Love at first sight … or not? Celebrity couples are just like Us when it comes to meeting their significant other — whether it’s through work, a mutual friend or a flirty DM.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s fairy tale romance began when they were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend in 2016. Despite Harry’s royal background, the Suits alum didn’t have any preconceived notions about the prince.
“Because I’m from the States, you don’t grow up with the same understanding of the royal family,” she told the BBC in 2017. “I didn’t know much about him, so the only thing that I had asked [our mutual friend] when she said that she wanted to set us up, was, ‘Well, is he nice?’ Cause if he wasn’t kind, it just didn’t seem like it would make sense.”
The pair instantly felt a spark and immediately began planning their second date. “We met for a drink, and then I think very quickly into that we said, ‘Well, what are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again,’” Markle said.
Harry and the former actress announced their engagement in November 2017 and tied the knot in May 2018. One year later, the couple welcomed their son, Archie.
Other celebrity couples met while in relationships with other people. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds played love interests in the 2011 movie Green Lantern. At the time, the California native was dating her Gossip Girl costar Penn Badgley. Reynolds, for his part, was married to Scarlett Johansson. After the Deadpool star and Lively were both single, they went on a double date — with other people.
“We were buddies then,” Reynolds told Entertainment Weekly in 2016. “I remember it was funny because for about a year after Green Lantern had come and gone and we were both single. We went on a double date. She was on a date with another guy and I was on a date with another girl.”
He added, “That was the most awkward date because we were just like fireworks coming across. It was weird at first but we were buddies for a long time. I think it’s the best way to have a relationship is to start as friends.”
Reynolds and Lively married in September 2012 and are the parents of daughters James, Inez and Betty.
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