In early 2020, Ariana Grande was looking to buy a getaway house away from LA, so her team found luxury real estate agent Dalton Gomez. She reportedly thought he was cute and requested an in-person meeting right away.

They got married in 2021.

13.Jesse Tyler Ferguson always tells people he met Justin Mikita through "mutual friends," but they actually met at the gym. As Justin was leaving the locker room, he recognized Jesse from the Modern Family pilot and stopped to talk to him about his character.

They tied the knot in 2013.

14.While he was in London filming Lassiter in 1983, Tom Selleck went to see the West End musical Cats multiple times. Eventually, he asked out the actor he had a crush on, Jillie Mack.

They got married in 1987.

15.While filming for The Daily Show at the 2008 Republican National Convention, John Oliver got caught in a restricted area. A group of veterans — including US Army combat medic Kate Norley — helped the comedian and his crew hide from security. John and Kate then exchanged emails.

They got married in 2011.

16.And finally, after her seven-year relationship ended, The Jon Stewart Show viewer Tracey McShane told her roommate she wanted a guy who was "funny and sweet, like Jon Stewart." Coincidentally, her roommate met Jon while working on a movie, then set them up on a blind date.

They got married in 2000.