You know that thing about never dating a coworker?
Yeah, that’s solid advice for a reason. What happens when you have a fight or break up and things get ugly? Or you simply drift apart?
Things get awkward for everyone.
But sometimes people just don’t care. Attractions cannot be overcome. Some magnetic sorcery takes over and suddenly, BAM! Coupledom.
That’s what happened for 33 TV couples who dated in real life. Well, something like that happened, and it makes sense to a degree.
Two people working in the same industry and/or the same environment day in and day out are bound to have a great deal in common.
It makes for easy pickings. And sometimes leads to even more ultra hot on-screen chemistry than before. (Looking at you, Nian!)
Some of the celebrity couples listed in this sexy gallery worked out and are still together. Others? Well, they weren’t so lucky.
It turns out two people need more than just a shared workspace to stick together for the long haul. Just ask some of them …
Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki
Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecky play The Big Bang Theory’s longest-running couple, Penny and Leonard, but not many people knew that the two were secretly dating for nearly THREE YEARS. Kaley is now married to Ryan Sweeting, but she and her co-star are still good friends.
Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev
The Vampire Diaries fandom STILL wants Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder to find their way back to one another despite the fact that Ian is now married to Nikki Reed and Nina Dobrev has left the show. Delena forever. Nian for never.
Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols
Sophia Bush has a thing for dating co-stars. Not only did she date and marry one co-star, after that marriage was annulled, Bush teamed up with Austin Nichols onscreen and off. These two dated in the time of Twitter and could be found sending cute little tweets back and forth before breaking up. They (seem to) remain friends. We’re sure she congratulated him on his probably impending death as a newcomer on The Walking Dead Season 6.
Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin
Once Upon a Time’s Charming and Snow, Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas are another on-screen couple who’ve hooked up behind the camera. And by hooking up we mean these two have decided they’re in it for the long haul. They’re married AND they have a baby, Oliver Finley.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher didn’t date while they were playing on-screen couple Kelso and Jackie on That 70s Show, and maybe that’s why they’re one of the most adorable couples in Hollywood right now. They grew as people and then found their way back to one another after he ditched Demi (or maybe he ditched Demi FOR Mila…)
Will Arnett and Amy Poehler
Will Arnett and Amy Poehler weren’t really together on Parks and Rec so much as they had a really uncomfortable, really awkward blind date complete with unnecessary medical procedures and rampant sexual innuendo. It’s no surprise that Leslie Knope said NOPE to Chris.
Sebastian Stan and Leighton Meester
Leighton Meester and Sebastian Stan were but one Gossip Girl couple to make the leap from fictional couple to real one. Their relationship didn’t work out, however, and she soon found herself in the arms of one Adam Brody. (And Seth and Summer forever fans hated her.)
Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody
SETH AND SUMMER FOREVER!!!!!!1111!!!! No, but really, Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson were adorable on The O.C. and fans everywhere rejoiced when–spoiler alert–they got a happily ever after in the series finale. They may not have stayed together in real life, but we’ll always have California.
Penn Badgley and Blake Lively
Blake Lively definitely traded up when she and Penn Badgley parted ways. Ryan Reynolds > Penn Badgley. Times one million. (Seriously. Penn Badgley. Does your face make any look besides that one?)
Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna
Harry Hamlin and Lisa Rinna are one of Hollywood’s longest-running couples, having been together for ALMOST 20 years. (Seriously. Twenty years is a lifetime in Hollywood.) They played married couple Aaron and Lynn Echolls, parents of one Logan Echolls, on Veronica Mars. Thankfully their real marriage has worked out way better than that one.
Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin
Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin met in the fictional version of Bon Temps, Louisiana while starring together in True Blood. Paquin’s Sookie fell in love with Vampire Bill. Their on-screen chemistry bled into their real lives.
Evan Peters and Emma Roberts
Evan Peters and Emma Roberts met while filming and indie flick, but they were both seeing other people. They dated briefly, but things really kicked up when Roberts joined the cast of American Horror Story: Coven. She played Madison Montgomery and he played a Frankenstein’s monster she put back together with magic. This couple has been all over the place, from domestic violence calls to public make-out sessions.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos
While she’s now known for being one half of the morning show Live with Kelly and Michael, once upon a time Kelly Ripa was a soap star on All My Children. That’s where she met her hot hunk of a husband Mark Consuelos. Now they ride her coattails and he gets to sit back and look good.
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag
The world has Kristen Cavallari to thank for the couple known as Speidi. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag met while filming The Hills, which was *supposed* to be “reality” TV, but hahahahhaha. No. Try again. Heidi and Spencer have been through about a million plastic surgeries and bankruptcy and they’re still together. Probably because no one else would have them, but hey. There’s someone for everyone, right?
Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere
Okay, so Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere weren’t an on-screen couple on Heroes. (He was her uncle, unbeknownst to her for most of her life.) But that didn’t stop fans from wishing there would be a loophole which would allow these two to get together on screen like they were in real life. (Though some suggested they were just pretending to date to drum up support for Heroes…)
Milo Ventimiglia and Alexis Bledel
Milo Ventimiglia is one actor who doesn’t seem to have an issue dating his coworkers. Gilmore Girls’ Jess and Rory were a real-life couple thanks to Milo and his costar Alexis Bledel.
Vincent Kartheiser and Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel has a serious thing for dating co-stars.
Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q
A relatively new couple, Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q got together on the set of Stalker, and while McDermott’s character on the show is only a recurring one, he’s gunning to be a permanent fixture in Maggie’s life. The pair got engaged in January, but no date has been set. As far as we know.
Emily VanCamp and Joshua Bowman
Emily VanCamp and Joshua Bowman met on Revenge where they played Emily and Daniel. She targeted him to take down his family and eventually fell for him before breaking his heart. Then he died literally in her arms. (But that was after he tried to kill her.) Thankfully, their real-life relationship isn’t fraught with so much drama.
Nick Zano and Kat Dennings
Nick Zano’s role on 2 Broke Girls wasn’t a permanent one, but the one he did play paired him with star Kat Dennings. They’re no longer together and she’s moved on to…Josh Groban. Yeah, can’t say we saw that one coming either.
Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Morrison
Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Morrison met while filming the pilot of House. Eventually, their characters got together for a series of casual hookups before becoming a serious on-screen couple. Off-screen the two were engaged, but only their fictional characters made it down the aisle. (And later divorced. And then had one last romp in an unused exam room in the hospital.)
Jennifer Garner and Scott Foley
While Scott Foley was playing one leg of a Ben-Felicity-Noel triangle, Jennifer Garner appeared on the series as his new love interest. The two then got married in real life, and things were going great until…
Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan
Michael Vartan showed up on Alias and Jennifer Garner left her husband Scott Foley for him. (WHO LEAVES SCOTT FOLEY!?!?) Their relationship ultimately didn’t work out and she moved on to Ben Affleck (whom she met while filming a movie…), but now that they’re both on the market again, the rumormill is churning with reports that Jennifer and Michael are back together again.
Keri Russell and Scott Speedman
Keri Russell and Scott Speedman sparked a fandom as Felicity and Ben. And sparks flew between them in real life as the costars dated while Felicity aired. They dated from 2000 to 2001. He is, adorably, still in her speed dial.
Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie
Fans of Game of Thrones are eagerly waiting to see if Jon Snow is REALLY dead or how Kit Harrington will be appearing in the series’ upcoming season. But maybe he isn’t coming back. Maybe Harrington is on set with Rose Leslie, his girlfriend, since they seem to be back on after a brief breakup earlier this year.
Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush
Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush dated and married during the early seasons of One Tree Hill, but their marriage didn’t last long. It was annulled after only five months. The two continued working together for several seasons, but things were never the same between them after that.
Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini
FREAKS AND GEEKS! Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini dated while filming the short-lived but critically acclaimed Freaks and Geeks. It is rumored that their relationship and breakup was the impetus for his nude scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Blake Jenner and Melissa Benoist
Sweetheart Blake Jenner had no idea that auditioning for a guest spot on Glee via The Glee Project would literally change his entire life. He met now-wife Melissa Benoist while starring as Ryder Lynn on the now-canceled musical comedy.
Jerry Ferrara and Jamie Lynn Sigler
Jamie Lynn Sigler showed up on Entourage as herself and ended up playing a love interest for Jerry Ferrara’s Turtle. Little did they know love would bloom in real life.
Tea Leoni and Tim Daly
Madam Secretary’s Tea Leoni is dating her on-screen husband. Tim Daly plays the man beside one of the most powerful women in the world on Madam Secretary, but in real life we’re pretty sure the pair is on an even field.
Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson
Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson weren’t TOO public about the fact that they dated while filming Dawson’s Creek, but it wasn’t a secret either, especially not for super fans and shippers. Too bad Katie and Joshua didn’t work out the way Joey and Pacey did.
Mark Salling and Naya Rivera
Puck and Santana didn’t so much date on Glee as much as they just hooked up. A lot. His heart belonged to Quinn (and every other girl at William McKinley High School) and she became one half of Brittana, one of the show’s most beloved couples. In real life, Mark Salling and Naya Rivera gave it a whirl, too.
Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens
So High School Musical WAS a movie, but it was a TV movie, okay? Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens portrayed high school romance on screen and off. That is, until Vanessa Hudgens’ nude pics to Zac were “leaked” to the Internet.