16 co-star couples that had to keep working together after breaking up in real life

0 4

26 Aug 2019 21:06

There have been plenty of celebrity love stories over the years that began on set and ended in a happily ever after.
But for every successful relationship, there are co-stars that just couldn't make it work off-screen — but had to make it work for their shows.
Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco worked together for a decade after they broke up while shooting "The Big Bang Theory."
Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Every time it's revealed that co-stars are dating in real life, amongst all the excitement of fans is an underlying concern: What happens if they break up?

These 16 couples all met while co-starring in some of the most popular TV shows in recent history, like "Lost" and "How to Get Away With Murder." And they all had to keep working together after their off-screen romances ended. Some stuck it out with both actors remaining on the show, while some characters conspicuously left their shows before their time.

Keep scrolling to see why workplace romances, especially in Hollywood, might not be the best idea.

FOLLOW US: INSIDER is on Facebook

Penn Badgley and Blake Lively dated for three years before they broke up in 2010. Their characters on "Gossip Girl" got married in the show's finale two years later.

Lively and Badgley co-starred in "Gossip Girl" as Serena van der Woodsen and Dan Humphrey, respectively. Their characters dated on and off throughout the show's six seasons, from 2007 through 2012. The show's finale ended with a time jump showing the two getting married inside a chic NYC apartment.

In real life, however, it wasn't meant to be. Badgley and Lively were first linked in 2007, and went public with their relationship in 2008. They announced their break up in October 2010.

During an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2015, Badgley called Lively both his best and worst on-screen kiss. He told host Andy Cohen that Lively was "best because we actually had a relationship at the time," but also worst "after we broke up."

Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody broke up a few months before their characters on "The OC" got married.

Seth and Summer, played by Brody and Bilson respectively, were one of the most iconic fictional couples of the aughts. Fans were delighted when it became clear that Brody and Bilson were together off-screen as well, beginning in 2003.

People reported their break up in December 2006, smack in the middle of the show's fourth and final season. "It was a typical romance and they just grew apart," a source told People at the time. Two months later, during "The OC's" February 2007 series finale, Seth and Summer got married, a bittersweet occasion for fans of the actors.

However, Brody and Bilson seem to be on good terms — every "OC" fan was taken for a trip down memory lane when Bilson shared a selfie on Instagram of the two, having run into each other at the airport on a flight back to California.

Few knew at the time, but "The Big Bang Theory" stars Johnny Galecki and Kaley Cuoco dated for two years of the show's 13-season run, from 2007 to 2009.

Yes, Penny and Leonard actually dated in real life, too. Except, their relationship was a secret that almost nobody knew about until a year after their break up, when Cuoco dropped the bomb during a 2010 interview.

"It was such a huge part of my life and no one knew about it. It was a wonderful relationship but we never spoke a word about it and never went anywhere together," Cuoco said during the CBS Watch! interview.

Their IRL relationship, which spanned the show's first two seasons, must have ended on good terms as they continued to work together on the show for another 11 seasons. During this time, their characters got together, got married, and revealed in the finale that they were having a baby.

Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray were married, and they divorced a full four years before Murray's character Lucas left "One Tree Hill."

Bush and Murray played Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott, respectively, on long-running teen drama "One Tree Hill." Their characters made up two-thirds of the show's most iconic love triangle — with Hilarie Burton's Peyton Sawyer being the third prong (and eventual endgame relationship).

But in real life, Bush and Murray appeared to be the winning couple. According to People, they began dating during season one of the show, in 2003, and were married in April 2005. But they split in September, just five months later.

The show's third season began airing the next month, and Murray starred on it until season six. Bush stuck around for all nine seasons.

In 2018, Bush told Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show that getting married "was not a thing I actually really wanted to do."

Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan starred on "Alias" together for all five seasons, but they broke up in real life two years before the show ended.

While "Alias" was ostensibly a spy thriller, the heart of the show was the relationship between Sydney and Vaughn, played by Garner and Vartan respectively. Their on-screen chemistry translated to real life, and the two started dating in 2003, right around the time their characters confessed their feelings for each other as well.

However, they broke up a year later — shortly after, Garner would begin dating future ex-husband Ben Affleck. But the saga of Sydney and Vaughn continued until the show's 2006 finale, where they lived happily ever after.

In November 2018, Garner wished her ex a happy 50th birthday on Instagram, proving that these exes have remained friendly.

Alexis Bledel and Milo Ventimiglia reunited for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" in 2016, 10 years after their break up.

Bledel and Ventimiglia broke up in July 2006, after more than three years together, and a few months after Ventimiglia made his last "Gilmore Girls" appearance (on the original series) as resident Stars Hollow bad boy, Jess. His character didn't return for the show's final season.

But, when the "Gilmore Girls" revival was announced, fans were excited that Rory, Bledel's character, could potentially reunite with Jess. While the revival didn't go exactly as one might have hoped, Jess and Rory had plenty of adorable scenes for fans to obsess over.

Milo Ventimiglia dated another one of his co-stars, Hayden Panettiere, during their time on "Heroes."

Ventimiglia and Panettiere broke up in 2009, a year before "Heroes" ended its four-season run. They had been together since 2007.

While their two characters, Peter and Claire, did enjoy a close relationship, it was entirely platonic — they were actually revealed to be related, as Claire's father was Peter's brother Nathan.

Ventimiglia told menswear magazine Mr. Porter in 2017 that he learned one lesson from dating a co-star: "Never do it again."

Dominic Monaghan returned to "Lost" after his character's death in season three, which meant reuniting with his ex, Evangeline Lilly.

