Breakups are never fun or easy. As is true with most trauma, the only thing that heals you is time. However, when you’re a celebrity in Hollywood — you don’t always get that luxury.
Below is a list of 15 celebrity couples who still had to work together even after they were separated. Somehow, despite surmounting odds, they even managed to keep it professional.
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Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in ‘The Twilight Saga’.
Kristen and Robert were once the most talked about celebrity couple on the planet.
Not long after they’d taken their relationship public, Kristen was caught cheating with her Snow White and the Hunstman director, Rupert Sanders. They tried to reconcile for the release of Breaking Dawn , but Robert was too heartbroken to forgive.
Jack and Meg White of ‘The White Stripes’.
Despite what the majority of fans were led to believe, Jack and Meg White were not brother and sister.
They married in 1996 and had filed for divorce by the year 2000. They continued to record and tour together until the band’s ultimate demise in 2011.
Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake in ‘Bad Teacher’.
Cameron told Us Weekly , “Justin and I have always had a good laugh together, and to make a movie where we get to have a laugh together, and there really was no one else who was more perfect for this part.”
Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia in ‘Heroes’.
Hayden Panettiere played Milo Ventimiglia’s niece in the short-lived superhero drama, Heroes . They dated for two years and filmed one final season of Heores after their real-life relationship had already come to a close.
Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter in ‘Dexter’.
In an interview with Us Weekly , Michael said “I would say the fact that Jennifer and I worked through whatever was going on with us personally the way we did and maintained telling the story was never in question,” he explained. “It was always what we needed or wanted to do.”
Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody in ‘The OC’.
Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody dated for nearly the entire run of the hit teen drama, The OC . When their off-screen romance ended, both Rachel and Adam were still contractually obligated to star in one more season together.
Penn Badgley and Blake Lively in ‘Gossip Girl’.
When asked to comment on the breakup, Penn told Elle “I don’t know if I can distill it into a sentence, or even articulate it. We were very much caught up in the show, which itself was a six-year endurance test. Our relationship was a part of that and helped us through it.”
Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse in ‘Riverdale’.
In August of 2020, Cole wrote via Instagram , “Lili and I initially separated in January of this year, deciding to more permanently split in March. What an incredible experience I had, I’ll always feel lucky and cherish that I had the chance to fall in love.”
Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan in ‘Alias’.
Jennifer Garner dated her Alias co-star, Michael Vartan, for a little less than one year. They officially ended their relationship in 2004 and continued to work together amicably until the series came to a close in 2006.
Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal
Here’s a tip for any aspiring young musicians: never date any member of your band. If it didn’t work out for Fleetwood Mac and No Doubt , there’s no way on earth that it’s going to turn out well for you.
Tarek El Moussa and Christina El Moussa
Tarek and Christina had become HGTV royalty, thanks largely in part to their hit reality home show Flip or Flop . Despite a very public and heated separation/divorce, the former paramours still agreed to film another 15 episodes together.
Marc Antony and Jennifer Lopez in ‘Q Viva! The Chosen’.
Marc Antony and Jennifer Lopez were married for more than a decade before calling it quits in 2011. The next year, they participated in the competition show _Q Viva! The Chosen_and the ex-couple also recorded a Spanish album together in 2016.
Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray in ‘One Tree Hill’.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen , Sophia said “We were two stupid kids who had no business being in a relationship in the first place.”
Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson in ‘Dawson’s Creek’.
Katie and Joshua began dating shortly after the season 1 premiere of Dawson’s Creek and broke up not long afterward. Still, they managed to keep it professional until the series came to a close in 2003.
To this day, Katie refers to Joshua as her first love .
Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki in ‘The Big Bang Theory’.
Johnny and Kaley dated for a little more than two years while filming for The Big Bang Theory was still going on.
Kaley admits that the initial breakup period was a sensitive one, but afterward, they were able to press on and remain close friends.
