"The Highly Publicized Thing Made Me Uncomfortable": 13 Celebrities Who Dated Other Celebrities Before They Were Super Famous
Running into your high school ex at the grocery store might be awkward, but imagine crossing paths with them at the Grammys!
Here are 13 celebs you didn't know dated other famous people when they were teenagers:
1.Harry Styles and former Little Mix member JADE "went on like one date" when they were about 16. It was around the time he was put in One Direction on The X Factor. They "kept in touch" until he ghosted her.
Neilson Barnard / Getty Images for The Recording Academy, Neil Mockford / WireImage / Via Getty
In 2025, Jade told The Louis Theroux Podcast, "Then the minute they went on live shows, he didn't message me back, and I thought, 'That's it now, he's gone, he's made it.' And then I made it [on The X Factor] the next year, and then I saw him in the room after, and he was like, 'I'm really sorry that I ignored you.'..I was so young, it didn't really matter. But he was always very, very lovely."
2.Jack Antonoff and Scarlett Johannson, who were classmates at the Professional Children's School in NYC, reportedly dated when they were 17 and went to prom together.
Jack seemingly sings about their relationship in his former band Steel Train's 2005 track "Better Love." The lyrics include, "Scars are in her name and she scars me in blame. Hey Scarlett, you're not the same."
3.During their time at LaGuardia High School in New York, Timothée Chalamet was Lourdes Leon's "first boyfriend."
Mondadori Portfolio / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images, Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic
In 2021, she told Vanity Fair, "I respect him a lot. We were a little item."
4.When they were 17, Brandy and Kobe Bryant met at the 1996 Essence Awards. Soon after, he asked her to prom.
In 1996, Brandy told the New York Daily News, "He asked me to go to the prom with him, and since he was a nice guy…I asked my mom, and she said yes."
In 2020, Ashley Pietropaolo, Kobe's high school classmate, told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "We were in English class together, and he had one of those teen magazines, and it had a picture of Brandy because she was on that show, Moesha. He showed me, and he said, 'I'm gonna bring this girl to prom.' And I was like, 'Whatever, you're crazy.' Every day, he would be like, 'I'm bringing this girl to prom.'"
5.When they were both about 15, Aubrey Plaza was John Gallagher Jr.'s first girlfriend.
In 2012, he told Vulture, "We grew up together in Delaware; she's from Wilmington as well. We did community theater together, and yeah, we had quite the young love for a while. We still keep in touch. I still see her whenever I can, whenever I'm in LA or when she's in New York. We go way back. Our families are close. It's great. You don't always end up keeping in touch with those first loves."
6.Sabrina Carpenter dated fellow Disney Channel star Bradley Steven Perry "from about 14 to 16." They met because her show, Girl Meets World, filmed next-door to his show, Mighty Med. She was his first girlfriend.
Taylor Hill / WireImage / Via Getty, Sarah Morris / Getty Images
On a 2024 episode of The Unplanned Podcast, Bradley said, "We dated when we were so young, you know. It was just like a little high school relationship, you know, when we were working....She's unbelievably talented. She always has been."
He also said that he "always kinda knew" she was someone who'd make it big because she was "hardworking" and "very, very talented."
7.Kylie Jenner and Cody Simpson reportedly dated when they were 14.
In 2014, he joked about their split, telling Hello Ross, "No, the whole K-O-D-Y thing didn’t really work out for me."
8.Gigi Hadid and Cody Simpson began a two-year on-and-off-again relationship when they were about 18 and 16.
In 2014, she starred in his "Surfboard" music video. Cody told Us Weekly, "I try to keep my personal life and my public life separate, but I was like, ‘Why not kind of mix the two?' It’s gonna be a kind of sexy video, so I want to get something that’s just, like, natural chemistry…We had a couple kisses on camera and stuff, and they honestly had to tell us to stop after they cut."
After their breakup, he told DuJour, "I love my ex-girlfriend, I always will. It was an amicable, mutual decision, and we still talk every now and then, but the highly publicized thing made me uncomfortable. Going out to dinner and there being all this paparazzi and stuff…. as soon as we split I had the realization that I was straying away from who I was as a whole person. I want to keep it low key, and focus on my music."
9.When AJ Michalka was 15, she dated then-17-year-old Joe Jonas for over a year. They met when her band, Aly & AJ, opened for his band, the Jonas Brothers.
In 2025, she told the podcast Call Her Daddy that Joe was her first kiss, which happened at a bowling alley.
She said, "It was so innocent."
10.Starting when they were 15 and 16, Olivia Rodrigo dated her Bizaardvark costar Ethan Wacker for a little over a year.
In a since-deleted Instagram post from January 2019, Ethan reportedly confirmed their relationship in a caption addressed to Olivia, writing, "Happy 6 months! You are the greatest."
11.When Big Time Rush's Kendall Schmidt was 13, he went on his very first date with then-15-year-old Lucy Hale.
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic / Via Getty, River Callaway / Variety via Getty Images
In 2012, he told Popstar!, "I took her horseback riding [in] Griffith Park. It went well enough that we're friends still."
12.13: The Musical on Broadway costars Ariana Grande and Graham Phillips reportedly dated from ages 15-18.
They seemingly remained friends. They were spotted hanging out in 2016 and in 2019.
13.And finally, before Lance Bass was out as gay, he dated Danielle Fishel in high school. They attended her prom together.
On a 2020 episode of The Daily POPCast With Lance Bass, he told her, "Of course, we bonded immediately [after meeting at an event] and you know, fell in love immediately. I don't know if I've told you the story about the next day, after I met you.
I remember being in a hotel room, and me and Justin Timberlake were sharing a room for some reason and I remember...I had to leave the first voicemail for you so I got your number and I swear it took me about 45 minutes to figure out exactly what to say, so I didn't sound too, like, 'I'm trying too hard.'"
Which young love surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments!