Famous Unlikely Couples

‘Is she really going out with him? Because if my eyes don’t deceive me there’s something going wrong around here’ go the words to a famous song and in the world of celebrity culture, there have been some very strange relationships. Some go the distance but many more do not. The couples often look painfully mismatched. Here is a list of some of the most bizarre love matches from recent years

1. Tony Robinson & Louise Hobbs

From the outside, the couple seems mismatched in every way: He was 64 and she was 30 when they married in the summer of 2011. She is also a clear 4’ taller than her husband showing that the stereotypical 6′ rule isn’t ubiquitous to all women. When his first marriage broke down in 1992, he vowed never to marry again but he met Miss Hobbs in 2005 who is two years younger than Robinson’s daughter and five years younger than his son

2. Anna Nicole Smith & J. Howard Marshall II

If there was ever one marriage in history that was clearly about the money then this between a 27 year old playboy model and an 89 year old business magnate in 1994 was it. Marshall would die a year later which led to bitter wrangling over his estate. She always maintained that he was the one who pursued her, lavishing her with gifts and asking her to marry him several times before she finally succumbed. The case went on for a decade, even after Smith’s death and finally ruled that her estate was entitled to nothing

3. Julia Roberts & Lyle Lovett

Julia Roberts was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood at the time of her marriage to the then unknown country singer Lyell Lovett. A few eyebrows were raised that the Hollywood beauty ‘ who could arguably have her pick of the bunch ‘ would choose Lovett in a world where she had rubbed shoulders with Richard Gere, Hugh Grant and George Clooney. They remained married for just two years as work commitments largely kept them apart. Critics said they had both been ‘rebound’ lovers for each other but friends said they seemed made for each other

4. Sandra Bullock & Jesse James

Perhaps the most surprising couple, and surprising for some because it lasted as long as 6 years, more eyebrow raising from the celeb watchers when the beautiful Hollywood actress famous for Speed and most recently, Gravity married a man who owned a motorcycle business who was previously married to a porn star. He also had his own TV show in the US. The couple split when it was revealed that James had had multiple affairs. James dated several women consequently and each in turn broke up until he married again in March 2013

5. Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes

It seems that the pint-sized actor is considered a mismatch for most of the women he has dated or married throughout his acting career but none seemed more so than the seemingly All American Girl Katie Holmes. Tom had never yet had a child from his previous long term relationships and marriages to Nicole Kidman and Penelope Cruz but finally had a daughter with Holmes. They separated and in November 2013, Cruise admitted that Holmes filed for divorce to protect their daughter from Scientology

6. Charlotte Church & Steven Johnson

As a child she was known as The Voice of an Angel but would later rebel against the clean-cut image and attempt to take on a raunchier tone to her music. At aged 16, she briefly dated Cardiff based DJ Steven Johnson in a relationship that was considered ‘stormy’. The couple split when he was witnessed kissing another girl at a party. Church would go on to date rugby player Gavin Henson and have several children before splitting from the Welsh star in 2010

7. Liza Minnelli & David Gest

Another pair most people would never put together, mostly because of ongoing speculation that he might have been gay. The most cringe-worthy moment of the ceremony was their first kiss in which a shocked Minnelli looked rather pained. The divorce, which came after five years, was one of the dirtiest divorces in history. Gest accused Minnelli of domestic violence and infecting him with herpes; she accused him of psychological abuse. Hardly a match made in heaven! Gest went on to a bigger public career, starring as a judge in Britain’s Got Talent.

8. Simon Cowell & Carmen Electra

Simon Cowell has always had an eye for the model types but his long-term love affair with 1980s singer Sinitta which seemingly came to an end for good in 2002, has been interspersed with some odd choices. He briefly dated model and actress Carmen Electra between the end of 2012 and early 2013. They were witnessed canoodling in a restaurant but the affair didn’t last. Cowell became a father for the first time in February 2014 with his 36 year old partner Lauren Silverman

9. Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher

Everyone thought that Moore’s marriage to action hero Bruce Willis would last but sadly it wasn’t to be. Her next romance ‘ and indeed marriage ‘ was to an actor 16 years her junior. It wasn’t a whirlwind marriage either; they were dating for two years before tying the knot. Their marriage finally seemed to make it acceptable for an age gap where the woman is the elder ‘ they seemed deeply in love but ultimately drifted apart. Their divorce finalised in 2013.

10. Steve Coogan & Courtney Love

Perhaps the second oddest couple on this list is British comedy actor (best known as Alan Partridge) and grunge rocker and former wife of Kurt Cobain. He comes across as nerdy and she comes across as wild so there was no way anybody was going to put them together. But they did get together in 2005 though it seemed to last only a matter of weeks. There is no love lost between the two now. Coogan was recently blamed for Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt.

Conclusion

Because of the abnormal lifestyle that actors and other figures in the public eye lead, their love lives are going to be under a lot of scrutiny and their choices weighed and evaluated for whether each partner is considered worthy of those we look up to. They are, like us, human and are just as capable of making mistakes.