17 Celebrity Couples Who Have Been In Each Other's Lives Since High School And Are Still Going Strong
People may be skeptical about whether high school love stories are able go the distance, but in many cases these relationships can last a lifetime!
NBC / Via giphy.com
Just ask these 17 celeb couples who either started dating or first encountered their current S.O. in high school.
1.Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins tried dating as teens, then reunited as young adults.
Thomas and Lauren have known each other since meeting in the first grade. They tried to date one another for a short time when they were 15 but decided to just maintain a friendship instead.
The two were each in committed relationships and close to tying the knot with other people when Lauren's father encouraged Thomas to share his true feelings for Lauren with her. This led to the pair breaking off their other unions, dating for six months, then marrying in 2012. As of November 2021, Thomas and Lauren are also the parents of four children.
2.Patrick Mahomes and Brittany Mahomes (née Matthews) were each other's prom dates in 2013 and got married almost a decade later.
The pair became acquainted while they were both students at Whitehouse High School in Texas. They started seeing each other when Patrick was a sophomore and Brittany was in her junior year, and they also attended their 2013 prom together. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback proposed to Brittany in 2020, and they tied the knot in March of this year. Patrick and Brittany are now expecting their second child together.
3.Ron Howard married his high school girlfriend, Cheryl Howard (née Alley), in 1975.
The illustrious filmmaker met his wife, Cheryl, while they were students at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California. The high school sweethearts and parents of four have now been married for 47 years. Ron attributes the success of the relationship to his and Cheryl's effective communication and harmonious growth.
"People say, 'How’d you do it?' There’s no technique," Ron said to People in 2019. "There’s no tactic other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways. Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t and I don’t think you can force that."
4.LeBron James and Savannah James's (née Brinson) romance began when they were students at rival high schools.
LeBron and Savannah met as teenagers when they were attending separate high schools in Akron, Ohio. Savannah was told by a mutual friend that LeBron wanted her phone number, but instead, she said she would take down his number. LeBron then invited Savannah to a game of his, and the pair went to Outback Steakhouse for their first official date. The NBA great and the interior designer have three children together and have been married since 2013.
"He is truly a king to his queen, if you will," Savannah said of LeBron in a 2017 Cleveland Magazine interview. "He treats me with so much respect — I mean, it’s hard to not love him, with the way that he is with me and the kids and his mom and just everyone who’s around him. He’s a really, really humble guy for everything that he has and everything that he’s done."
5.Kendrick Lamar and Whitney Alford went to school together in Compton and have been together ever since.
Kendrick and Whitney have been an item since they were students at Compton's Centennial High School. The two became engaged in 2015 and had their first child together in 2019. In May 2022, it was reported that the couple may have welcomed a second child after Whitney was seen holding a newborn on the cover for Kendrick's next album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.
"I wouldn’t even call her my girl," Kendrick said about Whitney while chatting with Billboard in 2015. "That’s my best friend. I don’t even like the term that society has put in the world as far as being a companion — she’s somebody I can tell my fears to."
6.Bono walked his future wife, Ali Hewson (née Stewart), to the bus when they were classmates in the '70s.
"We were teenagers. We went to the same high school," Bono told Extra in 2016 about the start of his and Ali's relationship. "It just so happens it was this afternoon [40 years ago] I walked her to her bus – isn’t that mad?"
Following the start of their courtship in 1976, the couple married in 1982 and went on to have four children together.
7.Witney Carson developed feelings for her spouse, Carson McAllister, during their senior year of high school.
Dancing with the Stars performer, Witney Carson, has been smitten with her husband, businessperson Carson McAllister since they were seniors at American Fork High School in Utah. They dated long distance for years after high school and became husband and wife in 2016. Witney and Carson had their first child in 2021.
8.Heather Morris wed Taylor Hubbell, whom she went to high school with in Arizona, in 2015.
The Glee alum met her husband, woodworker Taylor Hubbell, in Arizona when they were teenage classmates. The long-term love birds had one son together before tying the knot in 2015. The pair has since expanded their family with one more child, a son Heather gave birth to in 2016.
9.Steph Curry and Ayesha Curry (née Alexander) were teens when they met, but they didn't hit it off until they reached college age.
When they were still high school students, Steph and Ayesha met through their local church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"We were just kids," Ayesha told People in 2016. "[Steph] was the cute boy at church that all of the girls were obsessed with, so I made a generalization that maybe he wasn’t for me."
As a result, their courtship didn't begin until Steph was playing basketball in college and Ayesha was pursuing acting and modeling in Southern California. The two have been together ever since; they got hitched in 2011 and have three children.
