30 Mysteriously Private Famous Couples

These famous couples may include one or both partners in the public eye, but they are incredibly mysterious when it comes to their private life.

30 Mysteriously Private Famous Couples

Just because a person is in the public eye doesn’t mean that the public gets to know everything about them. While some celebrities are more than happy to share intimate details about their significant others, others prefer to keep their private lives extremely secretive.

While these celebrities have different reasons for maintaining their privacy, it seems to be a pretty successful way to allow major stars to lead more grounded lives. And it also allows for them to keep some sense of separation from the imaginative worlds they create and the real world in which they live.

Here are 30 of the most private celebrity couples whose relationships are different mixes of somewhat secretive to calculated public narratives to just downright mysterious.

Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes

Year they met: 2011

Both Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes are household names. But, over the course of their relationship, they’ve rarely left the household together.

Even though they were friends for years, they took their relationship to beyond-friend status while filming "The Place Beyond the Pines." Since then, they’ve been inseparable from each other as well as the incredibly private life they’ve built together.

They’ll occasionally address the relationship, mostly reaffirming that they want to keep details about it quiet and away from the public eye. The couple shares two daughters together. And, while they’re clearly proud partners, they very rarely make red carpet appearances together.

Zach Braff and Florence Pugh

Year they met: 2019

If you don’t actively keep up with Hollywood gossip, you may be surprised to even learn that these two are a thing. They met while collaborating on a short film in early 2019 and quickly sparked dating rumors. But it wasn’t until December 2019 that they confirmed their relationship.

Even with the confirmation, though, the two have yet to make a red carpet debut together. They do occasionally pop up in each other’s social media, however, with gushy and loving pictures with captions that make it clear they adore each other.

Amy Adams and Darren Le Gallo

Year they met: 2001

Amy Adams has been tearing it up on big and small screens alike. And she consistently credits part of her success to the support of her husband and partner of over two decades, Darren Le Gallo.

After meeting in an acting class together in 2001, the pair became inseparable, though they didn’t begin dating until 2002. And their lives have changed a ton in the past two decades. They were together for a long time before getting engaged, often making appearances in public together but keeping details on their relationship tight-lipped.

Before they were officially married, they welcomed their first and only child into the world. Adams’ career began skyrocketing, and Le Gallo has been completely supportive. Though they’re open about their relationship, they rarely share family pictures. And, other than gushing about his ongoing support, Adams doesn’t often speak about her relationship publicly.

Sarah Paulson and Holland Taylor

Year they met: 2015

After meeting at a party while dating other people, they clearly made an impression on one another. Later, when the stars aligned (literally and figuratively), these two were reintroduced and started following each other on Twitter. After a few DMs that led to a dinner date, they quickly became a thing.

And, despite the fact that they consistently walk red carpets together and can be found posting loving tributes on social media to each other, they don’t actually divulge a lot of details about their lives together. They answer questions when asked, but it took them over a year of speculation and being spotted together before they confirmed their relationship.

When asked about any details other than that confirmation, they both consistently say that it’s not anyone’s business but their own.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z

Year they met: 2000

Two of the most public figures in entertainment share one of the most public marriages in music, yet very little is actually known about the relationship between Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

Over the years, people have pieced together that they met first on an airplane to Cancun and would begin quietly dating about a year later. Even though their relationship was public knowledge for years with two major musical collaborations confirming it, they waited until 2004 to walk their first red carpet together. And though they could have had a massive wedding throwdown, thanks to their combined $1.5 billion net worth, they instead had a super secretive and surprise wedding in 2008 that the public only found out about after the fact.

Even when there were rumors of infidelity, a visual album that alluded to it and an angry incident in an elevator, the couple never confirm details. Everything they do on stage together is a clearly crafted public persona, leaving the two people behind the scenes to be almost complete mysteries.

Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden

Year they met: 2014

After having her fair share of public relationships, Cameron Diaz not only quit acting but also quit the love limelight when she met her now-husband Benji Madden.

Madden, who is a rockstar in his own right with the popular band Good Charlotte, has been a calming force for Diaz amongst the Hollywood hustle. They even have a daughter who was born in 2019.

From the beginning, they’ve kept pretty quiet about their relationship by simply confirming it to stop the swirling rumors and giving each other social media shoutouts. Otherwise, they remain pretty low-key and focus any public appearances and interviews on simply complimenting their partner or steering the conversation toward other creative projects.

Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney

Year they met: 2018

Despite being one of the biggest stars on the planet and one of the most recognizable faces in the world, Jennifer Lawrence likes to keep her relationship with her now-husband Cooke Maroney incredibly private.

The superstar actress and art gallerist met through one of their mutual friends, and things escalated quickly. They tied the knot in a quiet and, unsurprisingly, private ceremony in 2019.

Lawrence gushes about him when asked in interviews but otherwise doesn’t share details of their life together. And many fans were shocked to see the star emerge with a prominent baby bump in 2021 while doing publicity for the Netflix film "Don’t Look Up." It’s not shocking to hear that she’s also already protective of her unborn child’s privacy.

Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley

Year they met: 2013

From early on, these two have been incredibly secretive about their relationship. They didn’t even admit to friends that they were dating for so long that, once they found out, there was apparently some uproar.

But everyone learned to accept the happy couple and, more importantly, their ongoing devotion to their privacy. Robbie will talk about their relationship in short stints when asked. And she has shared pictures of her engagement and elements of her relationship on social media, but she seems to have since deleted her Instagram profile.

She talks and jokes about her relationship in interviews, but usually only refers to him as “her husband,” rather than going into any further details.

Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols

Year they met: 2009

Queen Latifah made it a point for years not to discuss her personal life. So, it was a surprise to everyone who knew her that she publicly thanked her partner, dancer Eboni Nichols, during an award show speech in 2021.

The pair likely first met on "Dancing with the Stars" in 2009, though they weren’t publicly discussed as an item until 2013. Because they both have remained so quiet about their relationship, the timelines are often unclear. What is clear, however, is that talking about her partner made Queen Latifah emotional in a way only true love and support can.

Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz

Year they met: 1994

Long before either one of them was a household name, these two actors met in the mid-1990s while, of course, doing a play. But, as life would have it, they went their separate ways and began finding success (and love) elsewhere.

In 2010, they reconnected as Weisz’ marriage was ending and Craig’s engagement was called off. They were married a year later with a very, very small ceremony that consisted of four people in total, their two respective children and a pair of clearly trustworthy friends.

Though the two attend events and will take pictures on the red carpet together, they rarely discuss their relationship. And they even more rarely discuss their child, who they welcomed in 2018, except to say that the baby looks a lot like her father.

Issa Rae and Louis Diame

Year they met: At least 2012

You’ll be hard-pressed to find details about the "Insecure" star’s personal life. And that’s exactly how she wants it. She may be completely open and vulnerable in her show, but she is a closed book in her personal life.

In fact, it’s actually difficult to figure out when she met her husband, Louis Diame, when they officially got engaged and anything about their actual wedding date. He has joined her for the occasional photo op at her various accolades but otherwise stays out of the spotlight (and off the red carpet).

Even when friends in her life confirm certain details, she remains adamantly tight-lipped about almost every aspect of her personal life.

Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn

Year they met: 2016

You may feel like you know Taylor Swift because of the storytelling in her music, but she has been very careful to keep her personal life private in her relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. Since getting together some officially unknown time in 2016, they’ve been both secretive and inseparable — except, of course, when Alwyn is filming a project and Swift is touring the world.

But even with photographers hungry for a picture and people thirsty for the details of their romance, they both keep everything close to the chest. Most of the comments Swift shares are simply that she wants to keep it private. She also shares lyrics that are likely inspired by their love story, but she never confirms.

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester

Year they met: 2011

It’s not often that two teen heartthrobs get together. But it’s even rarer when they not only get married but actually stay together and build a seemingly successful (and private) life. But that’s exactly what Adam Brody and Leighton Meester have accomplished.

The couple was engaged and married shortly after they met. And while there would have been plenty of magazines that would have paid good money for an inside scoop on their wedding, they opted to keep it private. Despite the fact that they share TV and film credits, they consistently make the choice to retain their privacy as much as possible offscreen.

Emma Stone and Dave McCary

Year they met: 2016

It doesn’t seem to matter if she’s dating a big-name star like herself or is married to a lesser-known director, Emma Stone doesn’t care to comment on her personal life at all. She may fly in the Hollywood stratosphere of A-list stars, but she is very much grounded in all other elements of her life. And her husband, Dave McCary, respects that need for privacy.

