These celebrity couples kept their secret relationships completely hidden for years all without us suspecting a thing.
From red carpet debuts to going Instagram official, there are many ways in which our favorite celebrity couples live out their very public love stories. But for some celebrities, it took years for us to get these public declarations to say that they are officially off the market.
No, we’re not just talking about the most private celebrity couples — like Amanda Seyfried and husband Thomas Sadoski or Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman who rarely speak publicly about one another.
We’re also not talking about celebrity couples who never walked a red carpet together even though we all kind of knew they were dating the whole time.
And we’re not talking about celebrity couples who broke up and then revealed they were dating later down the road. We’re talking about people who we literally had no idea were together — like, genuinely no clue.
Take country singer Lainey Wilson, for example, anyone could have been fooled into thinking she was single until she showed up to the 2023 ACM Awards red carpet with former NFL star Duck Hodges who she had been privately dating for two whole years. Now that is a private romance!
Here are celebrity couples who kept their relationships hidden for years.
Beyoncé & Jay-Z
Beyoncé and Jay-Z first met in 1999 but didn’t date publicly until 2001. The singer confirmed in a 2008 interview that she was 19 when they started dating, meaning their romance likely began in 2000. They officially confirmed their relationship in a November 2001 cover story in Vanity Fair.
Duck Hodges & Lainey Wilson
Lainey Wilson revealed in a 2023 interview with People that she first started dating former LA Rams player Duck Hodges in 2021 but opted to keep quiet about their relationship for two and a half years.
“I said, ‘We gonna see if you’re in it for the right reasons.’ Turns out, he is,” Wilson said. “It feels really good to talk about.”
Jamie Foxx & Katie Holmes
Jamie Foxx and Katie Holmes dated for over five years but their romance remains one of the most secretive relationships Hollywood has ever seen.
Their romance was confirmed in 2015 but reportedly dates back to 2013. The private pairing were spotted together numerous times until around 2019 when they reportedly split for good.
Shelby Rabara & Harry Shum Jr.
Glee star Harry Shum Jr. was so hush-hush about his relationship status that no one knew he was taken until months after he proposed to now-wife Shelby Rabara.
In 2014, Us Weekly confirmed that the couple, who had been together since 2007, were engaged. “They have been together for years and are so great together,” a source confirmed.
The couple married in 2015 and welcomed their daughter in 2019.
Darren Criss & Mia Swier
Darren Criss first opened up about his relationship with Mia Swier in a 2013 interview, revealing: “we’ve been together a long time.” The pair reportedly met in 2006 and started dating four years later before marrying in 2018.
They share two kids.
Jim Parsons & Todd Spiewak
Jim Parsons was with his now-husband Todd Spiewak for an impressive 10 years before revealing their relationship publicly.
Five years after rising to fame on The Big Bang Theory, Parson quietly came out in a 2012 interview with The New York Times, revealing he was in a 10-year relationship with a man.
Parsons and Spiewak married in 2017.
Hayley Kiyoko & Becca Tilley
The Bachelor star Becca Tilley spent six years talking about her secret relationship without anyone knowing who her mystery partner was. She came out and revealed her romance with singer Hayley Kiyoko in 2022 by posting a video montage of their relationship.
She later opened up about her coming out on her podcast, saying: “I was not prepared for the amount of love and support that we got. Like, I just could have never predicted.”
Zendaya & Tom Holland
We’re still not 100% sure when Zendaya and Tom Holland officially started dating because they spent two years denying dating rumors before they were photographed kissing in a car in Los Angeles in 2021, per Harper’s Bazaar.
Raven Symoné & Miranda Maday
Raven Symoné and Miranda Maday started dating in 2015 but didn’t publicize their relationship until they got married in 2020.
Jessie J & Chanan Safir Colman
British singer Jessie J didn’t reveal the identity of her boyfriend until after they welcomed their son in 2023.
“I struggle to keep things private,” she wrote in a post discussing their relationship for the first time. “I think if you know me, you know that. I want to protect people I love and keep it for myself.”
She revealed that he enterted her life in 2021 “like a beam of light” and “lit up my dark days.”
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