Couple goals: Five celebrity relationships that make us believe in fairy tale endings
From
tying the knot after a few months of dating to standing by each other’s side
for 10 plus years, these celebrity love stories are inspiring.
With so many celebrity couples getting a divorce these days, we wouldn’t be surprised if Hollywood is renamed ‘Splitsville’ someday.
With almost 50% of marriages ending in divorce or separation in America, calling it quits has become the norm.
Celebrity couples don’t fare any better. Studies have shown that 40% of stars get a divorce within 10 years of marriage.
Some of the shortest-lived celebrity marriages include Nicolas Cage and Erika Koike’s four-day marriage.
Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman (nine days), Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries (72 Days), and Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd (eight months) also hold records nobody ever wants to hold.
It’s always a breath of fresh air to see couples who are not only madly in love but make us believe in fairy tale endings.
ALSO READ: Amanda du-Pont and Shawn Rodriques finalise divorce
Here’s a look at some of our favourite celebrity couples.
Basetsana and Romeo Kumalo
Former Miss South Africa Basetsana Kumalo (née Makgalemele) and her husband Romeo Kumalo celebrated 22 years of marriage in December. The pair are one of South Africa’s most loved couples. They started dating in 1997 and have three children together.
The secret to their happy marriage is keeping their personal life private. They are also each other’s biggest supporters. Bassie, as her friends and family call her, cheered Romeo on at the 2022 Comrades Marathon. She raced from one spot to the next to make sure she captures her husband’s journey from start to finish.
“Congratulations my love….9hr53! You are simply AMAZING! Well done to you! No mean feat! I am finished from running the whole day!” she wrote in August last year.
ALSO READ: Basetsana Kumalo's advice on how your purpose defines your life
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
A couple that laughs together, stays together. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively are known to make fun of each other on social media.
“We don’t take each other too seriously, but we’re also friends. Falling in love is great, but do you like each other? That’s kinda the question you gotta ask yourself, you know, going into it. We’ve always liked each other. We grow together. We learn from each other,” Ryan told Entertainment Tonight in 2021.
Ryan met Blake in 2010 while shooting the ‘Green Lantern’ but they only started dating in 2011. They tied the knot in 2012 and have three children together with one more on the way!
Ryan paid tribute to his wife and their daughters at the People’s Choice Awards in December.
“Blake and my girls, you are quite literally my heart. You are my hope, you are my happiness. I joke that my family exhaust me, but in reality, you give me more strength than any man could possibly deserve.”
ALSO READ: WATCH: Darren Maule breaks down the significance of Blake Lively's #METGala dress!
Connie and Shona Ferguson
Connie and Shona Ferguson’s love story has inspired many people. The couple met by chance in 2001 after Shona dropped off someone at her house. A few months later, they were walking down the aisle. They were joined at the hip and even started a business together – a production company called Ferguson Films.
They were married for 19 years before Shona passed away from COVID-19-related complications in July 2021. Connie celebrated what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary four months later on November 30.
“This day 20 years ago. Four months without you Sho. Today I’m not okay….” She wrote.
The ‘Kings of Jo'Burg’ actress also remembered her soulmate in November last year.
“This day 21 years ago. Tomorrow never came for my bestest friend, but I know how much he loved me. There’s a great comfort that comes with that, knowing just how happy you made someone in this lifetime, and how happy they made you. True love never dies, and I carry this love with me in my heart and soul for eternity. Thank you for the beautiful everlasting love and memories my ANGEL SHO.”
ALSO READ: Watch: Connie Ferguson shares moving birthday video of her late husband
Liesl Laurie and Dr Musa Mthombeni
Dr Musa Mthombeni is proof that nice guys don’t always finish last or end up in the friend zone. He bagged his dream girl – a former Miss South Africa nogal – after sliding into her DMs on Instagram.
He met Liesl Laurie online after gushing over a picture one of his friends shared of her on Instagram in 2020. They kept their relationship a secret until Musa popped the question in June 2021.
Musa, who is a qualified doctor, officially paid Liesl’s lobola in July that year. Their white wedding followed in August. Not a day goes by without Musa reminding his wife of how much he loves her.
They might be new to this marriage thing but if any couple makes it to 100 years of marriage, it will surely be them!
ALSO READ: Dr Musa Mthombeni jokes he wants to be a "househusband"
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Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham
Oprah and Stedman are proof that you don’t need a piece of paper to have your happily ever after. The pair started dating in 1986 after visiting a mutual friend who was sick. They got engaged six years later but did not get married as planned. They opted for a “spiritual partnership”.
“In 1993, the moment after I said yes to his proposal, I had doubts. I realized I didn’t actually want a marriage. I wanted to be asked. I wanted to know he felt I was worthy of being his missus, but I didn’t want the sacrifices, the compromises, the day-in-day-out commitment required to make a marriage work. My life with the show was my priority, and we both knew it,” Oprah said in a letter she wrote for her magazine.
She says the relationship would not have worked if they got married.
“Our relationship works because he created an identity beyond being ‘Oprah's man’.”
Main image credit: Instagram/@basetsanakumalo
Main image credit: Instagram/@ drmusamthombeni