They say opposites attract, and there's no better example of this than some of the rather surprising romantic celebrity pairings. People in Hollywood often have "circles" that overlap with other celebrity circles, much in the way "normal" people do, minus the celebrity part. Sometimes the way these circles overlap result in surprising celebrity couplings. While some couples are surprising because of their age gap, others are shocking simply because it's hard to picture that specific couple together. Here are 15 couples who, for whatever reason, don't seem like a natural matchup.
15 Johnny Depp and Amber Heard
Johnny Depp, 52, had been with his long-term partner, Vanessa Paradis, 42, for over 14 years when the couple announced their separation in 2012. Not long after, Depp was rumored to be seeing actress Amber Heard who is 23 years his junior. Heard is actually closer in age to Depp and Paradis' 16-year-old daughter, Lily Rose (16) and many people were shocked that Depp was dating a woman young enough to be his daughter. Before long, Depp and Heard were engaged, and they were married this year. The couple make plenty of public appearances together (and displays of affection!) and seem to be very much in love. Perhaps age is just a number after all.
14 Alanis Morissette and Ryan Reynolds
When Canadian-born actor and heartthrob Ryan Reynolds stepped out with Canadian singer Alanis Morissette in 2002, people were more than a little surprised. Morissette, 41, and Reynolds, 38, met at a party and hit it off so much they were engaged two years later. People were surprised by the pairing, but the couple seemed very happy until they broke off their engagement in 2007. By the next year, Reynolds was married to actress Scarlett Johanssen and they divorced in 2010. In 2012, Reynolds married Blake Lively and the two have a daughter, James. Morisette married Mario Treadway in 2010 and they had a son, Ever, that same year.
13 Jared Leto and Cameron Diaz
Cameron Diaz, 43 has dated her fair share of Hollywood hunks in her life. From Justin Timberlake to Matt Dillon, she's covered a lot of ground. Between Dillon and Timberlake, she dated actor and 30 Seconds to Mars singer Jared Leto, 43. The two seemed like an unlikely pairing, but they stayed together from 1999 to 2003. The two were even rumoured to be engaged at one point, but shortly after those rumours surfaced, they broke things off. Diaz is now married to Good Charlotte singer, Benji Madden, 36, and Leto has been focusing his efforts on his acting career.
12 Madonna and Vanilla Ice
The two might have been similarly famous in the 90s, but Madonna's career has certainly remained more upfront than Vanilla Ice's has. The two dated for eight months in 1992, and thinking of them together now is downright bizarre, but at the time it seemed like a decent match. According to Vanilla Ice, he and Madonna, 57 broke off their relationship when she published her controversial book "Sex" which he felt was unfair to him because of how it portrayed both of them. Still, in 2011, Vanilla Ice spoke about their relationship and said, "She was older than me and a great lover. She's still the oldest person I've ever been with, so it was an experience." Madonna must LOVE being referred to as the oldest person he's been with!
11 Madonna and Tupac
Perhaps Madonna has a thing for rappers, because after she dated Vanilla Ice, she moved on to iconic rapper Tupac. Madonna met Tupac in 1993 at an awards show, but it wasn't until this year that Madonna confirmed the relationship had happened at all. The length of their relationship isn't clear, other than the fact it had ended before Tupac went to prison in 1995. Tragically, Tupac was shot and killed the following year as he was leaving a boxing match in Vegas. Tupac would be 44 if he were still alive today.
10 Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson
Both incredibly successful actors today, dame Helen Mirren and Liam Neeson dated in the 1980s before their careers were quite as big as they are now. They met on the set of Excalibur in 1981, and the two hit it off. Neeson, 63, and Mirren, 70, lived together for four years before their relationship ended, so it was definitely more than just a fling. Mirren married Taylor Hackford in 1997, and in 1994 Neeson married actress Natasha Richardson whom he was with until her tragic death in 2007.
9 Nick Lachey and Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian is now married to actor Kanye West and Nick Lachey is married to Vanessa Lachey, but before they found their respective matches, both Kardashian and Lachey had a string of relationships with other Hollywood hotties, and that string included a brief fling with each other. In 2013, Lachey spoke out about dating Kardashian in 2006 and called her out for using him to benefit her own celebrity status: "Let’s just say this: We went to a movie. No one followed us there. Somehow, mysteriously, when we left, there were 30 photographers waiting outside." If that is what Kardashian did, it worked for her as she's one of the most famous people in the world today.
