30 Tragic Celebrity Love Stories

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the notable romances that captured our hearts and then broke them. [a]

#30: Nipsey Hussle & Lauren London

The Grammy-nominated rapper’s first and only full studio album was aptly named. After years of building a following with his mixtapes and community service, Nipsey Hussle’s “Victory Lap” was launching him into another echelon of fame. From 2013 to the time of his death, he was in a relationship with actress Lauren London. The two shared a deep faith that marked their creative and personal decisions, including London’s decision to forgo a dream TV role to have their son, Kross. The rapper’s 2019 murder still haunts her, but she’s continued to show strength in the face of that pain.

#29: Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall

He was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. She was a first-time actress getting her big break. But when Humphrey Bogart met Lauren Bacall on the set of the film “To Have and Have Not,” it was the stuff dreams are made of. Bogart ended his marriage, and despite their nearly 25-year age difference, they fell deeply in love. They starred in more films together, playing out a version of their real-life love story for their audience. Bacall and Bogart remained married until his untimely death in 1957 at the age of 57.

#28: Ariana Grande & Mac Miller

In her 2018 hit “Thank U, Next,” Ariana Grande includes a particularly sweet shout out to one of her exes. To anyone in the know, this was a reference to Malcolm James McCormick, known professionally as Mac Miller. Grande and Miller were an item for almost two years. Grande’s very real anguish at his shocking death in 2018 seems to suggest her love for him was very strong and very deep. Another ex of Grande’s, Pete Davidson, said Miller’s death shattered her so much that he knew their own engagement was over as a result.

#27: Helen McCrory & Damian Lewis

They were a venerated acting power couple. Helen McCrory and Damian Lewis were beloved for their varied performances on the stage and screen, and their combined star power made them a fixture of British media. They were also known for their dedication to philanthropy. Few people knew McCrory was ill with breast cancer before her death in 2021. She worked up until the very end. One thing that marked their public facing relationship was their sense of humor. Apparently, McCrory wanted Lewis to see other people after she passed away, only asking that he wait until after her funeral to find a date.

#26: Martin Short & Nancy Dolman

The Canadian funny man married his wife, Nancy Dolman, after meeting her during their run in the musical “Godspell.” They were married a few years later, after which Dolman retired from acting to focus on being home to raise their family. They were together for 36 years before Dolman’s death of ovarian cancer, and Short honored his wife’s wish that they should have a party instead of a funeral for her. Though Short has been open about the difficulty of grieving, he has also shared that he still feels Dolman’s presence. He once said that they were together so long and knew each other so well that he could still have a conversation with her as if she were in the room.

#25: John Lennon & Yoko Ono

Despite the longtime myth that their love affair was responsible for the breakup of the Beatles, Yoko Ono and John Lennon fueled each other’s art. She became Lennon’s muse, and even his former bandmate Paul McCartney said that his beloved solo hits like “Imagine” would not have been possible without Ono’s inspiration. The couple became famous and controversial for their shared sense of activism. Ono was with her husband at the time of his devastating and shocking murder in 1980. She’s since dedicated her life to preserving her husband’s legacy as an artist, musician, and human being.

#24: Betty White & Allen Ludden

Whenever she appeared on “Password,” the “Golden Girls” actress always had a lot of chemistry with the host. There’s a reason. They were happily married. Betty White actually met her third husband, TV presenter Allen Ludden, on the set of “Password” in the early 1960s. When Ludden initially asked her to get married, she refused him for a year, but later said that she’d have given anything to have had that extra year. Ludden died of stomach cancer in 1981. After his death, White refused to remarry. Their two-decade romance was enough for her. Apparently, when White passed away in 2021 at the age of 99, her last word was “Allen.”

#23: Kobe Bryant & Vanessa Bryant

There was a time when the legendary Los Angeles Laker was doing double duty as a basketball star and a recording artist. Though the music career didn’t pan out, he did meet a music video background dancer named Vanessa, and the two fell in love. Over the years, the couple dealt with the ups and downs of fame and life, including a devastating miscarriage. But they held firm, even calling off an announced divorce at one point. The Bryants’ love story was cut short in 2020, when Kobe and their teenage daughter, Gianna, were killed in a helicopter crash.

