It’s always surprising to hear about celebrity couples with major age gaps — but what’s even more shocking is how young some stars were when they met their future partners. Reddit user u/phantom_avenger recently started a thread to share celebrities who were underage when they first crossed paths with their much-older partners, and I literally had to do a double-take at some of these stories. Here are 16 celebrity couples who met their partners wayyyyy earlier than you’d ever expect:
1.
First up, singer Celine Dion. She met her late husband, Rene Angelil, when she was 12 and he was 38.
2.
French President Emmanuel Macron met his wife, Brigitte Macron, when he was 15 and she was 39.
3.
Speaking of politicians with large age-gap relationships, Pierre Trudeau was 47 years old when he met Margaret Sinclair, who was 18 at the time.
After their marriage, the “wild child” First Lady’s social life became a huge point of controversy. She was frequently photographed partying at Studio 54, the iconic New York City discotheque, and specifically drew criticism for doing so during the 1979 election that her husband went on to lose.
4.
Victorious actress Elizabeth Gillies met her husband, Michael Corcoran, when she was 16 and he was 38.
Gillies and Corcoran have been happily married since 2020.
5.
Late R&B Singer Aaliyah was 12 when she met R. Kelly, who was 25 at the time.
R.Kelly was the producer of Aaliyah’s debut album, Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number — a title that reads much differently in hindsight.
6.
Kylie Jenner met rapper Tyga when she was 14 and he was 21.
7.
Filmmaker Woody Allen met his now-wife, Soon-Yi Previn, when she was 10 and he was in his 40s.
8.
When husband and wife singing duo Sonny and Cher first met, she was 16 and he was 27.
9.
When Elvis Presley met his future wife, Priscilla Presley, she was 14 and he was 24.
Their relationship was dramatized in Sofia Copolla’s movie, Priscilla, with Cailee Spaeny playing the role of Priscilla Presley and Jacob Elordi playing Elvis.
10.
Actor Wilmer Valderrama was 29 when he met 17-year-old singer Demi Lovato, and they began dating when she turned 18.
11.
In 1993, then 39-year-old Jerry Seinfeld dated 17-year-old Shoshanna Lonstein.
12.
Actress Lita Grey was only 6 years old when she met filmmaker Charlie Chaplin at a Hollywood cafe.
13.
Dancing With The Stars professionals Pasha Pashkov and Daniella Karagach first met through their dance coach when he was 23 and she was 15.
14.
Rock-and-roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis was 22 years old when he married his 13-year-old cousin, Myra Gale Brown.
15.
Late One Direction member Liam Payne was 14 when he auditioned for X Factor and met judge Cheryl Cole, who was 10 years his senior and would later become the mother of his child.
16.
And finally, many people don’t know about the fling Fergie and Justin Timberlake had in the 1990s when she was 23 and he was 16.
Well, that was a rollercoaster. Which of these surprised you most? Did we forget any celebs who met their partners at an eyebrow-raising age? Let us know in the comments.
