16 Stories From People Who Dated A Celebrity Before They Were Famous
Imagine dating a celebrity before they were famous, doing something as normal as splitting a pizza on a random Tuesday, and then a few years later they’re suddenly everywhere. You se them on magazine covers and red carpets.
Some of these people actually dated a future celebrity themselves. Others just happened to know someone who did, a family member with a story about a famous person from long before the fame ever showed up.
Some of these celebrity dating stories are sweet. Some are a little brutal in hindsight. All of them are worth reading.
1. Harrison Ford
“My friend’s sister-in-law was out jogging when some other random dude came up and jogged with her and talked with her about random stuff like the movie being filmed nearby at the time for a bit. After a bit of that, he said, “Oh, by the way, I hope you like the movie.” They were filming The Force Awakens and she only realized later that it was Harrison Ford.”
From Redditor u/s-exorcism
“My aunt was at a small airport when someone told her to watch the little plane landing to see who got out of it. Out pops Ford. He walks up to the terminal and my aunt is just gobsmacked and blurts out, “Oh my god. It’s Harrison Ford!” He comes to a dead stop and excitedly looks around, ” WHERE?” Proceeds to melt her on the spot with that patented smile and walks off. Good bloke.”
From Redditor u/Freon424
2. Weird Al Yankovic
“Not me, but my aunt dated Weird Al Yankovic when she was in her mid 20s. I wasn’t alive back then, but my family tells me he was a genuinely funny person in a way you wouldn’t very much expect. One of my much older cousins actually has a signed guitar that Al played with in a live show. My aunt and Al met from my dad being a radio DJ as a teenager.
The station my dad worked at threw Weird Al a birthday party, and my aunt just happened to be there, and they ended up together for a decent amount of time. Every once in a while, Al will come into town to say hi to her. Even though they aren’t together they are still friends. One of these days, I might end up meeting him, which I think would be pretty cool.”
From Redditor u/Mtgknucklehead
3. Van Morrison
“My aunt was engaged to Van Morrison briefly. Here they are together on this album artwork. No interesting stories that I could remember. They were in love, but… he was always gone along with the challenges that come with fame. Plus, having his personality quirks documented in many places, and my aunt’s young age at the time (20), it didn’t work out. I was told that he would play guitar for the family [at] Christmas get-togethers.”
From Redditor u/hiiamrob:
“This is the first post I’ve been able to figure out who’s behind the magic door. Your aunt was married to him during his most epic phase, so she’s not unknown to fans of a certain age. Thank you for sharing!”
From Redditor u/SneedyK
4. Keanu Reeves
“My mom dated Keanu Reeves back in high school. She broke up with him because he was too focused on his band with his friends at the time.”
From Redditor u/takedownhisshield
“Your dad could’ve been Keanu. D*mn.”
From Redditor u/aavellana27
5. André The Giant
“My mom was really good friends with André the Giant (André René Roussimoff) because he used to frequent her place of work. According to her he was the sweetest, most gentle man she ever met in her life. From my mom: ‘He is [a] very kind person. He would give you the shirt off his back. He was a very calm person especially when talking with people. I was able to sit with him [and] talk for at least an hour on my lunch breaks when he came to visit.'”
From Redditor u/miraculousoffical
“I miss him, and I never met him. After hearing some stories, I honestly just want to give him a hug.”
From Redditor u/ophelieasfire:
6. Matthew McConaughey
“Not me, but my aunt dated Matthew McConaughey before he was famous. He ended up getting invited to her wedding to my “normal” uncle, and proceeded to pass out drunk in the back of my family’s car. He refused to leave, and now my dad refuses to watch his movies!”
From Redditor u/schining_knight
“All right, all right, all right.”
From Redditor u/seymour1
7. Daniel Radcliffe
“I have a family friend who dated Daniel Radcliffe. I was 7 at the time they dated, and a huge Harry Potter fan. I don’t remember much aside from the fact that he was a really sweet guy. On my 8th birthday, my family friend told Daniel it was my birthday and he texted my parents a personal happy birthday message for me despite never having met me. Absolutely made it the best birthday ever.”
From Redditor u/eveisannoying
“I got to meet Daniel while he was performing on Broadway; the show was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Back then, I looked very similar to Harry Potter, and we had a good laugh together about me being his new body double for paparazzi. Such a sweet guy, and so genuinely thankful for his success.”
From Redditor u/EricUdy
8. Brad Pitt
“Friend of mine dated Brad Pitt in college. Two or three dates if I remember correctly. I went to a different school, but remember meeting him when I went to visit my friend.”
From a Redditor
“One of my dad’s friends is a plumber and got called to do a job for Doug Pitt, Brad’s brother. Brad just happened to be visiting when he showed up. The plumber introduced himself to Doug (who is kind of a hometown “celebrity,” philanthropist, etc.), then looked at Brad, and jokingly said, “Ah, you must be Doug’s brother!” Brad didn’t find that too funny.”