#22: Paul Michael Glaser & Elizabeth Glaser

This actor, director, and writer and his wife experienced a tragedy that made them early activists in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Paul Michael and Elizabeth Glazer had only been married for a year when she contracted the still incredibly new and mysterious virus via blood transfusion. Their daughter, Ariel, would later pass away due to complications from the disease. Both Paul and Elizabeth fought to establish protections and research grants. Elizabeth also passed away due to complications from AIDS in 2004. Their personal difficulties led to a legacy of activism and the creation of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which is still in operation.

#21: John Travolta & Kelly Preston

It started out like a classic Hollywood love story. The “Grease” actor met the “Jerry Maguire” actress on the set of a movie in the late 1980s. Although that film was a bomb, John Travolta and Kelly Preston were probably grateful to have been in it, because that’s where they met and fell in love. Over their 29-year marriage, they had three children. A personal tragedy rocked the family in 2009 when their son Jett died suddenly while on a family vacation. Tragedy struck again in 2020 when Preston passed away from breast cancer. She was only 57 years old.

#20: Steve Irwin & Terri Irwin

The Australian conservationist may have been an unlikely TV star, but his endearing personality and unwavering dedication to all things wildlife soared him to international stardom in the 1990s via his show “The Crocodile Hunter.” Steve Irwin’s passion for wildlife and its conservation was shared by his wife and co-star, Terri. Unfortunately, in 2006, at only 44 years old, a stingray injury resulted in his death. Though their story together ended, Steve’s legacy lives on in their children, Bindi and Robert, who proudly took up their parents’ line of work. Terri had said that she may never remarry, and that she’s okay with having already had her happily ever after with Steve.

#19: Patton Oswalt & Michelle McNamara

Comedian and character actor Patton Oswalt married true crime author Michelle McNamara in 2005. The two were heavyweights in their respective careers. McNamara’s life’s work was a book about the Golden State Killer, a serial murderer who preyed on California in the 1970s and ‘80s. Sadly, McNamara passed away suddenly in 2016 before she could finish her manuscript. Oswalt worked to ensure that McNamara’s efforts were not in vain. He oversaw the completion and publication of her book, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” later expressing that finishing the book was as painful as it was rewarding.

#18: Paul McCartney & Linda McCartney

Paul McCartney met Linda Eastman when he was still in the Beatles, and she was a photographer of famous musicians. The two married in 1969. Once the Beatles broke up, Paul and Linda fronted a pop band all their own. They released several incredible hit records under the name Paul McCartney and Wings. The couple created a beautiful family, and spent much of their lives together as champions of animal rights. But Linda and Paul’s story came to an end in the late 1990s. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995, and she passed away three years later at the age of 56.

#17: Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco

If any Hollywood actress was fit to be a princess, it was Grace Kelly. Her dignified and chic on-screen persona made her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco seem all the more like a fairytale romance. Their lavish wedding captured the world’s attention. She never made a real return to movies after the marriage, instead prioritizing her duties as princess. In 1982, Kelly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while driving, and she and her daughter Stéphanie were injured in a car accident. Both were lucky enough to survive the crash but, while Kelly was expected to make a full recovery, she was struck with a second fatal hemorrhage at the hospital. Rainier never remarried and, when he died in 2005, he was buried beside his deceased wife.

#16: Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton

With so many marriages comes a lot of heartbreak. After two divorces, Liz Taylor’s third husband, Mike Todd, devastatingly died in a plane crash. Then, there was her tempestuous marriage to Richard Burton that looms largest over her romantic history. They were married in 1964, divorced in 1974, and then remarried a year later in 1975, only to re-divorce the next year. They were as electric off-screen as they were on, and the passion in their relationship inevitably destroyed it. Taylor remarried twice more, but there was no getting over Burton, who died in 1984. Their former houses in Puerto Vallarta are still a tourist attraction for visiting lovers, with the bridge that connected them dubbed the “Lover’s Arch.”

