From Brad Pitt and Sinitta to Cher and Tom Cruise, here are 26 celebrities you’ll never believe dated
How well do you think you know your celebs? These unlikely couples may just make you reevaluate
MOST of us would say that being a star is pretty sweet but one thing we can all sympathise with is the fact their lives (and relationships) are constantly under the microscope.
How is it then that these surprising celebrity pairings managed to escape our notice, let alone get together in the first place?
This list of unlikely couples will make you seriously question your celebrity knowledge.
Brad Pitt and Sinitta
After she split up with Simon Cowell in the 80s, Sinitta bagged herself a rebound in the shape of Brad Pitt.
According to the X Factor regular, the actor got his agent to call hers after spotting her on TV.
She happily opened up about the fling when she appeared on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2011, telling her campmates about his "hot" physique.
"He was beautiful with the most amazing body," she said.
"I saw him for two years. He was fun, he was young and very sweet.
"Some ardent fan gave me a slap when I came out of a supermarket over that relationship!
"It was before he made Thelma And Louise but even I saw that movie and thought: 'Oh my God, what have I done?'"
Brad famously went on to date Jennifer Aniston then Angelina Jolie. The pair are now divorcing after 12 years together.
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox
After working together on Transformers in 2008, rumours that the actors were enjoying a romance began to surface.
While they both stayed quiet about it at first, Shia eventually opened up about what really happened.
When quizzed on whether they 'hooked up' in an interview, he reportedly nodded and responded: "Look, you're on the set for six months, with someone who's rooting to be attracted to you, and you're rooting to be attracted to them.
"I never understood the separation of work and life in that situation. But the time I spent with Megan was our own thing, and I think you can see the chemistry onscreen."
Those same rumours re-emerged years later when she temporarily split from husband Brian Austin Green - but this time they both kept schtum.
Craig David and Sophia Vergara
Singer-songwriter Craig David and The Modern Family star Sophia Vergara dated for a brief period in 2003.
It was rumoured it all came to an end after Sophia became jealous of his friendship with Beyoncé.
Craig has always remained tight-lipped on their relationship, however.
What a true gent.
Ryan Gosling and Sandra Bullock
Ryan Gosling, 35, and Sandra Bullock, 52, hit it off after working together on the set of Murder By Numbers in 2002.
If you're trying to work out how this remarkable relationship escaped your notice, it was during Ryan's pre-Notebook fame days.
Nevertheless, the couple attracted attention over their 16-year age gap.
Unfortunately things didn't work out but that was probably for the best - Goslock doesn't have much of a ring to it.
Tom Cruise and Cher
If Cher had had her way, the world could have been a very different place - and we may never have had to endure Tom Cruise jumping on a talk show sofa in a fit of infatuation.
The pair are thought to have met at a White House fund-raising event in the mid- eighties when his career was just taking off and Cher's was already booming.
Cher, then 39, was immediately taken with Tom, then 23, and has since told Oprah: "It could have been a great big romance because I was crazy for him."
It's understood the couple dated for several months but the relationship was rumoured to have ended when Cruise met Mimi Rogers, the woman who became his first wife.
Cher, though, said it was down to their conflicting filming schedules.
George Clooney and Lisa Snowdon
British TV and radio presenter Lisa Snowdon had a crack at what everyone woman once wanted to attempt: Getting George Clooney to settle down with them.
The pair are thought to have met on the set of a Martini advert in 2000 and they defied cynics who predicted it wouldn't last with their (albeit on-and-off) five-year relationship.
After their split, George said: "I wish I had known when I was younger that I was not the marrying kind. Some people aren't. I am one of them."
It seems he changed his mind on that point, though, after marrying Amal in 2014.
Justin Timberlake and Fergie
Thought Britney was Justin's first celebrity relationship? Think again.
Rewind to 1996 when his pop career with N'Sync was just taking off and he had the worst lid in showbiz, Justin briefly dated Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas (although at this point she was a third of the female group, Wild Orchid).
The relationship was controversial due to their age gap since Fergie was 23 at the time and Justin was only 16.
The fling didn't last long and he has since said it wasn't serious.
Britney and Colin Farrell
In 2003, Britney accompanied Colin to the premiere of his film The Recruit.
They looked close on the red carpet but Colin insisted they were 'just mates' - which is totally believable since finding a date when you're a hunky A-lister is so hard.
Either way, things didn't develop further.
Looks like even Britney isn't immune to being friend-zoned.
Cameron Diaz and Robbie Williams
Remember when Cameron Diaz and Robbie Williams were a thing?
Us neither.
The British pop star met Cameron in the summer of 2003 and the pair were photographed kissing and holding hands on a beach in Santa Monica.
It's such a disturbing pairing, no wonder we repressed the memory.
The romance soon fizzled when another musician entered the scene… Yep, you guessed it. Mr JT.
Simon Cowell and Amanda Holden
That's right, the two Britain's Got Talent judges actually dated.
Well, once anyway.
Earlier this year Amanda revealed that when the pair were both single, they decided to go out together but she soon realised they were better off as friends.
Luckily she'd forged an escape route as she'd pre-booked a taxi to collect her at 10.30pm.
Simon has always claimed he hired her on BGT because he fancied her - maybe he was telling the truth after all.
Although they're both now happy in relationships.
Janet Jackson and Matthew McConaughey
Janet Jackson and Matthew McConaughey managed to pull off what every fledgling celebrity couples aspires to achieve - keeping it secret.
The pair secretly dated briefly after meeting at the Grammys in 2002.
We reckon they managed to keep it quiet because they were such an unlikely couple that any rumour of a romance between them was probably immediately dismissed as nonsense. How wrong they were.
Jamie Dornan and Mischa Barton
The Fifty Shades Of Grey hunk Jamie Dornan and the OC's high school sweetheart Mischa Barton dated in 2007.
They were spotted out and about in London together but their fling didn't last long.
Jamie has been married to British actress Amelia Warner since 2013 and the couple have two children together.
Renee Zellweger and Jack White
The Bridget Jones' actress Renee Zellweger had a two-year relationship with rock star Jack White. Yes, really.
The pair met on the set of civil war epic Cold Mountain, for which Renee won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
Their relationship was rumoured to be fairly volatile and they split temporarily after Jack hit a rival band member and had to take an anger management course.
The couple when their separate ways in 2004. A spokesperson for Renee insisted there was no scandal behind the split but distance was thought to be a contributing factor.