19 Celebrity Couples Who Fell in Love at First Sight (and Are Still Going Strong!)
- - 19 Celebrity Couples Who Fell in Love at First Sight (and Are Still Going Strong!)
Grace Gavilanes, James Mercadante, Stephanie SengweFebruary 11, 2026 at 4:23 AM
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Victoria and David Beckham, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre Elba
Victor Boyko/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty
Sometimes, you just immediately know when you've found "the one."
And for plenty of celebrity couples have felt that immediate spark — including Matthew Broderick, who fell in love with Sarah Jessica Parker after seeing her walk down the street, and David Beckham, who knew Spice Girl Victoria Beckham was "the one" after meeting her at a soccer game.
Ahead, 19 A-list couples who fell in love at first sight — and what they've said about the romantic encounters!
01 of 19
Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow
Frazer Harrison/WireImage
Judd Apatow was smitten by Leslie Mann the minute she walked into the room to audition for a part in Ben Stiller's 1996 comedy, The Cable Guy, which he was producing.
"I can’t believe the future Mrs. Apatow just walked in the room,” he recalled telling Stiller. "I just loved her vibe the moment she walked in the room. It did hit me like lightning. ‘Oh, it's her."
The two wed the following year and share two daughters, Maude and Iris.
02 of 19
Nick Jonas & Priyanka Copra Jonas
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas attend the 2023 Met Gala in N.Y.C.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
When Nick Jonas met actress Priyanka Chopra — whom he married in two wedding ceremonies in 2018 — he caught the "Lovebug" on the spot.
"It was kind of an instant thing," the singer told Entertainment Tonight in January 2019. "I knew once we locked in together that I had a partner for life and a teammate, someone I could walk through the good times and the bad times with, and that was the key."
Their first in-person meeting at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty played out like a rom-com. As Jonas later told Vogue in 2018, he dropped to one knee in front of everyone and declared, "You're real. Where have you been all my life?"
"It was such a Prince Charming moment," Chopra recalled of this moment on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show in May 2023. "It was like time stopped. And also he was so hot and I didn't know him. ... It was really like a meet-cute from a movie. He just held my hand and I turned around and he was in a suit and he goes down on his knees and I think time stopped."
03 of 19
David Beckham & Victoria Beckham
Anthony Harvey/Getty
In September 2024, David Beckham told PEOPLE he knew Victoria was "the one" immediately.
"She was a Spice Girl and sexy and beautiful and charming," the former professional soccer player said. "Then I found out what a strong woman she is."
Victoria echoed the same sentiment about David in The Daily Mail in 2007: "Completely love at first sight. He told me he went home and wrote my [telephone] number on so many other things in case he lost it."
04 of 19
Sarah Jessica Parker & Matthew Broderick
Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick attend the ATG Summer Party at Kensington Palace in London on Sept. 13, 2023
Dave Benett/Getty Images
Ferris Bueller's Day Off star Matthew Broderick and Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker have been together since 1991 and married in 1997 — spending more than 30 years as a couple.
During a 2022 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Broderick reminisced about the moment he knew Parker was "the one."
"Oh, the first time I met her," he said. "I saw her walking down the street and thought, 'That's it.' "
05 of 19
Rebecca Romijn & Jerry O'Connell
Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell attend the 2018 Hallmark Channel Summer TCA in Beverly Hills Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
According to Jerry O'Connell, the connection between him and his future wife was instant when he first laid eyes on her: "When I met Rebecca — I know you hear 'love at first sight' — I just enjoyed her energy so much, immediately," he said on the CBS reality series The Real Love Boat.
Romijn chimed in: "We both decided we wanted to be with each other more than anybody else in the whole world. It was pretty cut and dried."
06 of 19
Kaley Cuoco & Tom Pelphrey
Tom Pelphrey and Kaley Cuoco attend the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in L.A. on Sept. 12, 2022 Momodu Mansaray/Getty
"When I met Tom, it was absolutely love at first sight," Cuoco told Extra in September 2022 at the premiere of her movie Meet Cute.
