Did These On-Screen Lovers Date In Real Life?

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We root for our favorite couples from our favorite television shows. We fall in love with the ones who fall in love in romantic films. We idolize on-screen relationships and seek to find that kind of love for ourselves.

When the lights go down and the cameras stop rolling, though, how many of these couples keep kissing? How many of them take their steamy scenes back home? How many of them dated, hooked up and even got married and had children in real life? Fans may have hoped that couples like Rory and Jess from “Gilmore Girls” or Jim and Pam from “The Office” realistically ended up together, and rumors flew that co-stars like Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny from “The X-Files” did date (and are flying that Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse of “Riverdale” are an item!), so decide what is truth and what is fiction.

From Disney stars and power couples from popular teen dramas and comedy shows to the men and women behind some of the world’s most classic movies about love, this quiz contains 25 on-screen couples - but did they date in real life? Were cast members on “Friends” more than friends? Did characters from “Lost” get lost in each other’s eyes off screen? Did two star-crossed stars become a real-life Romeo and Juliet? Did a certain couple from “Glee” find glee in each other outside of work? Find out! For each couple, check “YES” if they did in fact date, or check “NO” if the romance between them was only an acting gig.

Question 1

Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling

This gorgeous gal and marvelous man fell in love in “The Notebook” as Allie and Noah. As mentioned on past questions, there are times when these types of people come together and realize they are meant to be. Did that happen for these two attractive, successful, famous, talented people? Furthermore, when a couple is that convincing on the big screen, fans start to hope and wonder if similar activities are going down in real life...and if the world is about to be blessed with offspring as fabulous as their new parents. Were they?

Question 2

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron

These two met while filming “High School Musical” in 2005, and they went on to star in all three HSM movies together as Gabriella and Troy, high school students who bonded over their love for music. In the third film, the couple graduated, went off to California together and continued loving music and each other - something they had been doing through Disney movies for years - but what about in real life? Were Hudgens and Efron singing praises to each other outside of HSM?

Question 3

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan

Were things as steamy in real life as on the big screen for these “Fifty Shades Of Grey” stars? In another book-based film series, Johnson and Dornan played Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey; their relationship started as a student interviewing a wealthy entrepreneur, but Christian saw something in her, and before we knew it, there were whips and handcuffs and blindfolds being used. But that was only in the movies, right? These two didn't date in real life, did they?

Question 4

Evangeline Lilly and Dominic Monaghan

On “Lost”, Kate couldn’t ever decide between Jack or Sawyer...but what if she ended up with Charlie? While stuck on The Island, several characters found themselves in romantic situations, whether they were bored and just looking for someone to hang out with or were called to a true soulmate by the forces at work. Surely, off camera, several of the actors/actresses found themselves in romantic relationships, too, since they were working together intimately, day in and day out, year after year. What about these two?

Question 5

Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze

In 1987, they danced into our hearts in “Dirty Dancing”...but did they dance together in real life? The story of Johnny and Baby is so beloved that a remake even came along in 2017, in the form of a made-for-television ABC film. Furthermore, Grey and Swayze had to have a great deal of chemistry to be able to dance together and fall in love. Did the chemistry come naturally to them (in and out of acting), or are these two just examples of a really talented actress and really talented actor?

Question 6

Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth

The greatest “Sex & The City” stories involved Carrie and Big. Everyone knows that Carrie had a colorful dating life before ending up with "Mr. Big" John James Preston, and everyone knows that in reality, Parker is married to Matthew Broderick, she has been since 1997, and she has three children with him. Perhaps there was a brief moment, though, when Parker and Noth pretended to be Carrie and Big, bringing some of that big, romantic, New York love to their everyday lives?

Question 7

Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody

Everyone wants their favorite show’s favorite couple to end up together. Did “The O.C.” fulfill wishes of an off-screen romance? Like many other teen dramas, this show focused on the loves and lives of attractive young people in cool, dramatic settings. Summer Roberts (Bilson) and Seth Cohen (Brody) dated for the majority of their high school careers, and, when senior year rolled around, they wondered if they could make long distance work. A happily ever after came about, though, and the two wed on the show. What about outside of the show?