Monaghan and Lilly both starred on "Lost," which aired from 2004 to 2010. While their characters, Charlie and Kate, never entered into a romantic relationship, the two actors did from 2004 to 2009.

Charlie died during the show's third season in 2007, but returned for three episodes of the show's final run in 2010. In 2013, Monaghan implied that Lilly cheated on him in a cryptic tweet.

Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder dated for three years while co-starring on "The Vampire Diaries." Dobrev remained on the show for two more years after the 2013 break up.

Dobrev and Somerhalder began dating in 2010, long before their characters Elena and Damon began their turbulent relationship on "The Vampire Diaries." In fact, their 2013 break-up came right at the beginning of their character's love story — awkward.

Dobrev left the show in 2015, at the end of the show's sixth season, though she returned for the show's series finale in 2017, which showed Damon and Elena living a long and happy human life together.

The "Fam" star explained on "Watch What Happens Live" that she's friends with Somerhalder, and his wife Nikki Reed. "Why can't everyone be friends? I think they have a beautiful baby, and they are happy and so am I. What's bad about that? I don't see any problem with that," she said.

Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer called off their engagement in 2007. Two years later, their characters on "House" got divorced.

Morrison and Spencer met in 2004 on the way to shoot the "House" pilot, and eventually got engaged over the holidays in 2006. However, they called off their engagement in August 2007, with a joint statement to People saying, "After much consideration, we have decided not to get married. We are still very close, and we look forward to continuing to work together on 'House.'"

Their characters, Cameron and Chase (first names Alison and Robert), were also unlucky in love. Their on-again/off-again relationship began in season two, while the two actors were still together in real life. But their subsequent on-screen wedding — and divorce — happened two years after their real-life break up.

Morrison ended up leaving the show in 2009, but returned for a cameo appearance in the 2012 series finale.

Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter played siblings on "Dexter," but off-screen they were married and divorced.

This off-screen relationship is a little different — these two played brother and sister Dexter and Deb Morgan on "Dexter," as opposed to hooking up on-screen.

Hall and Carpenter eloped on New Year's Eve in 2008, after secretly dating for over a year. However, they filed for divorce two years later, in 2010. The two would continue to play siblings for the next three years until the show's finale in 2013.

"Our marriage didn't look like anyone else's. And our divorce didn't either. So, I've said it before and we've said it before. Just because the marriage ended doesn't mean the love did. It's an awkward thing to talk about your personal life in front of a bunch of strangers, but there's nothing but love and respect. Nothing," said Carpenter in 2013.

Charlie Weber and Liza Weil will work together for the upcoming final season of "How to Get Away With Murder" after breaking up in February 2019.

The two have co-starred on "HTGAWM" since its first season in 2014, and their characters, Frank and Bonnie, have been involved in an on-again/off-again relationship. A rep for Weber confirmed to People that the two began dating in 2016.

Unfortunately, the two announced their break up in February 2019. "We will continue to support each other and will always love working together," said Weber in a statement to People.

The show's final season is set to premiere this fall.

While Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick's characters on "Gossip Girl" very briefly explored a relationship, they dated for two years in real life before breaking up in 2010.

Szohr, who played Vanessa, and Westwick, who played Chuck, dated from 2008 until 2010, smack in the middle of the series' run. "Gossip Girl" aired from 2007 to 2012.

Perhaps coincidentally, Szohr's character left the main cast during season four in 2010, though she did reappear for a cameo in the series finale.

The two kept in touch after the break up, though. After Westwick was accused by multiple women of sexual assault in November 2017, Szohr explained how she was in a complicated situation by being his ex.

"I have known Ed for years and know how lovely he is, and don't think he would ever put someone in a position like that," she told Cosmopolitan in 2017. She also added that she had spoken to him since the news broke.

BJ Novak and Mindy Kaling had a long, complicated relationship during "The Office," but remain best friends to this day, and worked together on "The Mindy Project."

Novak and Kaling played Ryan and Kelly, respectively, for all nine seasons of "The Office," as well as working behind-the-scenes as writers. "We were never really dating, we were never really not dating," Novak said in an interview with Vulture in 2012.

"We kind of fell in love through [writing for the show], and then dated on and off for a couple of years, and now we are just, like, best friends," Kaling also told Vulture.

After their tenure on "The Office," the two continued to work together, with Novak executive producing the pilot of Kaling's sitcom, and eventually appearing throughout the show as one of her character's suitors.

Kaling also revealed in May 2019 that Novak is her daughter's godfather.

Neither Crystal Reed nor Daniel Sharman lasted long on "Teen Wolf" after their 2013 break up.

Both Reed and Sharman left during season three of "Teen Wolf" in 2014, with Reed's character Alison dying in the penultimate episode, and Isaac, portrayed by Sharman, leaving in the finale to grieve his girlfriend's death.

Reed revealed their break up in June 2013, telling Us Weekly that she took a solo trip to Paris to help mend her broken heart. They were both gone from the show in 2014.

Torrey DeVitto and Jesse Lee Soffer are both part of the "One Chicago" family, but recently broke up after eight months of dating.

Soffer stars on "Chicago P.D." as Jay Halstead, while DeVitto is a regular on "Chicago Med" as Dr. Natalie Manning. However, due to the integrated nature of the "Chicago" shows, sooner or later the two will probably have to share the screen — their shows recently crossed over in October 2018.

While the two never dated on-screen, Natalie was once engaged to Jay's brother, Will, another main character on "Chicago Med."

They first began dating in August 2018, and their split was reported in May 2019. Both of their shows are set to premiere their new seasons soon, so it remains to be seen how their characters will interact.