From Redditor u/BIGDIP88
9. George Clooney
“My mom had a dinner date with George Clooney in the ’90s. She didn’t really say much apart from the fact that he’s an interesting and charismatic guy, but she honestly didn’t think he was going to become famous.”
From Redditor u/NardClump
“My best friend’s mom worked with him years ago, their early 20s or college age. He was a shoe salesman; she was security. Said he talked about wanting to act and get famous and everyone doubted him, but he was always nice to everyone and a likable guy.”
From Redditor u/xyz513
10. Mark Hamill
“I had an English teacher that went on a date with Mark Hamill just after filming Star Wars in the ’70s. She said he was a nice guy and was very humble; he said he was a small-time actor and said he had just finished a new movie that he thought might be successful. They only went out once and she never heard from him again. Saw him in Star Wars a few months later and had her mind blown.”
From Redditor u/crispycrunch93
“I’ve heard nothing but great things about the guy. Thing is, your story really emphasizes how humble he is. An actor who just finished a movie would probably be more likely to talk about it (and himself) nonstop. Instead he “thought” it might be successful? Didn’t ramble on and on about the story and how he is the star?”
From Redditor u/Jintess
11. Leonardo DiCaprio
“Not a romantic date in the least, but I had dinner once at a Japanese restaurant (in a group setting) with Leonardo DiCaprio while he was in Louisiana filming Django Unchained. He wanted to know what college was like and was asking us all about our lives. He also let me try his udon. It was my first-ever Instagram post! He really is such a nice guy in the limelight and in real life – it felt like we were hanging out with our friend.”
From Redditor u/Swolecranon
12. Jimmy Buffett
“My aunt went on a date with Jimmy Buffett. She said he picked her up, stopped at a gas station, bought a jar of pickles, and then drove to the beach. They ate pickles and he took her home.”
From Redditor u/RFEngineer
“Little did she know he went on many dates like this, slowly eating each of the components of a cheeseburger on each subsequent date.”
From Redditor u/dbelzberg
13. Gerard Butler
“My friend’s aunt went on a blind date with Gerard Butler, circa the movie 300. There was a big miscommunication, because he was looking for a hookup and she’s a kindly French Canadian woman in her 50s, but they both had a laugh about it and enjoyed supper with each other. She said he was very kind, and very muscular.”
From Redditor u/hercarmstrong
“Before or around the time 300 came out, Gerard Butler was a pretty normal guy that you could see hanging around the gyms, etc., in LA. He might still be a normal guy, but I only know of him from around that time. He’d give out his phone number to people and say hello, come meet up at places, and was just a regular, normal dude.”
From Redditor u/ReasonableScorpion
14. Pink
“Not me, but my uncle dated the singer Pink in high school for a little while. They went to Central Bucks in Pennsylvania. Pretty neat fun fact, but it always feels a little awkward when someone brings it up at gatherings because he is happily married now. Apparently, she was super chill and down to earth.”
From Redditor u/JaggedL
“My parents and most of our family friends still live in Doylestown [in Pennsylvania], and apparently she still comes around sometimes; our family friend ran into her at one of the bars there a few years back and she was totally cool.”
From Redditor u/succubamf
15. Fabio
“A few years ago I was getting on a flight back to San Diego after my cousin’s wedding. I was very hungover and judging people as I walked to my gate. I see this long-haired man stride by me in a purple button-down and think, “Who’s this guy?” As he walks by I realize… holy sh*t, that’s Fabio!
A bit later, after getting a snack, my brazen and probably still drunk self saw him sitting at his gate and just sat down next to him. I look away, then right at him and say, ‘You’re Fabio,’ and he says so cooly, ‘Yes I am,’ and shakes my hand. We proceeded to talk for 30 minutes until he had to leave. He was so intelligent! Discussed cancer therapies in depth, and I recall thinking, ‘Just nod and smile. Fabio is way smarter than you, just nod and smile.’ Before leaving, he asked for my number and texted me the next day for a date. Nothing ever came of it, but I still have his number in my phone. My dad followed up for weeks to make sure I wasn’t dating ‘the man on every romance novel cover.'”
From Redditor u/DIGITALCITIZENSD
16. Samantha Fox
“Not a date, per se, but I had a nice quiet dinner with Samantha Fox in her hotel room in Toronto in the ’80s. She was in town for a show and I was attached to her security detail. She asked me to eat with her because she didn’t want to go out but hated eating alone. I do remember we talked about her growing up in the UK and being still amazed at her success. I do remember she said she looked forward to seeing the world on tour, but apparently the world all looked like the same hotel room. She never got to just explore and play tourist.”
From Redditor u/Morbido