Jennifer Lawrence Said She and Nicholas Hoult Were Like “Two Perverted Homer Simpsons”
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Dave M. Benett/Getty Images Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence
Who: Golden Globe-nominated actor Nicholas Hoult, 31, and Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence, 30.
How They Met: The actors met through X-Men: First Class, which began filming in 2010. The following year, rumors of their romance reached the press.
In an interview with The Guardian Hoult awkwardly (and unsuccessfully) avoided questions about the relationship. "Jen's great and we had lots of fun doing the film, and she's a very talented actress and … I'm just stepping around the question, basically!" he said.
But, you know, candid basketball game photos don't lie …
Why We Loved Them: Even though they both made an effort to keep their relationship private, Lawrence couldn't resist gushing over Hoult in interviews.
She was especially forthcoming when it came to praising her boyfriend's looks.
"He has absolutely no idea how good-looking he is," she told Vogue in 2012."I think a lot of women and men hate me because of that."
She went on to discuss Hoult's "beautiful face" in an interview with Marie Claire. "Looks can go pretty far," she joked.
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Lawrence told Elle that Hoult was "her best friend," and would make her "laugh harder than anybody."
And they shared … hobbies?
"We can eat Cheetos and watch beach volleyball and we turn into two perverted Homer Simpsons, like, 'Oh, she's got a nice ass,'" she explained. "I never thought we'd have such different opinions on asses."
It wasn't all good looks and, uh ... asses, though. Lawrence was also open about the less pleasant aspects of the relationship — like, say, shaving cream?
The Silver Linings Playbook star swore by the product to remove the cobalt blue body paint she wore to portray her X-Men character, Mystique. Hoult, however, wasn't a fan.
"It is really good for taking paint off, but Nick used to hate it because I would come home smelling like a man and, like, too tired," she told Extra. "I was like, 'Don't touch me, I'm too tired,' and he was like, 'You smell like a dude.'"
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When They Peaked: In true J. Law fashion, the couple was always down for quirky hijinks.
During a visit to The Graham Norton Show in 2016, Lawrence admitted that she'd hijacked Hoult's phone to text their X-Men co-stars (which included Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy).
"So I wrote this really serious and emotional text and was like, 'Guys, this is super embarrassing,'" Lawrence explained, "And I was like, 'I know this sounds silly, this is really embarrassing but, have you guys ever, like — god this is so embarrassing — lactated from your nipples?'"
Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
And the theater kid antics didn't end there. The Kentucky native told ET that whenever she'd yell at Hoult, she'd unconsciously take on a Southern accent.
"I used to yell at Nick and kind of see like his smile flickering," she remembered. "[I was] like, 'Why are you smiling?' And he's like, 'Because you sound like your dad.'"
The Breakup: News of the couple's breakup first circulated in early 2013, but the split was short-lived. By August they had reached the zenith of 20-something coupledom: the picnic in the park.
As Lawrence's star continued to rise (hello, third Oscar nomination), Hoult opened up about their relationship in an interview with V Man.
"I am just kind of a bystander in many ways," he said, referencing Lawrence's fame. "It is well-deserved for her. I haven't really seen any change in her."
Lawrence did the press rounds too, touching on the couple's often conflicting schedules.
"When we're busy, we agree to mutually ignore each other," she told Marie Claire. "Not completely, but neither of us gets mad when the other doesn't text back or call. Life's super-busy. Obviously you know what they're doing, and you trust them."
A few months later, Hoult and Lawrence broke up again (for good). E! News sources cited the actors' busy schedules. "They spent a lot of time apart because of work, and it was difficult on their relationship."
Lawrence had her own theory (sort of). After their split in 2013, she told Vogue that Hoult's dishwashing habits presented as a red flag. "[Nicholas] would never wring them out," she said of sponges. "We were in the kitchen once, and I picked up the sponge, and it was soapy and wet, and I was like, 'See?' These are the kinds of things that make me think we are never going to work.'"
In 2015, Lawrence reflected on the end of her relationship in an interview with Diane Sawyer.
"These movies had been my life for so long and they had to come first in everything," she said of the Hunger Games franchise, the third installment of which was released in 2015. "I was also in a relationship with somebody for five years and that was my life. So my life was this person and these movies and we broke up around the same time that I wrapped those movies. Being 24 was this whole year of, 'Who am I without these movies? Who am I without this man?'"
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Hoult and Lawrence remain friends — the latter even brought her new boyfriend (now-husband) Cooke Maroney to the premiere of Hoult's film, The Favourite.
Lawrence told Marc Maron, "All my boyfriends have been wonderful," calling out Hoult specifically. "Nick was a great boyfriend."
Where They Are Now: Hoult began dating model Bryana Holly in 2017. They welcomed a child together the following year.
The Great star's latest project, Those Who Wish Me Dead, is available to stream on HBO Max.
Lawrence wed Maroney in 2019 and has kept a relatively low profile in the years since.
The actress has several projects on the horizon, including star-studded Netflix drama Don't Look Up and Elizabeth Holmes biopic Bad Blood.
#TBT: Check in every Thursday as we throw it back to some of our favorite celebrity couples of all time.