The two met when Stone hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 2016 and began dating sometime thereafter. Unsurprisingly, the exact details — outside of the fact that they got married in 2020 and welcomed a child in 2021 — are not all that well known. And, if the couple has it their way, that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied

Year they met: 2009

Hollywood stars are somewhat notorious for starting a relationship after finding chemistry onscreen. And that’s exactly what happened with Natalie Portman and her Black Swan costar and choregrapher, Benjamin Millepied. Their romance felt like something of a whirlwind in meeting, being engaged, and becoming parents in a very short span of time. But if it was chaos behind-the-scenes, good or bad, we’ll never know because they remain very private about that element of their lives. While Millepied is almost always by Portman’s side for many of the public events and awards she earns, they rarely comment on their relationship or personal life. They even showed up to an event wearing matching wedding bands and didn’t confirm they were actually married until months later.

Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson

Year they met: 2000

Though they didn’t start dating until 2001, "Saturday Night Live" star Maya Rudolph and acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson first met when he directed a sketch on the show. But it would be another year before their romantic relationship began. Once it began, though, it has lasted over two decades.

They’re not technically married, but Rudolph calls him her husband, making it clear that they’re very much a family unit. The two attend red carpets and all sorts of award events together (because they’re both constantly being awarded for being creative geniuses in one way or another). But outside of public appearances, they keep their personal life — including details about their four children — extremely private.

Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham

Year they met: 1986

Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham have been partners for a very long time. And they’re also proof that you don’t need to be married to enjoy a loving, long-term, committed partnership. In fact, after being engaged for a period of time in 1992, they actually called off their wedding citing their relationship wouldn’t last if they got married.

Outside of Oprah referencing him various times throughout the years during interviews and Stedman joining her to attend high-profile events, the couple keeps a very low profile. They pretty much only share what they want you to know, which is not all that much.

Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford

Year they met: 2011

There are widespread stories that actress Carey Mulligan and musician Marcus Mumford were actually childhood pen pals. They apparently both grew up religious and went to the same Christian church camp when they were children. But the duo hasn’t confirmed those rumors are true.

In fact, they confirm very few elements of their personal lives are true — aside from the fact that they are together, married and share two children. What is known is that they met at a house party in 2011 and were seen together shortly thereafter. Mulligan has made it clear that her relationship with her husband is something very special to her that is specifically for her and not to share with the rest of the world, which is why she doesn’t often talk about it in public.

Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde

Year they met: 2020

Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles are the hottest new couple that everyone wants to know something about, but unfortunately for everyone, they keep their relationship incredibly private.

After being engaged to and sharing two children with actor Jason Sudeikis since 2011, Wilde and the actor split amicably at the end of 2020. It wasn’t long before she was linked romantically to the singer and former One Director star.

Because of that timeline, people had a lot of questions. But nobody involved will say anything, clearly preferring to respect all the people and feelings involved and choosing to keep their private lives and their personal emotions to themselves.

Meryl Streep and Don Gummer

Year they met: 1978

Easily one of the most successful and longest-standing relationships in the public eye, this couple prefers to stay out of the spotlight. Unless, of course, Meryl Streep is being nominated for an acting award, which she often is.

The two met when Streep was mourning her then-boyfriend John Cazale’s death from lung cancer. She was kicked out of her apartment and went to stay with her brother and his roommate, artist Don Gummer, who would eventually become family.

Over the next four decades, he would attend all sorts of Hollywood events alongside his decorated wife. But they both chose to keep their personal lives as private and low-key as possible.

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian

Year they met: 2015

From the moment they met, their lives changed. The tennis superstar and Reddit founder both have a lot of influence and very public personas. But despite the fact that they are respected and listened to within their own industries, they have kept their relationship pretty quiet since its beginnings.

Sharing occasional and often cryptic posts here and there, it took a while before they confirmed their engagement (which was done on Reddit, of course). Most of what they share is done via social media and often not detailed. They clearly know how to use their platforms to both support each other and be a voice for issues that matter, while still managing to keep a strong mystery around their personal lives.

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean

Year they met: 1964

You’ve heard of Dolly Parton. She’s a living musical legend. But what’s also legendary is just how little is known about her long-time husband, Carl Dean.

No matter where you search, only the same few factoids pop up, with very little information outside of them to fill in the mystery. What is known is that they met at a laundromat in 1964 and have been married since 1966. Even with Parton’s meteoric rise to success, he seems to help keep her grounded.

