Pop culture wouldn’t be nearly so fun without its iconic couples—the ones whose love (or maladies) is so captivating we can’t help but track each turn. Some forged history, some torched the tabloids, and some walked the line between reel and real love. From dirty triangles to classic film chemistry, here are 15 of the most dramatic coupleings ever, ranked for maximum drama.
15. Annie Oakley & Frank Butler – Guns, Love, and Wild West Glamour
Before the era of celebrity power couples, Annie Oakley and Frank Butler were the first sharpshooting sweethearts. She outshot him in a shooting match (romantic comedy vibes, anyone?), he promptly fell for her, and the two traveled the world together as part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Theirs was not a scandalous affair, but during the age of outlaws and spectacle, their consistent love seemed downright mythic.
14. Beyoncé & Jay-Z – Music, Marriage, and “Lemonade”
There are not many couples who have made private travails into cultural touchstones the way Beyoncé and Jay-Z have. Cheating allegations, following that infamous elevator moment, their marriage has seen its fair share of storms. Rather than keeping it under wraps, they brought it out into the open—Lemonade and 4:44 became confessions, reconciliation songs, and evidence that even billionaires work through heartbreak.
13. Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham – Love Songs and Long Feuds
Fleetwood Mac’s entire discography is essentially a time capsule of the messy, magnetic romance of Stevie and Lindsey. They sang about each other, brawled on tour, and managed to keep the sparks alight on stage. Their spine-tingling reunion performance of “Silver Springs” in the late ’90s was evidence that, for them, the drama never really ended.
12. Ben Affleck & Jennifer Garner – Hollywood’s Good Girl Meets the Bad Boy
They seemed like a fairy tale—three children, red carpet events, and photo-perfect paparazzi opportunities. Affleck’s history of gambling, booze, and scandal (don’t forget the nanny debacle?) made their marriage tabloid fodder. Their breakup was tragic for fans who identified with their opposite-attracts romance.
11. Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez – Bennifer, Twice Over
Then the diamond rings, music video appearances, and media craze of the early 2000s. And then the split. But true pop culture style, Bennifer relaunched twenty years later with a surprise wedding in Vegas. Their whirlwind romance left everyone wondering if you can indeed go back to “the one that got away.” The answer? Still in the works.
10. Tom Holland & Zendaya – From MCU to IRL
Fans sent them the second Spider-Man: Homecoming fell. Years of “we’re just friends,” and paparazzi snapped them kissing, and Gen Z’s ultimate power couple was formed. Their romance has turned into a mix of Insta tributes, red carpet magic, and the occasional tabloid gossip—just the sort of contemporary romance that we devour.
9. Nina Dobrev & Ian Somerhalder – When Work and Love Collide
On The Vampire Diaries, their onscreen romance had fans swooning. Off-screen, their real-life relationship eventually fizzled out—but they still had to play soulmates on camera. Add in Ian marrying Nikki Reed, and you’ve got a situation that could’ve been a disaster. To their credit, they handled it with surprising professionalism (and a lot of awkwardness).
8. Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni – From Love Story to Legal Battle
What was meant to be a swoony rom-com moment for It Ends With Us has devolved into one of Hollywood’s ugliest feuds. Lively had filed harassment allegations against Baldoni, while Baldoni responded with a $400 million counterclaim, even involving Ryan Reynolds. With a trial set for 2026, this “couple” drama is just beginning.
7. Patrick Swayze & Jennifer Grey – No One Put This Pair in Sync
“Dirty Dancing” provided us with seething chemistry, but off camera, Grey and Swayze fought all the time. He believed she was temperamental, she believed he was too intense—but somehow, that tension became pure magic on screen. Theirs was a love story that was purely fictional, but the behind-the-scenes bickering was all too real.
6. Ryan Gosling & Rachel McAdams – From Enemies to Lovers (Literally)
“The Notebook” is peak romance, but Gosling and McAdams couldn’t stand each other at first. Gosling even asked the director to replace her. After one legendary fight, the ice melted, and they went on to date in real life for three years. Proof that sometimes hate really does flip into love… until it flips back again.
5. Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton – Passion, Paparazzi, and Pandemonium
Taylor and Burton essentially authored the playbook for high-drama Hollywood romance. They appeared in movies together, married and divorced each other twice, and experienced a life of over-the-top gifts, very public arguments, and nonstop tabloid headlines. Their affair was as spectacular as it was toxic, and the world couldn’t get enough.
4. Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Fisher & Elizabeth Taylor – The First Big Hollywood Scandal
Before Brangelina, Debbie, Eddie, and Liz ruled the roost. After Mike Todd’s untimely death, Taylor found solace in Fisher, who was married to Reynolds, her best friend. The scandalous affair stunned America and established the blueprint for every celebrity love triangle scandal thereafter.
3. Paul Simon & Carrie Fisher – Love on Repeat
Simon and Fisher were the epitome of on-again, off-again. Their romance spanned more than a decade of breakups and reconciliations, fueling songs such as “Hearts and Bones.” It was complicated, sensitive, and draining—precisely the sort of rollercoaster that leaves fans in constant wonder.
2. Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera – Art, Affairs, and Fireworks
Their union was half muse, half madness. Both were geniuses, both were adulterous, and both just couldn’t seem to leave one another alone. They divorced and remarried each other. Frida famously referred to Diego as one of the two great accidents of her life. Their work was influenced by the mes and immortalized their romance.
1. Cleopatra & Julius Caesar – A Romance That Shaped Empires
The original power couple. Cleopatra needed Rome’s support, Caesar coveted Egypt’s queen, and together they redefined history. Their tryst gave them a child, shocked Rome, and led the way into Cleopatra’s subsequent drama with Mark Antony. Forget contemporary tabloids—this was the type of love affair that altered the world.
Bungling, passionate, scandalous, or charismatic—these love affairs are a reminder of why real and imagined love tales power pop culture. Without them, rumors would be boring, films would lack pizzazz, and history would be much less salacious.