Celebrities are often forced to endure life under a microscope — and being involved in a
high-profile romance only adds to the pressure. But sometimes a strategic pairing can launch a
D-lister to instant A-list status. From Will and Jada, to JLo, to Kaley Cuoco, here are stars who
were only in it for their careers. Hollywood's favorite 2020 quarantine
love story would fizzle out as quickly as it started between soap opera actor Max Ehrich
and Grammy-nominated singer Demi Lovato. On July 22, Lovato announced on Instagram that
she was engaged to The Young and the Restless star just four months into their relationship.
The couple constantly shared photos on social media, but the boat would rock after screenshots
of past tweets emerged, showing Ehrich fawning over Lovato's former Disney co-star,
Selena Gomez. The singer would fire back at entertainment outlets in an Instagram
story claiming the alleged tweets were fake. But there was video evidence of
Ehrich saying he'd been crushing on Gomez since way back in 2010.
"I honestly think Selena Gomez is an extraordinary woman."
Lovato broke things off with Ehrich in September. According to People, a source revealed,
"It was very hurtful to Demi when she realized that Max's intentions weren't genuine."
But post-breakup, it appeared Ehrich tried to milk the situation for more fame sharing on Instagram,
"Imagine finding out about the status of your relationship through a tabloid."
A source told E! that Ehrich knew of the split beforehand
and was merely trying to, quote, "stay relevant."
"We've come through some stuff."
"This a gangster right here in front of y'all. This little one here — a gangster."
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith got married in 1997, with their family empire firing on all
cylinders from 2009 through 2010. Will and Jada hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert,
Jada was starring on TNT's Hawthorne, Jaden was The Karate Kid, and Willow released her platinum
track "Whip My Hair." But despite appearances, Will explained on Red Table Talk in 2018,
I think that's the worst I ever felt in our marriage.
I was failing miserably."
After August Alsina's 2020 interview with Angela Yee where he claimed that Will had
given him his blessing to actually date Jada, the Smiths talked it out with Jada
calling the fling an "entanglement" on a July 2020 episode of Red Table Talk.
Will and Jada would conclude the conversation about their marriage struggles saying,
"We ride together, we die together, bad marriage for life."
Back when Sean "Diddy" Combs was best known as Puff Daddy,
he and Jennifer Lopez dated for nearly two-and-a-half years starting in 1999,
pulling off one of the most iconic red carpet outings for the 2000 Grammy Awards.
"Who made this?"
"Uh, Versace."
After the couple split and Lopez married Chris Judd in 2001, Diddy released "I Need a Girl,"
where the mogul sang nostalgic lyrics seemingly directed towards Lopez. But JLo certainly didn't
share the sentiment. In 2003, Lopez cited the rapper's infidelity as the cause of their split,
and in 2019, she downplayed the seriousness of the relationship on The Breakfast Club, saying,
"We never lived together. We were like boyfriend and girlfriend when we were little,
that was such a long time ago, it was a different type of relationship."
Nonetheless, the Hustlers star later told CBS Sunday Morning,
"[Diddy] was meant to be in my life in that moment to teach me what I needed
to know about the music business [and] the kind of artist I wanted to be."
Kim Kardashian became an icon after rising to fame in 2007 when Vivid
Entertainment released an explicit tape with her ex-boyfriend, R&B singer Ray J,
kicking off her family's reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Ian
Halperin wrote in his book, Kardashian Dynasty: The Controversial Rise of America's Royal Family,
"A mutual friend of Kim and Paris [Hilton] had advised her that if she wanted to achieve fame,
a sex tape would be the way to go. […] Kim had
discussed the idea of producing a tape with her family beforehand."
Ray J admitted to Entertainment Tonight in 2008 that he recorded the tape,
and Kardashian had possession of it. In regards to her rise to fame, the singer said,
"I pat myself on the back, nah I'm just playing. I smile, I look and go,
'Congratulations. I'm proud of you. This is what you really wanted.'"
"Would you be where you are had there not been a sex tape?"
"I think that's how I was definitely introduced to the world."
Ray J would also see a resurgence in his music career, releasing his 2008 music video "Sexy
Can I" and he even received offers to launch a career in adult entertainment — which he declined.
Then-teenage stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake added to their popularity with their
puppy love from 1999 to 2002. They would pose as one of the youngest and most iconic power couples
to date until things took a turn when Spears allegedly cheated on the former NSYNC star.
Timberlake would reference his former Mickey Mouse Club co-star in "Cry Me a River."
According to Rolling Stone, Spears claimed Timberlake had called her
before the video dropped, wanting to get back together and adding,
"And by the way, you're in a video that's coming out."
JT also publicly aired some dirty laundry in 2003, claiming Spears lost her virginity to
him. But the sour feelings weren't limited to life immediately post-breakup. In 2013,
Timberlake threw a cheap shot at Spears during a Saturday Night Live sketch where he acted
as his own great-great-grandfather speaking his great-great grandson's life into existence saying,
"He'll date a popular female singer.
Publicly they'll claim to be virgins, but privately, he hit it."
Kim Kardashian's infamous 72-day marriage with Kris Humphries
unfolded on season six of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. The star told The
Hollywood Reporter that even producers were second-guessing the wedding, telling her,
"You don't seem happy. You don't have to go through with this."
In 2011, the drama leading up to the $6 million ceremony was captured on E!'s four-part special
Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event with the network raking in $10 million in ad revenue.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Kardashians possibly made a profit with discounted
items and gifts thrown in, along with People paying $1.5 million to license photos and videos.