"My manager actually took me as her guest to the Ozark premiere, and I met him there," Cuoco recalled of her first real-life meet-cute with the actor. "It was like the angels started singing. I was like, 'Hallelujah!' It was very magical … it was perfect."
07 of 19
Idris Elba & Sabrina Dhowre
Sabrina Dhowre and Idris Elba arrive for Prince Harry's and Meghan Markle's wedding ceremony at Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 Gareth Fuller/Getty Images
"I have been married before and I famously said I wouldn't get married again. But I met someone that opened me up," Idris Elba said of his wife on The View.
"It was love at first sight," Elba added. "I went out on my only day off, true story, it was a Sunday night, I went to this party and there she was. The rest is history."
As for what makes Dhowre "the one," Elba told PEOPLE in 2018 that they have "good chemistry."
"She makes me laugh, and we share common goals. She makes me happy," he said. "She makes me celebrate my successes and when I'm not too sure about stuff, she makes me think."
08 of 19
Michael Douglas & Catherine Zeta-Jones
Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones attend a Lady Gaga concert at The Apollo in N.Y.C. on June 24, 2019 Kevin Mazur/Getty
Michael Douglas knew from the moment he laid eyes on Catherine Zeta-Jones that she was the one, and had an interesting way of breaking the news to her.
"I looked at her, and I said, 'Catherine, I'm going to be the father of your children,' " Douglas said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "The first time I met her! You think that went over big?"
Apparently, the over-the-top comment didn't scare her away because the two have been married for 20-plus years and share two children: son Dylan and daughter Carys.
09 of 19
Emily Blunt & John Krasinski
Emily Blunt and John Krasinski attend a 'Final Portrait' screening in N.Y.C. on March 22, 2018 Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock
Emily Blunt — who later costarred in A Quiet Place and its sequel with spouse John Krasinski, who also directed and co-wrote the films — knew "disarmingly soon" that they were meant for each other.
The Oppenheimer star was out to lunch with a friend, chatting about how much she was enjoying the single life, when her future husband walked in. "And that was it," she told PEOPLE’s former editor-in-chief Jess Cagle during an episode of The Jess Cagle Interview in April 2018. "We were engaged within 10 months, but I think we probably knew before that."
10 of 19
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for a photo at Kensington Palace on Nov. 27, 2017 Chris Jackson/Getty
While making their official debut as an engaged couple outside Kensington Palace, Prince Harry revealed that he knew Meghan Markle was the one for him as soon as he saw her. When asked when he knew the Suits actress was going to be his future wife, Harry said with a smile: "The very first time we met."
11 of 19
Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt
Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt attend 'The Evolution of the Relationship Reality Show' in Beverly Hills on March 19, 2015 Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Heidi Montag dedicated an Instagram post to her longtime love on their nine-year wedding anniversary — seven weeks after welcoming their first child, son Gunner Stone.
"It was love at first sight," gushed the reality star, who met Spencer Pratt while filming The Hills. "I knew my life would never be the same. You are my soulmate, my heart, my soul, my best friend, my everything. We have fought through so much to be together."
12 of 19
George Clooney & Amal Clooney
George Clooney and Amal Clooney attend the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival
Fernanda Bareggi/Splash News Online
“I think it was about three days in. You know, you could tell,” the Oscar winner told Access Hollywood about when he knew the human rights lawyer was the one. "I knew when I met her that she was extraordinary and special. I wondered if I would ever get a chance to date her. We were friends for a while before and luckily she said yes.” The Clooneys would go on to marry in 2014 at a lavish multi-day wedding in Italy.
13 of 19
Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi
Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres arrive at the 'Finding Dory' premiere in L.A. on June 8, 2016 Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
"Ellen took my breath away," Portia de Rossi told The Advocate in 2005 upon meeting her now-wife backstage at VH1's Big in '04 Awards. "That had never happened to me in my life, where I saw somebody and experienced all of those things you hear about in songs and read about in poetry. My knees were weak."
