Top 10 Tragic Celebrity Love Stories That Had Happy Endings

Marriage is hard, even outside of Hollywood. Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor met on set in 1999 and the next year, they were married and expecting a child. They were together for 17 years before announcing their separation. It was a shocker to longtime fans. Ultimately, the COVID-19 outbreak is what reunited them. Amid the anxiety and uncertainty of a global pandemic, they moved in together to co-parent their two teenagers through the 2020 lockdown. The time apart allowed for some growth, but the forced proximity allowed them to reconcile. They’ve been together ever since.

In 2014, an infamous video ripped from an elevator security camera spelled trouble for Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s marriage. The singer’s sister, Solange Knowles, was seen striking Jay-Z for undisclosed reasons. The Internet was abuzz with rumors about Jay-Z’s infidelity. Their next solo albums, “Lemonade” and “4:44,” and the subsequent press cycle confirmed those rumors were true. Raw and powerful, they put their journey of healing on display for all to see. Being as famous as they are, Jay-Z’s vulnerability and Beyoncé’s strength required a lot of courage. They showed that even money and fame can’t buy a perfect marriage.

When Michelle McNamara passed away in 2016, Patton Oswalt was left to raise their daughter on his own. But alongside the memories and grief, she also left behind an unfinished manuscript. Still mourning, Oswalt assembled a team of his wife’s colleagues to make sure her book about the Golden State Killer was completed and published. McNamara’s life’s work, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” was released two years after her death to rave reviews and renewed interest in the decades-old cold case. The author’s mission was to bring attention to the grisly, then-unsolved killings. Oswalt honored her memory by doing just that.

“The Crocodile Hunter’s” exploits were a family affair. Steve Irwin and his wife, Terri, shared a passion for nature and animal conservation up until his death in 2006. He died suddenly and tragically of a stingray attack, but he was doing what he loved. The pain and grief of losing her husband and the father of her two children was immeasurable, but Terri’s love for him lives on. Irwin once said that his children’s budding interest in their profession was his proudest accomplishment. Almost twenty years after his passing, the Irwin children, Bindi and Robert Irwin, continue his legacy on TV and at various zoos and wildlife preserves across the world.

In 2017, “The Big Sick” captured the hearts of moviegoers, grossing over $50 million and scoring an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Star and co-writer Kumail Nanjiani plays a comedian whose parents insist on arranging a marriage for him. Instead, he’s thrown in the deep end when a graduate student he’s been casually seeing becomes gravely ill. The story is based on his real-life romance with his wife, co-writer Emily V. Gordon. Her illness and the pressure Nanjiani faced from his family were all taken from life, inspiring a very real and heartbreaking romcom. Despite these many obstacles, the two married in 2007.

They were both titans of television. Betty White was one of the longest-reigning sitcom stars, and Allen Ludden, who was also an actor, became widely known for hosting the game show “Password.” Their relationship played out on TV as White was a frequent guest on the show. Ludden’s death from stomach cancer in 1981 ended their near-18 year marriage. It took White a year to accept his marriage proposal, but later, she said she’d have given anything to go back and have that year with him. Although his death was tragic, she said she never felt the need to remarry. No one could compare to Ludden. He was her happily ever after.

The Canadian country music star’s second marriage sounds like something out of a romantic comedy, but it came from a place of real pain. Shania Twain met and married legendary rock producer Mutt Lange in the 1990s. However, they divorced in 2010 when Lange confessed that he was having an affair with Twain’s friend and assistant. But that’s when the amazing plot twist came. Twain and that same friend’s ex, Frédéric Thiébaud, bonded over their shared pain from the affair and the fallout. Then they fell in love. The two were married less than a year after Twain and Lange’s divorce was finalized.

They became famous as part of the Miami Sound Machine, but these bandmates-turned-spouses have had their fair share of heartache and close calls. They had been married for 12 years when they faced a life-threatening challenge. In 1990, Gloria Estefan was severely injured in a tour bus accident. Her spine was fractured, requiring emergency surgery. She had to undergo months of intense physical therapy to walk again, let alone sing and dance. Through it all, Emilio was by her side. Against all odds, she returned to the stage the next year. The Estefans are still going strong over thirty years later.

In the mid-1980s, Tina Turner was in the middle of a hardfought comeback. Not only was she enjoying a second wind in her music career, but she was also several years removed from a disastrous and traumatic marriage to Ike Turner. Marrying again was the last thing on her mind. Then in 1986 she met Erwin Bach. Turner described her first meeting with the music executive as love at first sight. They were together for about 27 years before marrying in 2013. In her later years, Turner’s health troubles saw Erwin donating his kidney to her. At the time she passed away, the two had been together for 37 years. She credited Bach with showing her that joy could come out of something painful.

Their story was immortalized in the 2005 biopic “Walk the Line.” Still, the real story behind Johnny and June Carter Cash’s marriage is even more powerful than what could be contained in a two hour movie. Their deep connection and love for music sustained a 35 year marriage. But it was also a tumultuous relationship. Cash’s longtime battle with substance use disorder was one they fought together. She stood by him all the way. One of the last projects they made was Cash’s iconic “Hurt” music video, which became a fitting tribute to their love story. They passed away within months of each other.

Which of these famous couples are relationship goals? Tell us in the comments.