When it comes to relationships, there’s no right or wrong way to handle a breakup per se — though some messy celebrity breakups could probably be deemed the “wrong” way to handle things. While some people dive right into their careers after a breakup, others go right back into dating; everyone deals with it differently. Something we noticed quite a lot in Hollywood is the uprising of the rebound relationship.
No, seriously, a lot of celebrities end up in rebound relationships after getting out of a marriage or another serious relationship. We’ve seen it time and time again over the years, with the biggest repeat offenders being Pete Davidson and Jennifer Lopez.
For those who don’t know, a rebound relationship, as described by Mind Body Green, is a new romantic relationship where one or both partners recently had a bad breakup. It used to mean that the person wasn’t over the breakup and just found someone new to date as a placeholder, but in recent years, the rebounds ended up being a lot of people’s happily ever afters.
For instance, both Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton were on the rebound, and now they’re happily married. The same goes for Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder, along with Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber. Love can happen in the most random ways, even in a rebound relationship.
Now, we’re not saying every single rebound relationship goes perfectly after they get together, in fact, there are a lot of celebrity relationships that show a rebound relationship was quite short-lived. And when we’re talking about a rebound, we’re talking about people who started dating someone new in 4 months or less (including one star who dated someone new the day after their headline-making breakup).
Below, check out rebound celebrity relationships that happened insanely fast after another breakup.
Nikki Reed & Ian Somerhalder
While we all know and love the vampire-playing couple that is Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder, did you know that they got together insanely quickly after Reed’s last relationship? She and her ex-husband Paul McDonald separated in March 2014 after three years together, and then four months later, on July 2014, she started dating Somerhalder. And the same month her divorce was finalized, she and Somerhalder got engaged.
Joe Manganiello & Sofía Vergara
It’s no secret that Joe Manganiello was waiting to shoot his shot with his now-ex-wife Sofía Vergara, and they got their romance on quite quickly after her breakup from fiance Nick Loeb. She and Loeb broke up in May 2014, and in June 2014, she and Manganiello started to date.
The rebound might be a pattern for the couple who both moved on swiftly after their 2023 divorce. Within months, Manganiello started dating actress Caitlin O’Connor while Vergara began dating orthopedic surgeon Justin Saliman.
Justin Bieber & Hailey Bieber
Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber dated on and off between 2014 and 2016 but when they finally reunited for good in 2018, Bieber was fresh off his split from another on-off girlfriend, Selena Gomez, but in 2018, it all changed.
Bieber and Gomez broke up for good in March 2018, and by July 2018 he proposed to his now-wife after rekindling their romance in May. The Biebers married in September 2018.
Zayn Malik & Gigi Hadid
The same month that Gigi Hadid and her boyfriend of five months Joe Jonas broke up, specifically in Nov 2015, she was seen with Zayn Malik. So, exactly how long was the break between the two?
On Nov 15, 2015, People reported that she and Jonas broke up and by Nov 24, Us Weeklyreported that she and Malik were becoming an item. So, it was less than three weeks for this rebound.
Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck
While you may think we’ll be talking about how Jennifer Lopez was with Alex Rodriguez and then soon after started dating her ex Ben Affleck, but nope. We’re taking it back to the early 2000s. Soon after Jennifer Lopez and her husband Cris Judd divorced, she was with Affleck.
She and Judd broke up on May 2002, and then she and Affleck started dating in July 2002…. and we all know how Affleck and Lopez’s relationship went that time around!
George Clooney & Stacy Keibler
Just one month after ending his two year relationship with Elisabetta Canalis, perpetual bachelor George Clooney started dating Stacy Keibler, who he then dated from 2011 until 2013.
Eva Longoria & Eduardo Cruz
Okay, but remember this early 2010s couple Eva Longoria and Eduardo Cruz? Did you know that one month after she and Tony Parker divorced in Jan 2011, Longoria and Cruz started dating? This rebound didn’t last for long though and the couple called things off after a year of dating.