All dollar signs in this equation point to the wedding being staged,
considering Khloé and Lamar Odom's 2009 ceremony reached, quote, "record ratings" for E!
In 2017, Kim told Andy Cohen that she knew during her honeymoon that
she wasn't going to stay married to Kris, and conveniently split from the
NBA player a month after their wedding special aired. Kim admitted to Oprah,
"The tough decision to end that relationship
was such a risk [possibly] losing ratings and losing my fan base."
Kate Upton shot to fame in 2011 after her viral "Dougie" video
and became Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's Rookie of the Year. With the blond bombshell playing
into the media hype about her fling with then-New York Jets starting quarterback,
Mark Sanchez, and Upton was becoming a household name.
Sanchez didn't publicly link himself to Upton, but Page Six reported that
the athlete was spotted several times heading to the model's apartment in 2011.
Upton would play coy about the topic with the media, but confirmed that since her sister
worked for the Jets, she attended every home game, and that's how she met Mark.
Actress Eva Longoria confirmed she was dating Sanchez in late 2012,
and Upton would lowkey roast the quarterback months later,
after what became the team's worst season on Sanchez' watch. Notre Dame would get whipped
by Alabama in the NCAA National Championship in 2013, and Upton burned Sanchez tweeting:
"It's okay Notre Dame this happened to the Jets every week."
The three-time Sports Illustrated cover model dropped Sanchez hard
after her popularity skyrocketed. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were
a thing in 2003, married in 2005, and split by 2011. And the twosome was one of
Hollywood's most talked-about couples. Kutcher explained to 60 Minutes Australia in 2004,
"The nature of entertainers has changed. It's not about what you are doing on TV or in your
films. People's personal lives have become entertainment. That's become a show in itself."
"But with every good, there's a bad."
Rumors circulated that the actor was cheating on Moore, who revealed on Good Morning America
that after seeing a Google alert about the Two and a Half Men star's infidelity,
Kutcher admitted to having an affair. Sixteen-years his senior,
Moore told the New York Times in 2019 that the relationship was a quote "do-over" of her 20s.
Kutcher was becoming a huge star on That '70s Show, Punk'd, and numerous motion pictures,
whereas Moore was well past her heyday in the 90s where the tabloids followed her
high-profile marriage to A-lister Bruce Willis. With Kutcher, Moore saw a career resurgence and
has since seemingly clout-chased by sharing intimate details about that relationship.
After Kutcher married his former co-star Mila Kunis, Moore published her memoir, Inside Out in 2019.
In interviews promoting her New York Times bestseller, Moore continues to rehash the
details of her marriage with Kutcher, leading some to believe she's just trying to stay relevant.
Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna starred on E!'s Rob & Chyna in 2016. Before
the show's final TV special — where they would welcome their daughter Dream — Rob
said Chyna had taken his daughter, captioning a now-deleted Instagram post:
"I'm pretty upset. I wanna be with my baby. And this isn't for some ratings, this is my real life."
But the timing made fans wonder. Rob had tweeted a promo for their special just
hours before the drama — and the couple reunited less than two weeks afterward.
In March 2017, a source close to the family told InTouch,
"Rob had agreed to have a fake relationship with Chyna because his momager, Kris Jenner,
got E! to pay him over $2 million to do a
show. […] [Chyna was] desperate to be as famous as [the] Kardashians."
In July of that year, the couple permanently split after Rob publicly accused Chyna of
infidelity. Chyna then filed a lawsuit against the Kardashians for effectively killing Rob & Chyna Season 2, according to TMZ.
Six-time NFL Pro Bowl player Chad "Ochocinco"
Johnson made headlines when he put a ring on reality star Evelyn Lozada's finger in
November 2010, two months after the finale of his reality dating show Ochocinco: The Ultimate Catch.
Season two of Basketball Wives aired the on-screen romance between Lozada
and Johnson, with VH1 making plans to roll out a spinoff, Ev & Ocho.
But the couple split six weeks into their marriage, with Lozada telling Good Morning
America that she confronted Johnson after finding receipts for condoms,
and he allegedly "head-butted" her. Basketball Wives co-star Tami Roman told Lozada,
"You lied [to] Chad. You [were] fighting that man but because that neighbor saw,
now you want to be the domestic violence spokesperson."
"Tami bringing up my incident with Chad is the ultimate
low blow. And it's dirty. And it's f-----g pathetic."
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith also accused Lozada of taking advantage of the
situation for publicity and saying she resented her portrayal on reality TV.
If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic abuse,
please call or chat online with the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Actor Henry Cavill first portrayed DC Comics Superman in 2013's Man of Steel.
The opening night of its theatrical release caught the attention of actor Kaley Cuoco
who tweeted a snap of herself staring at a poster of the action star, writing,
"Everyone go see 'man of steel.' It's fantastic in every single way."
By July, the two were frequently spotted holding hands and grocery shopping during their fling
that only lasted 10 days. Cuoco later opened up about the relationship, telling Cosmo in 2013,
"I had no one following me until I met Superman. I've been in this business for 20 years,
and my whole life, I could go anywhere, do anything. There had not been one
paparazzi photo of me until like several months ago. The recognition was crazy."
According to the Daily Mail, the common denominator between the two was that they
shared the same publicists, which leads us to believe this relationship was indeed fabricated.
Likely to promote Cavill's first outing as Superman and to boost Cuoco's popularity.
"The heart wants what the heart wants, Leonard."
If that's not all, it's a little hard to imagine that Cuoco couldn't keep a
10-day relationship a secret, knowing she once dated her Big Bang Theory
co-star Johnny Galecki for two years and kept the relationship on the DL.
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