#15: Selena Quintanilla Pérez & Chris Pérez

The story of Selena’s life is tragic enough. She was only 23 years old and on the cusp of worldwide superstardom when she was murdered by her friend and business colleague, Yolanda Saldívar. The performer left behind her husband, musician and Selena y Los Dinos guitarist Chris Pérez. Their love story was full of obstacles, including the disapproval of Selena’s father. Selena and Pérez eloped, estranging them from her family for a time. But tensions had eased by the time of her death, and Selena was about to release an English crossover album when she passed away. Their story has since been immortalized in films, print, and TV.

#14: Keanu Reeves & Jennifer Syme

Keanu Reeves’ easy and warm demeanor can’t have come easy if you know what he’s been through. He and his former partner Jennifer Syme were both waist-deep in the entertainment industry. Reeves was – and is – a movie star, and Syme was an assistant who had worked closely with director David Lynch for nearly a decade. Their two-year relationship was hit hard by their daughter’s stillbirth. The grief was too much, and they ended their relationship. However, soon afterward, they got back together. Unfortunately, their reconnection didn’t get the time it deserved because, in 2001, Syme was killed in a car accident. Reeves marks the tragedy as a major turning point in his life.

#13: Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn

It was a known secret that the two frequent co-stars were lovers for over two decades. However, the circumstances that never allowed them to be open about their relationship were complicated. Old Hollywood studios maintained tight control over bad publicity. Spencer Tracy, a lifelong Catholic, refused to divorce his estranged wife, who refused right back. Hepburn became Tracy’s live-in nurse at the end of his life, caring for him in his final days. However, his legal marriage meant that once Tracy passed away in 1967, respect had to be upheld. Hepburn, who found his body, was left out of media reports of his death, and did not go to his funeral out of courtesy for his family.

#12: Brittany Murphy & Simon Monjack

The deaths of Brittany Murphy and her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, have captivated and disturbed fans for years. Rumors about Murphy’s health and substance use disorder, as well as allegations about Monjack’s past and his being a controlling husband, ran rampant. When Monjack died a few months later, however, it only reignited speculation, this time about everything from medical conditions to toxic mold in the couple’s home. A 2021 documentary was released but it didn’t do much to illuminate the public about one of Hollywood’s biggest modern-day tragedies.

#11: Laurence Olivier & Vivien Leigh

Two-time Oscar winner Vivien Leigh met Laurence Olivier on the set of “Fire Over England.” Their love affair was marked by career highs, lows, infidelity, and mental health crises. While the two were purportedly irrevocably in love, Leigh’s bipolar disorder and Olivier’s affairs led to heavy emotional disturbances for them both. They were divorced in 1960, although it was said their marriage was over long before then. Leigh died of tuberculosis in 1967. Despite being divorced and having found new life partners by then, Olivier rushed over to see her, even though she was already gone.

#10: Marilyn Monroe & Joe DiMaggio

Blind dates can be disasters waiting to happen. But, when the biggest movie star met the biggest sports star on one such date in the early 1950s, the world seemed to stop. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe’s whirlwind romance was the stuff of Hollywood dreams. Their deep passion, however, belied a tense and sometimes violent marriage. DiMaggio was reportedly jealous of Monroe’s status as a cinematic sex symbol. Despite divorcing several years before, DiMaggio claimed the star’s body after her death in 1962, and even helped with funeral arrangements. As the famous story goes, he would then send roses to her grave for two decades afterward. A witness who was with him when he died even said DiMaggio’s last words were about Monroe.

#9: Heath Ledger & Michelle Williams

Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger met and began dating while playing a married couple in “Brokeback Mountain.” The couple soon moved in together and welcomed their daughter to the world. In late 2007, however, they broke up and, not long after that, Ledger suddenly passed away, mere months after completing his work on “The Dark Knight.” Though the two weren’t together at the time of his death, his loss had a profound effect on Williams. Both actors in this Hollywood power couple were famously hesitant about putting their personal lives on display for the public. But the ensuing media circus surrounding the end of his life, as well as rumors about what may have caused it, brought unwanted attention to the details of their relationship.

