TBT: Kate Bosworth Called Orlando Bloom Her "First Big Heartbreak"

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Who: Screen Actors Guild Awards-winning actor Orlando Bloom, 45, and actress and producer Kate Bosworth, 39.

How They Met:  Before they were stars, Bloom and Bosworth met while filming a Gap commercial together in 2002.

"I knew Orlando before he was famous at all. So we started dating way, way back in the day. And then it hit when we were together," Kate said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, adding that they both found major success within their first year of dating. At just 18 years old, Kate had her breakout role in Blue Crush, and Orlando was on the rise after filming the first Lord of the Rings movie.

They kept their romance quiet, but after a year of dating, Orlando wanted the world to know he was in love. "I'm in love with love," he told a British newspaper when asked about Bosworth. "It's heavenly when you're falling for someone and can't stop thinking about her."

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Why We Loved Them: Despite the two attempting to keep their relationship out of the spotlight, it was essentially impossible not to notice them. They were one of the hottest young Hollywood couples at the time — Kate was an It girl, and Orlando, a total heartthrob.

When They Peaked: Kate previously told People that she and Orlando "don't really do the big event thing" as a couple, but they made an exception to this rule at the Superman Returns world premiere in 2006. And we were so glad they did.

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The Breakup: After more than two years together, Bloom and Bosworth ended up calling it quits. They released a joint statement that blamed their busy work schedules for the breakup.

A rep for the couple said, "They [Kate and Orlando] did decide to take some time apart due to their upcoming work schedule, and they remain very close. It was a mutual decision."

A few years later, Kate shed more light on the breakup during an interview with Vogue." Orlando and I met when we were kids. Blue Crush hadn't come out. Lord of the Rings hadn't come out. He was the first big heartbreak," she said. "First love — you feel like it's the be-all and end-all. To put as little pressure on the relationship you're in is very important. I regret that it was too intense for both of us."

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In 2011, Kate opened up about the physical toll the split took on her body while speaking with the Sunday Times Style. "You know when you put all your chips into something, then it disappears? [The breakup] sent me into such pain, I think I had actual vertigo. I was like, 'Is this my new reality? Will anything be normal again?'"

She added, "Then one day you wake up, and you think, OK, I'll never be the same, but I'll survive, and I'll grow from it."

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Where They Are Now: Bloom is engaged to singer Katy Perry, and the couple welcomed their first child together, Daisy Dove Bloom, in August 2020. The actor is also a father to 11-year-old Flynn, who he shares with his ex-wife Miranda Kerr.

Career-wise, Bloom is keeping busy with a lineup of new TV and movie roles. After a brief break during the pandemic, he returned to the small screen with a voiceover role as Prince Harry in the HBO animated series The Prince, and that same year, he starred alongside Leslie Odom Jr., Freida Pinto, and Cynthia Erivo in Needle in a Timestack.

Bosworth moved on from her heartbreak over Bloom with model Justin Rousseau in 2006. She then dated Alexander Skarsgård, before marrying director Michael Polish in 2013. Bosworth and Polish filed for divorce in 2021, and the actress is now dating Justin Long.

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This year alone, Kate has wrapped filming for four movies — The Enforcer, Along for the Ride, House of Darkness (where she met her boyfriend, Long), and The Immaculate Room. Next year is also shaping up to be just as busy with three new projects.

#TBT: Check in every Thursday as we throw it back to some of our favorite celebrity couples of all time.