Her infamous song “Jolene” was supposedly inspired by a moment of jealousy between her husband and a bank teller. Outside of inspiration and space, they apparently don’t argue. Nor does he step into the spotlight. Much like Parton’s natural hair color and style, everyone knows he exists but not much beyond that.

Denzel and Pauletta Washington

Year they met: 1977

Denzel Washington has had a decorated career as an actor. But on his first date with his future wife, Pauletta, he had to borrow cab money in order to get home. She was the more successful entertainer of the two.

After they were married in 1983, they started growing a family as Denzel’s career started taking off. While they both don’t shy away from the limelight, it was clear that their priorities weren’t flaunting their family or their relationship for the cameras. The details of their union — aside from the fact that it’s filled with love, gratitude and four children — are largely kept under wraps.

Javier Bardiem and Penélope Cruz

Year they met: 1992

This pair first met in the early 1990s during the film "Jamón, Jamón." But it wasn’t until a reunion on the set of "Vicky Christina Barcelona" in 2007 that they began dating.

With more life experience and more prominent careers behind both of them, they seem to approach their relationship with as much maturity as they do privacy. They’re happy to accompany each other on the red carpet and, occasionally, speak about their partner (usually to brag about how much they adore each other). But they are otherwise careful to keep their romance relatively secretive.

Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak

Year they met: 2002

After meeting on a blind date that their mutual friends set up years ago, these two were smitten from the start. And while Parsons’ career took off in very big ways, he remained not only grounded in his love life but incredibly secretive about it.

Though there was speculation for many years about his sexuality, he wasn’t open about it until a point-blank question during "Inside the Actors Studio" basically publicly outed him. After that, he was more open about his long-time partner but continues to keep elements of their life under wraps.

George and Amal Clooney

Year they met: 2013

George Clooney has been a public figure for decades. And most people thought they had him pegged as the perpetual bachelor. But when he met Amal Alamuddin, everything changed.

Their first date was caught by paparazzi, and they’re happy to attend big-name events like the Met Gala together. But they’re otherwise both low-key and incredibly private about both their relationship and their family.

In fact, Clooney consistently and openly advocates keeping pictures of their children out of the public eye for their own safety, largely because of Amal’s (incredible) job of prosecuting terrorist organizations that violate human rights.

Kerry Washington and Nnamdi Asomugha

Year they met: Around2009

It’s hard to give a definitive timeline around Kerry Washington’s relationship. And that is absolutely by design.

Washington has been with former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha for years, with the two likely meeting when she was on Broadway in 2009. They were married in a small, secretive ceremony in Idaho in 2013. And since then, they’ve gone on to have two children and too many secrets to count. Not between each other, of course. But with the public.

Washington doesn’t comment on any rumors, good or otherwise, remaining steadfast that her personal life is private and not something she wants or is willing to talk about.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher

Year they met: 2001

They’re two of the funniest people in Hollywood, but they’ve been making each other laugh in real life for over two decades.

Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen met at a ritzy party in Australia and immediately hit it off. From the beginning, they’ve remained quiet about their relationship. And even as their fame has skyrocketed, they’ve kept true to their mysterious romance.

While they’ll regularly attend red carpet events together and acknowledge each other when they’re receiving awards, they rarely talk about their marriage. And you’ll almost never hear them talk about their children, except to say that they don’t talk about their children.

Rihanna and ASAP Rocky

Year they met: At least 2012

While this secretive couple rarely confirms anything, people have wanted them to be together for years. Ever since their steamy stage performance in 2012 at the MTV Music Awards, their chemistry was obvious. But if there was anything romantic happening at all over the next several years, they didn’t share about it with anyone.

It wasn’t until newly single Rihanna met up with her long-time friend again in 2020 that their chemistry became, well, explosive. But it would be a while before ASAP confirmed she was his “lady.” And though they’re often caught canoodling, they rarely seem to do it for only the cameras.

One thing we know for sure: In early 2022, they announced they were pregnant with their first child.

Rose Leslie and Kit Harington

Year they met: 2011

Rose Leslie and Kit Harington met when they were playing lovers on one of the biggest TV shows of all time, "Game of Thrones." So when fans, who were already obsessed with their onscreen chemistry, learned of their off-screen love affair, everyone wanted to hear more.

But aside from attending big events together and confirming publicly certain big things — like when they got married and when they were expecting their first child — they don’t often talk publicly about their relationship. There are some murky timelines from when they met to when they may have actually started dating, largely because both parties prefer to keep that information private.