Taylor Swift & Matty Healy
Taylor Swift’s adorable romance with Travis Kelce is so headline-dominating that her short-lived fling with Matty Healy is easy to forget! But fans got whiplash in 2023 when Swift was photographed holding hands with the frontman of The 1975 a month after it was confirmed that she split from her boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn.
Fred Armisen & Abby Elliott
Chances are you forgot about both of these romances! Fred Armisen wasted no time in moving on from his tumultuous marriage with Elisabeth Moss. Per Vulture, Armisen and Moss seemingly broke up in Aug 2010, and literally a week later, Intelligencer reported that he and fellow SNL star Abby Elliot started dating.
Their romance only lasted a year.
Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani
2015 was a big year for Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton. Shelton filed for divorce from Miranda Lambert after six years together in July 2015. A month later, his fellow The Voice judget, Stefani, filed for divorce from her husband of 13 years, Gavin Rossdale.
Then, Stefani and Shelton started to date by October 2015, while both their divorces were still in the pipeline. The couple married in 2021.
Scarlett Johansson & Sean Penn
Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds were married for two years before breaking up in Dec 2010, and then two months later, she started a brief relationship with Sean Penn, who also just split from his ex-wife, Robin Wright, earlier that year.
Johansson and Penn split after 5 months with Us Weekly reporting that Penn decided he wasn’t looking for anything “serious” after his divorce.
Aurora Culpo & Paul Bernon
Paul Bernon and former Real Housewives of New York star Bethenny Frankel were engaged for three years, after beginning their relationship in 2018. They separated in March 2024 and incredibly soon after, Bernon was dating Aurora Culpo, but as of July 2024, Page Six reported that they’d broken up.
Liam Hemsworth & Eiza Gonzalez
Literally the day after Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus announced their split in Sept 2013, he was seen kissing Eiza Gonzalez. Talk about fast!
Their romance never went far and Hemsworth ended up reuniting with Cyrus, marrying her and divorcing for good in 2019.
Anna Faris & Chris Pratt
Anna Faris and Ben Indra were together for nine years before divorcing in Feb 2008, then three months later, she started dating her second husband Chris Pratt.
They married in 2009 and went on to welcome a son before divorcing in 2017.
John Mulaney & Olivia Munn
John Mulaney and Olivia Munn’s relationship timeline is hazy, to put it lightly.
As many people remember, back in May 2021, Mulaney and his wife of seven years Anna Marie Tendler announced their split but its hard to say when exactly the couple called it quits. The same month, he was reported to be dating Munn. In Nov 2021, six months after Tendler and Mulaney’s split was confirmed, he and Munn welcomed a son.
Irina Shayk & Bradley Cooper
Another double rebound was with Irina Shayk and Bradley Cooper. For those who don’t know, Shayk dated Cristiano Ronaldo for nearly five years, from May 2010 to Jan 2015. Three months later, she and Cooper started to date, in April 2015. And as for Cooper, he was dating Suki Waterhouse from Feb 2013 to March 2015. The following month, Cooper was seen with Shayk.
Ricky Álvarez & Ariana Grande
Two months after Big Sean and Ariana Grande broke up, Grande started dating her backup dancer Ricky Álvarez, who she stayed with from June 2015 to July 2016.
Pete Davidson & Madelyn Cline
While many thought Chase Sui Wonders and Pete Davidson would go the distance, their romance only lasted from Dec 2022 to Aug 2023. Only a month later, Davidson started dating Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline in Sep 2023 (but in July 2024, they split up).
Emily Ratajkowski & Pete Davidson
During Emily Ratajkowski’s iconic single girl era in 2022 to 2023, she was coming off her divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard, with whom she was with from Feb 2018 to July 2022. Four months later, she was seen smooching with Pete Davidson, and they dated from Nov to Dec 2022.
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