Top 10 Celeb Couples Who Have Been Together the Longest
#10: Elton John & David Furnish Together Since: 1993
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Elton was married to a woman, Renate Blauel, for four years from 1984 to ‘88. The “Your Song” singer had previously called himself bisexual, but following his divorce he came out to Rolling Stone magazine, saying he was “quite comfortable being gay.” And five years after his divorce, he met the love of his life, David Furnish, at a dinner party. The couple entered into a civil union in 2005, but had to wait for same-sex marriage to be made legal in Britain to get married. They tied the knot in 2014. In a 2017 Instagram post about his marriage, Elton wrote, “For David and I, being able to openly love and commit to one another, and for that to be recognized and celebrated is what makes life truly worth living.”
#9: Mathew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker Together Since: 1992
In 1986, Broderick was Twisting and Shouting in “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” and Parker was dating Robert Downey Jr. At that point, no one would have guessed that these two would end up together. Let alone still be together over 28 years later! They wed in 1997 and in ‘98 Parker’s celebrity status exploded with the premiere of the iconic “Sex and the City” on HBO. Since then, the couple has had to deal with plenty of tabloid rumors about supposed problems in their marriage - which they continue to deny, and prove wrong. Parker found her own Mr. Big many years ago and they are still going strong heading as of 2021.
#8: Kevin Bacon & Kyra Sedgwick Together Since: 1987
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Bacon and Sedgewick first met in the 1970s. Bacon was a 19-year-old actor doing a play and a 12-year-old Sedgwick went up to him after a matinee performance to tell him that she was a fan. Jump kick off the porch to the late ‘80s and the set of the PBS film, “Lemon Sky.” The two officially met on the set and were married in 1988. Things haven’t always been footloose and fancy free though. The couple actually lost their savings in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme. But, according to Bacon, “it didn’t challenge the marriage. In fact, the marriage was what made it easy. The money was gone, but we still had each other.”
#7: Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson Together Since: 1985-86
Top 20 Celeb Couples Who Have Been Together the Longest
Hanks and Wilson are one of the most popular couples in Hollywood. They are so beloved and admired by fans that many people probably think they were high school sweethearts. But they weren’t. In fact, when these two first met on the set of the TV show “Bosom Buddies,” Hanks was actually married to his college sweetheart. However, that marriage was allegedly “already broken” and the immediate connection was undeniable between both he and Ms. Wilson - no relation to the volleyball from “Castaway.” Hanks’ divorce wasn’t finalized until 1987, but by the end of 1986 he and Wilson had already gone public with their relationship. They got married in 1988.
#6: Oprah Winfrey & Stedman Graham Together Since: 1986
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Most love stories happen in three steps: Meet, get engaged, get married. However, when it comes to Oprah and one of her “favorite things,” Stedman - they decided to stop after step two. And it’s obviously worked out quite well for them. The two met in 1986 and got engaged in 1992. The plan was to get married the next year, but it never happened. And according to Oprah herself, they’ve barely talked about it since. “The only time I brought it up was when I said to Stedman, ‘What would have happened if we had actually gotten married?’ And the answer is: ‘We wouldn’t be together.” But they’re still together and happy. Maybe not as happy as some of her audiences. But still happy.
#5: Kurt Russell & Goldie Hawn Together Since: 1983
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Had Russell and Hawn started dating when they first met they’d probably be a few places higher on this list. However, that was in the 1960s on the set of “The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band” - and with Russell being about 16 years old, he was just too young for the 21-year-old Hawn. But in 1983, the age difference was no longer an issue. Both Goldie and Kurt were newly divorced from other people and the timing was right for them to fall overboard in love. They’ve been together for more than 35 years now and, like Oprah and Stedman, they credit their lasting relationship to never having gotten married. Hawn reportedly said that had they ever gotten married that they would be “long divorced” by now.
#4: Denzel Washington & Pauletta Washington Together Since: 1978
Denzel Washington is an amazing actor and one of only 32 men to have been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive - and the first Black man to ever be so named. So, it’s hard to imagine any woman who would turn down his marriage proposal. But there’s one woman who did just that: Pauletta Pearson. In fact, she said no twice, before finally saying yes. The couple met on the set of the 1977 TV film “Wilma” and started dating the next year; they were married in ‘83. Denzel got the girl and has been a man on fire ever since: raising four kids with his beautiful wife, getting eight acting Oscar nominations and picking up two wins for his performances in the films “Glory” and “Training Day.”
#3: Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner Together Since: 1971-72
Tomlin is one of the great comedic performers of the latter half of the 20th century, and one reason for this is her wife, writer Jane Wagner. The couple met back in the early ‘70s. Tomlin was reportedly looking for some help developing her Edith Ann character and asked to meet with Wagner. Well, for Tomlin it was love at first sight: “A friend brought her to my hotel room... and I tell you, in two minutes, I fell in love with her.” They started dating soon after and have been collaborating together in love and in work ever since, including a couple successful Broadway shows and the film, “The Incredible Shrinking Woman.” After over 40 years together, they got married in a private ceremony on New Years Eve 2013. [“And that’s the truth.”]
#2: Samuel L. Jackson & LaTanya Richardson Together Since: 1970
Samuel L. Jackson couldn’t make it a couple hours on a plane filled with snakes, but he and his wife have made it 50 years together and are still going strong. Jackson and Richardson met in the 1970s when they were both in college - she was attending Spelman College and he was at Morehouse. The two got married in 1980 - although Jackson doesn’t actually remember proposing - and two years later, their daughter Zoe was born. With most relationships in Hollywood lasting about as long as Jackson’s Russell Franklin character in “Deep Blue Sea”, we should all take a moment to appreciate this half-century long relationship. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Warren Beatty & Annette Bening Together Since: 1991 Notorious Playboy Beatty Knew When He Met Bening, “That It Was Time to Get Married” Tina Fey & Jeff Richmond Together Since: 1994 Jeff Richmond Is Living Proof That the Short Guy Can Get the Girl! Steve Carell & Nancy Walls Together Since: Early 1990s Their Relationship Was Short-Lived on “The Office,” but in Real Life They’ve Been Married Since 1995 David Beckham & Victoria Beckham Together Since: 1997 She’s Posh, He Can Bend It & They’ve Been Married Since 1999 Tim McGraw & Faith Hill Together Since: 1996 Faith Was Engaged to Someone Else, but One Kiss from McGraw & Everything Changed
#1: Dolly Parton & Carl Dean Together Since: 1964
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There are a lot of conspiracy theories out there, from the JFK single-bullet theory to the belief that the moon landing was faked. Then there’s the out there theory that Dolly Parton's husband, Carl Dean, doesn’t actually exist. According to Parton, “A lot of people have thought that through the years.” But allow us to bust that myth just as the Mythbusters did to the faked moon landing one: Parton and Dean have been together since 1964 and married since 1966. That’s over 55 years together! And it would seem that Paula Abdul was right, because as Dolly told People magazine, “They say that opposites attract, and it's true… We're completely opposite, but that's what makes it fun.”