8 Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis
Brad Pitt is regarded as one of the hottest men in the world, and he has been so for years. Now 51, Pitt is the father of six children with his wife Angelina Jolie. Before he married Jolie, he had a series of high-profile relationships, including a five year marriage to Jennifer Anniston. While Anniston and Pitt were Hollywood's golden couple who just seemed to "make sense" together, he had some more surprising relationships before that. Actress Juliette Lewis was just 17 when she began dated Pitt in 1990. Pitt, who was ten years her senior, was relatively unknown at the time - he was also ten years her senior! The two stayed together for three years.
7 Simon Cowell and Carmen Electra
Acid-tongued mogul and television personality simon Cowell had a brief, though highly publicized relationship with Playboy model and actress Carmen Electra from late 2012 to early 2013. The pairing was surprising at best, but Electra has a history of dating people who seem unconventional (ie. Dennis Rodman). Electra, 43, and Cowell, 55, reportedly ended their relationship after Electra caught Cowell in bed with Lauren Silverman, a woman who was going through a divorce with a close friend of Cowell's. Cowell remained with Silverman and the two now have a son together.
6 Sandra Bullock and Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling is one of the most sought-after actors around today, but when he dated Sandra Bullock from 2002-2003, he wasn't nearly as well known as Bullock. The two met while they were filming Murder by Numbers together and Bullock is 17 years older than Gosling. Their age gap is a large part of what made the relationship so surprising, but it seemed to work, at least for a while, for the two of them. Ryan Gosling is now partnered up with Eva Mendes with whom he has a daughter, and Bullock has an adopted son, Louis, who is five.
5 Ashley Olsen and Lance Armstrong
If an Olsen twin and a professional cyclist who is 15 years her senior seems like an odd pairing to you, you aren't alone. In 2007, when Olsen was 21 and Lance Armstrong was 36, the two reportedly dated until Armstrong ended things for fear it would tarnish his then squeaky clean reputation. Armstrong has had a series of high-profile relationships with people like Tory Burch, Kate Hudson, and Sheryl Crow, and has been with Anna Hansen since 2008. Ashley Olsen is said to be dating Bennett Miller, a film director. Miller is 48, so perhaps Olsen has a thing for older men.
4 Moby and Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman, now 34 and a married mother of one, has been a famous actress since she was just a child. Moby, 50, has been a well-known musician for years, but no one ever expected the two of them would be a couple (largely due to their age gap), but according to Moby, they once were. Although their relationship was brief, Moby explained it's made him "the target of a lot of nerd wrath. You can't date Luke Skywalker's mom and not have them hate your guts.” Hopefully he didn't become the target of Portman's wrath after outing their relationship either.
3 Kimberly Stewart and Benicio Del Toro
If you were to put two celebrity names in a hat and draw them, you could not hope for a more random pair than Kimberly Stewart, daughter of rocker Rod Stewart, and actor Benicio Del Toro. Not only is Del Toro 12 years old than Stewart (although not that significant an age gap for a Hollywood couple), they seem unlikely to run in the same circles. The two had a brief fling in 2011, and when Stewart announced she was expecting Del Toro's child it took the world by surprise. The two did not remain together, but they raise their daughter, Delilah, 4, together and seem to be on good terms.
2 Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts has long been Hollywood's sweetheart, and Kiefer Sutherland has had a bad boy reputation for years. Still, the two found enough in common to have had a serious relationship that even led to an engagement. In 1991, when Roberts was 23 and Sutherland was 24, it was announced that Roberts called off their wedding and their relationship of over a year. The breakup came just weeks before what was sure to be an incredibly lavish wedding was planned, and the news took Hollywood by storm. Julia Roberts' star continued to rise after the breakup, but Sutherland's career has taken many nosedives until he achieved great success with his television series 24.
1 Barbra Streisand and Andre Agassi
They're both known for being the best of the best in their craft, but beyond that, Broadway star Barba Streisand and tennis pro Andre Agassi don't appear to have much in common. However, the two are reported to have dated for a year in 1993. Streisand, now 70, and Agassi, now 45, were surprising for more reasons than their 25 year age gap, although that was a huge part of it. When Streisand appeared at Wimbledon to support her beau, it took the world by storm. Although neither Streisand nor Agassi have spoken much about their time together, it's hard to deny their relationship when you see it through pictures.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, zimbio.com, nydailynews.com, dailymail.co.uk, people.com