10.Jon Bon Jovi pursued his high school classmate and future wife, Dorothea Hurley, soon after her previous boyfriend was out of the picture.
"I met my future wife in 1980, in high school. We were in the same class," Jon told Best Life in 2017. "Dorothea was going out with one of those guys who joined the service. He left town, and hey, you know the five-second rule when you drop a piece of toast on the ground? I gave him three weeks. We started dating, and that was the end of that."
The couple has four children together and has been married for nearly 35 years.
11.Lin-Manuel Miranda had a thing for Vanessa Nadal when they were classmates, but the partners didn't connect until years later.
Before they were a Hollywood power couple, Lin and Vanessa were teens enrolled at Hunter College High School in New York. The Hamilton and In the Heights creator had feelings for Vanessa but was initially too shy to share this with his future wife.
"She was gorgeous and I’m famously bad at talking to women I find attractive," Lin told the New York Times in 2010. "I have a total lack of game."
Years later, in 2005, Lin stumbled upon Vanessa's Facebook profile and invited her to one of his hip-hop improv shows. She showed up to the performance, then attended another one a few weeks after. The pair, who now have two sons together, quickly started dating and have been married for over a decade.
12.Snoop Dogg's love story with Shante Broadus (née Taylor) started at their Long Beach high school.
Snoop and Shante began dating while they were studying at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. The two didn't experience their first kiss until four months into the relationship, Snoop told VladTV in 2018. They wed in 1997 and share three children together. Although the rapper filed for divorce in 2004, he and Shante quickly patched things up and reunited. In 2021, Snoop opened up about his decision to have Shante, who is a businessperson and producer, become his manager.
" ... That's my backbone, that's my heart and my soul, that's the one that I love the most, that I trust the most," the hip-hop artist told GQ of Shante.
13.Clayton Kershaw was friends with his classmate, Ellen Kershaw (née Melson), until he decided to ask her out in between classes.
Clayton and Ellen went to high school together in Texas. The couple eventually married in 2010 and are the parents of four kids. In 2016, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher discussed first becoming friends with Ellen as the two studied alongside each other.
"I think we were just kind of more friends and became best friends," Clayton said in an interview with journalist Graham Bensinger. "We just enjoyed hanging out with each other."
One day during a passing period, Clayton gathered enough bravery to ask Ellen out on a date. She accepted the offer, which initiated their long-term union.
"I was going to lunch, and so I asked her out. She said yeah," Clayton said. "And I went and told all my buddies in the cafeteria. So it was a good day."
14.Jeff Daniels knew his now-wife, Kathleen Rosemary Treado, during their school days before their decades-long relationship kicked off.
Jeff stated on Live with Kelly and Ryan in 2021 that he and Kathleen have known each other since they were in high school. The pair ended up marrying in 1979 and starting a family in the mid-1980s, and they have a total of three children together.
The Dumb and Dumber star said on Today in 2021 that "understanding that mansplaining is a real thing" has helped him and Kathleen maintain their marriage for over four decades.
"That's the kind of key to mansplaining, is to just don't speak as much, and you'll probably last long," Jeff said.
15.Carli Lloyd has an enduring love with her husband, Brian Hollins, that started in school.
The Olympic soccer player and her pro-golfer husband are high school sweethearts who have been married since 2016. In 2020, Carli took to Instagram to celebrate the couple's four-year wedding anniversary.
"Nothing can ever tear us apart. Here’s to continuing to build a life together packed with endless memories, smiles, and good times," Carli wrote alongside a photo of the two at their wedding ceremony. "Happy 4 year Anniversary to the most selfless, caring husband I could ever ask for. You are the greatest gift I could have ever asked for in life. I love you."
16.Ed Sheeran had a crush on Cherry Seaborn while they were enrolled at the same high school, and their love blossomed when they met up again years later.
The pair met as 11-year-olds and were friends throughout high school, although Ed was secretly crushing on Cherry at the time. In 2015, they got back in touch and began a romantic relationship. The "Shivers" singer proposed to Cherry about two and a half years later. Ed confirmed that they were married in 2019, and he and Cherry now have two daughters together.
17.Ja Rule's wife, Aisha Atkins (née Murray), was the new girl at his school.
The rapper first encountered Aisha when they were both students and Aisha was new to Ja Rule's high school. She initially didn't have any interest in the performer, however.
"I think the first time I saw [Aisha], she was getting off the bus," Ja Rule told Blender in 2002. "She was cute, but she tried to play me at first. Then she realized I was one of the cool guys at school, and got with the program."
They married in a 2001 ceremony and have three children.
