Relationships are a ton of work and can often be messy. It isn't unheard of for couples to break up and get back together repeatedly, but it's much rarer for those relationships to actually go the distance and end in happily ever after.
Here are 15 celebrity couples who have broken up, rekindled their romance, and are now going strong!
The "So What" singer and her now-husband Carey Hart had a tumultuous relationship in the beginning. After breaking up in 2008 without formally divorcing, they began dating again in 2009. The pair then welcomed a daughter in 2011 and a son in 2016.
As you might've heard, Ben Stiller and Christina Taylor are back together as of early this year and seemingly happier than ever. The pair initially split in 2017 after spending more than 17 years together. Fortunately, they've circled back to each other!
"Over the course of time, it evolved," Stiller told Esquire. "We were separated and got back together and we're happy about that."
In September 2021, Miguel and Nazanin Mandi released a statement, revealing their decision to split after 17 years together — the pair dated for a decade before tying the knot in 2018. Thankfully, just a few months after their split, the pair were back together, on a romantic winter getaway in Utah.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos unexpectedly tied the knot in 1996, but Ripa later revealed that right before their nontraditional nuptials, the pair briefly broke up.
"Right before we got married, we broke up," she said. "We broke up and we got back together the day before we went off and eloped. Yeah, we eloped. We went to Vegas and got married."
Gabrielle Union and Dwayne Wade began dating in 2009, but split in 2013. It didn't take long, however, for the couple to reconcile their differences, because they announced their engagement later that year and tied the knot in September 2014.
"We kind of took a step back," Wade said. "We supported each other, but we took a step back for a little while. At the end of day, we came back together and said, 'Listen, we want to continue this. We want to try to continue to get better each day.'"
Patrick and Jillian Dempsey called off their marriage in 2015, but decided to reconcile in 2016.
"You have to work at everything," the former Grey's Anatomy star said of marriage in an interview at the time. "And you cannot do everything. Something has to be sacrificed."
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel briefly called it quits in 2011 after dating for four years. But their break did not last long, as the pair announced their engagement later that year.
While Prince William and Kate Middleton may be one of the most iconic couples of today, they haven't always been as solid as they are now. Four years before their lavish 2011 wedding, the pair briefly broke up and reconciled shortly after.
Winnie Harlow and Kyle Kuzma reportedly split up in August 2021. But just a few months later, the pair were confirmed to be back together, with social media posts to prove it. On Valentine's Day this year, the model referred to her NBA boyfriend as "my Cupid" on Instagram
In June 2020, Ne-Yo opened up about how being forced to spend time with his ex, Crystal Renay, amid the initial pandemic lockdown, allowed them time to work out their differences.
"The whole quarantine thing was kind of a blessing," he said, adding that it "allowed [him] the time to lock back in with" his wife and their two sons.
Sharon Osbourne opened up about her relationship with her husband on The Talk, sharing that the pair had called it quits amid infidelity rumors.
"I forgive," she said. "It's going take a long time to trust, but we've been together 36 years, 34 of marriage ... I just can't think of my life without him."
Adam Levine admitted that after breaking up with Behati Prinsloo and briefly dating another model, he realized that Prinsloo was the one.
"Famous last words, 'I'll never get married,' " Levine said in 2013. "I still don't necessarily think you have to get married unless you meet someone that makes you want to marry them. And then you marry them and it's wonderful."
One of the most iconic couples of the early 2000s, J-Lo and Ben Affleck, called off their engagement in 2004. But here we are 17 years later and the pair are back together, not long after Lopez called off another engagement to her ex, Alex Rodriguez.
Prior to becoming an iconic Hollywood couple, Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell were on the rocks. "We were dating for about three months," Bell revealed. "He sat me down and said, 'I can't have this right now. I think you're wonderful, but I am still dating other people.' And then I, like, liquefied and fell to the ground, but I felt incredibly respected that he had the balls to tell me we weren't in the same place."
Thankfully, Shepard quickly had a change of heart. "'I don't know what I was thinking,'" Bell revealed he said to her. "'I was dating someone else but they're just not as interesting as you, and I don't know what I'm doing.' I still always remind him of when he broke up with me."