Question 8

Blake Lively and Penn Badgley

Imagine the Upper East Side’s “it” girl actually ending up with THE Gossip Girl… “Gossip Girl” was another drama-filled series - this one focusing on an elite group in Manhattan and the online blogger who dished out everyone’s secrets. Everyone dated everyone in this show, but Badgley’s character, Dan, had always had a crush on Lively’s, Serena. His hard work payed off, as the two were married in the finale. Did Badgley work as hard to snag Lively, joining other in-love co-stars (since Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick dated, Taylor Momsen and Chace Crawford were apparently caught sneaking kisses, and even Kelly Rutherford & Matthew Settle dubbed themselves Settleford!)?

Question 9

Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray

These young co-stars met on the set of “One Tree Hill” in 2003, and they played on-again, off-again lovers until 2012. The show focused on Lucas Scott (Murray’s character), his high school basketball days and his love triangle involving Brooke (played by Bush) and Peyton (but - *spoiler alert* - he ends up with Peyton). Of course, certain fans wanted Lucas to end up with a certain woman, but in the end, when the series jumped over four years into the future, most everyone was satisfied with the all-around happy endings. Did these happy endings replicate themselves in Bush’s and Murray’s actual lives?

Question 10

Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki

Was there a “big bang” for Cuoco and Galecki? Fans would love it if The Geek ended up with the Dumb Blonde, and the writers of “The Big Bang Theory” toyed around with this idea until Season 9 when they went all in, and these characters, Penny and Leonard, were married! A self-proclaimed geek, Leonard was the one who was at least willing to try new things and served as the leader of the group. Penny, being the only female friend, probably liked that about him. As one of the only females on the show, too, Cuoco could have found other traits she admired in Galecki.

Question 11

Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio

Shakespeare’s greatest tale was brought to life through these two on-screen, star-crossed lovers. Danes is known for shows such as “Homeland” and “My So-Called Life”, while DiCaprio is one of the most renowned actors out there. Anyone who had been living under a rock, though, definitely knew their names in 1996, when they starred together in “Romeo + Juliet”. It’s possible that playing the most famous couple in history could have led to true love for the young actor and even younger actress. Right?

Question 12

Linda Cardellini and Jason Segel

“Freaks and Geeks” was a short-lived series, and these two co-starred with James Franco, Seth Rogen and Busy Phillipps in the show’s 12 episodes, which told how mathlete Lindsay (Cardellini) started hanging out with the freaks in school - a group that included Nick (played by Segel). While romantic relationships definitely weren’t the primary focus of the series, Nick and Lindsay did have some soft and loving moments while hanging out in/after school, and we wonder if Cardellini and Segel did, too.

Question 13

Julia Roberts and Richard Gere

These two starred together in "Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride". Did they date, too? These two are two of the biggest names in Hollywood, and it would make sense that two rich, attractive, successful people - people who starred in two hit romantic-comedy films together - may end up together. Again, a great deal of chemistry was seen and put forth here, and the fact that Roberts and Gere came back to work together again makes it even more plausible that an off-screen romance was happening. So was it?

Question 14

Eva Mendes and Will Smith

In 2005, we learned how to succeed in dating, as Smith’s character, Alex “Hitch” Hitchens, fell for Mendes’ character, Sara Melas - who turned out to be a tabloid reporter, which is why Hitch was having some trouble landing the girl (a problem he never had, as a dating/love guru). Now, Smith has been married to Jada Pinkett Smith since 1997, but with recent rumors surrounding the couple, we have to ask if Mendes and Smith dated or hooked up.

Question 15

Alexis Bledel and Milo Ventimiglia

Whether Team Dean or Team Jess, it has to be asked: Did these two date in real life? This one is totally believable, since, on the show, good girl Rory had always been with good guy Dean, her high school boyfriend. When Jess showed up, though, there was a new look in her eyes. They say opposites attract, and we can see that being true for these two and their characters, as they bonded over reading, coffee and classic movies. Plus, playing a couple for so long on TV - especially a couple with so much drama, passion and excitement - would have to start leaking into normal life...Right?

Question 16

Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson

Team Edward fans definitely rooted for this relationship. Did dreams come true and result in real-life love? In the “Twilight” movies, which are based on a book series by Stephenie Meyer, young Bella (Stewart) falls in love with a mysterious, attractive young man (Pattinson)...who just happens to be a vampire. He tries to warn her that a relationship won’t work, but she thought it was worth the risk. She even had him bite her so she could live with him and love him for all eternity. Did she want that in reality, too?

Question 17

Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski

Jim and Pam make up the cutest couple on "The Office" - and beyond?! Over the course of nine seasons, Jim and Pam fell in love, got married, had children and continued seeing success in work, in life and went it came to pranking Dwight. We have mentioned that on-screen chemistry before, and we definitely saw it in Fischer and Krasinski, as they made fans laugh, cry, feel and laugh some more. Did we see that chemistry between them off the show, too?

Question 18

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Sr.

On “I Love Lucy”, they had a fun-loving marriage. What about in real life? It was, at times, hard to separate reality and fiction with this show, since Lucille Ball played Lucy, and Desi Arnaz played her husband, Ricky Ricardo. The two were performers in real life and on the show (though, in "I Love Lucy", Lucy's performances usually ended with her in trouble). They even went on to star in "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”. So they must have had something going on! Right?

Question 19

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny

As FBI Special Agents, Fox Mulder (Duchovny) believed in aliens, paranormal activities and the unknown, while Dana Scully (Anderson) was a doctor, causing her to be more skeptical, scientific and realistic. They even came back for a feature film, a sequel film and a tenth-season revival (that was already renewed for another season, meaning 10 more episodes in the 17-18 TV season) in 2016, which showed that their characters had a child together! On “The X-Files”, these two were a dynamic duo. What about in real life?

Question 20

Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder

Fans adored watching these two on “The Vampire Diaries”, which told the tale of Elena Gilbert (Dobrev); she fell in love with a 162-year-old vampire...but then met and fell for that vampire’s older brother, Damon Salvatore (Somerhalder), who showed up to bring back Katherine Pierce - a vampire who looked exactly like Elena. Simple story, yeah? Maybe these stars found falling in real love to be a simpler task? After all, they did film some sexy scenes over the course of eight seasons.

Question 21

Naya Rivera and Mark Salling

Santana and Puck dated on “Glee”, so maybe the actress and actor behind these characters dated, too…? Rivera did just have a child, Salling was just charged with receiving and possessing child pornography, and Rivera did address the child pornography charges in her recent book. Before the baby, though, and before the charges...back when “Glee” had just premiered in 2009, when these two were singing, dancing and starring as students with big attitudes...maybe that’s when these two could have been together?

Question 22

Elizabeth Moss and Jon Hamm

They worked together on "Mad Men" from 2007 to 2015. Peggy's character worked for Don's, starting as a secretary and moving up to copy chief at the advertising firm on the show. While she had a string of lovers, none of them were Mr. Draper himself. Jon Hamm was with actress Jennifer Westfeldt for years and years, and the two recently called it quits. Was it because of Hamm and Moss? Did they turn to each other since their characters were always in scenes together - yet never in a romantic way?

Question 23

Maureen McCormick and Barry Williams

These two were the oldest siblings on “The Brady Bunch”. Were they ever more? The two were clearly the cutest children (IMO). They served as role models and leaders, at home and in school. Filming a weekly comedy series probably put the actress and actor in a lot of interesting situations together. And since they were young, they were curious - and it’s not like they had tons of free time to go out and meet others their age! It may have been strange, since they did play brother and sister, but this match could have really worked.

Question 24

Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer

For 10 seasons, these two made up part of the gang on “Friends” by playing Phoebe and Ross. They even kissed on the show! Also on the show...Rachel dated Joey and ended up with Ross. Monica married and had children with Chandler. And Phoebe also kissed Chandler, Joey and Rachel, alluded to liking Joey as more than a friend and was the only one in the group who didn’t officially date or marry someone else in the group. Perhaps this was because she was being fulfilled behind the scenes?

Question 25

Debra Messing and Eric McCormack

A final episode aired in 2006, but these two will be back soon for a reboot of "Will & Grace"! Though McCormack’s character was gay, other characters often pointed out that Will and Grace acted more like a married couple than just old friends-turned-roommates. The two heavily relied on each other and even considered having a baby together. Just as some viewers rooted for Messing’s and McCormack’s characters to get together, some took it further and hoped they would be dating in real life. Were they?

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