14 of 19
Michael Caine and Shakira Baksh Caine
Sir Michael Caine poses with his wife Shakira Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Sir Michael Caine almost crossed oceans to find his love after having seen her on TV.
As he told Jonathan Ross, the famed actor saw Shakira Baksh in a Maxwell House Coffee commercial on TV and was immediately taken. "I just watched her and thought, 'That's the woman for me,'" he told Ross.
Assuming she was Brazilian, Caine then made plans to go to Brazil to find the model who stole his heart. Thankfully, a friend intercepted and let him know not only was she Indian, but she also lived on Fulham Road right there in London.
The two were married in 1973 and have been together since.
15 of 19
Warren Beatty & Annette Bening
Annette Bening and Warren Beatty attend the world premiere of '20th Century Women' in N.Y.C. on Oct. 8, 2016 Roger Wong/INFphoto
"It didn't really surprise me," Warren Beatty — who had once been known for his storied dating life — recounting his decision to get married during a 2016 appearance on Today. "I always felt I wasn't trying to avoid marriage, I was trying to avoid divorce. I had no doubt when I met Annette that it was time to get married."
16 of 19
Tom Ford & Richard Buckley
Tom Ford and Richard Buckley at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Rabbani and Solimene Photography/WireImage
For designer-turned-director Tom Ford, "love at first sight" was something he experienced when coming face-to-face with his future husband on an elevator ride in 1986.
"By the time that elevator landed on the ground floor I thought, 'You're the one.' That's it. Click. Sold," Ford said during a 2016 appearance on The Jess Cagle Interview. "It was literally love at first sight." He continued: "Our eyes locked and within a month we were living together. We have been together ever since." (Richard Buckley died in September of 2021 at age 72.)
17 of 19
Stephen Colbert & Evelyn Colbert
Evelyn Colbert and Stephen Colbert arrive at the 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in L.A. on Sept. 22, 2013 Frazer Harrison/Getty
The late-night talk show host knew instantly his wife was "the one" when he saw her in a theater lobby and thought, "Her. There's your wife. You're going to marry her."
The couple's love story began later near the buffet line at the show's afterparty, which he shared with his Late Show audience during a Q&A in July 2016. "You will kick yourself for the rest of your life if you do not turn around and say hello to her," Colbert remembers saying to himself upon seeing Evelyn. He later discovered they'd grown up in the same neighborhood.
18 of 19
Matthew McConaughey & Camila Alves
Camila Alves and Matthew McConaughey attend the 4th annual Mack, Jack & McConaughey Gala in Austin, Texas, on April 15, 2016 Gary Miller/Getty Images)
Although Matthew McConaughey was "happily single," things all changed when he saw Brazilian model Camila Alves. "Out of the corner of my eye, this sort of aqua-green figure went floating across the frame about 20 feet in front of me," he told PEOPLE of seeing Alves for the first time in 2006.
He continued, "My eye went up and I remember what came out of my mouth. I didn't say 'Who is that?' I went, 'What is that?' As l was trying to get [her] attention across the room, I went in my head, 'This is not the kind of woman you call over across the room, McConaughey. Get your ass out of your chair and go get her.' Which I did."
As for what immediately drew the Oscar winner to Alves, McConaughey was quick to respond: "The self-respect she had, the way I understood her and her relationship with family, the way she respected me but never took anything for granted, not putting on any airs whatsoever."
19 of 19
Matt Damon & Luciana Damon
Luciana Damon and Matt Damon attend Twentieth Century Fox’s premiere gala for ‘The Martian’ at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 11, 2015, in Toronto Eric Charbonneau/Invision/AP
The pair's initial encounter reads like the start of an epic love story, which Matt Damon is more than eager to recount: "I saw her across the room, and it was like there was a beam of lighting shining down on her — she was radiating joy," the actor recalled to Metro in 2011 of seeing his future wife, Luciana, who worked as a bartender at the time. "I was like, I have to talk to this person.' "
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