#8: Pierce Brosnan & Cassandra Harris

Before he became the face of James Bond in the 1990s, Pierce Brosnan was actually married to a former Bond actress. Cassandra Harris had appeared as a glamorous countess romanced by Roger Moore in 1981’s “For Your Eyes Only.” Harris passed away in 1991 from ovarian cancer at the age of 43. The actors had one son together, and after her death, Brosnan adopted Harris’ two children from a previous marriage. Brosnan remarried in 2001, however, he is still a devoted advocate for ovarian cancer awareness. In 2013, Harris’ daughter and Brosnan’s stepdaughter, Charlotte, ended up passing away from the same disease.

#7: Clark Gable & Carole Lombard

She was the blonde bombshell with a wicked sense of humor, and he was the virile leading man of swashbucklers and rom-coms alike. Together, they were a power couple. Though Gable had been romantically linked with many actresses, his relationship and three-year marriage to Lombard remains one for the books. Things were sadly cut short in 1942. Lombard was on a tour selling war bonds when she, her mother, and Gable’s press agent died in a violent airplane crash. His wife’s untimely death spurred him to join the war effort, and he became a pilot in the Army Air Forces before making a return to films. Longtime friends would say he was never the same after losing Lombard.

#6: Patrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi

He was easily one of the most charming leading men of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Patrick Swayze was a heartthrob for millions, but only Lisa Niemi got to call him hers. The two were aspiring dancers when they married in 1975, and were together until his heartbreaking death from pancreatic cancer in 2009. Until the end, the two were devoted to each other. Niemi took charge of Swayze’s care. She kept track of his medical records and medications and made specially prepared meals to keep his weight up. As a licensed pilot, she even flew Swayze to his cancer treatments. Though she has since remarried, Niemi maintains that Swayze’s death wasn’t the end of their love story.

#5: Lea Michele & Cory Monteith

“Glee” was a cultural phenomenon with a dedicated fandom. So, when it was announced that co-stars and on-screen lovers Lea Michele and Cory Monteith were dating in real life, fans were immediately invested. For them, it felt like they had followed the relationship through the characters they played. Losing Monteith so suddenly in 2013 was a crushing blow to Gleeks everywhere, and we can’t even imagine the pain Michele went through. Monteith was only 31 but had struggled with substance use disorder for most of his adult life. In the series’ fifth season, the show aired an entire episode dedicated to the death of his character, Finn Hudson, which served as a stand-in for a public memorial for the actor who played him.

#4: Gene Wilder & Gilda Radner

The former “SNL” cast member and “Willy Wonka” star were both high-profile celebrities when they met on the set of “Hanky Panky” in 1981. Gilda Radner and Gene Wilder married in 1984, and were by all accounts, crazy about each other. After the couple’s several unsuccessful attempts to have children, Radner experienced pain and fatigue that went misdiagnosed. It took almost a year for Radner to be diagnosed with the ovarian cancer that would later kill her. Wilder dedicated himself to advocacy about the disease, opening up foundations in her name. While they were only together for about eight years, these two comedic geniuses lived and loved enough for a lifetime.

#3: Liam Neeson & Natasha Richardson

Like many of the couples on this list, these two esteemed actors met when they became co-stars. Liam Neeson, the stage actor turned action hero, met Natasha Richardson, the product of one of England’s foremost acting dynasties, while working on Broadway in the early 1990s. They married and had two sons. In 2009, Richardson injured her head during a skiing lesson. Although she walked away from the accident seemingly unscathed, she subsequently passed away due to internal bleeding in the head. Neeson at least derives comfort in the fact that her organs were donated to keep three other people alive.

#2: Meryl Streep & John Cazale

John Cazale, who gave stunning and subtle performances in some of the greatest movies of the decade, was an acting powerhouse. In 1976, he began seeing his very talented co-star, an up-and-coming actress named Meryl Streep. Just as she was making her big break in movies like “Julia” and “The Deer Hunter,” Streep was going through an impossibly painful situation. Cazale was dying of lung cancer. Streep took all the time off they could afford given the mounting medical bills and her budding fame to care for him. When Cazale passed on in 1978, it profoundly changed her as a person and artist.

#1: Christopher Reeve & Dana Reeve

In 1995, the “Superman” actor’s life changed forever when he was thrown from a horse. Christopher Reeve stopped breathing for several minutes before being revived, and when he awoke at the hospital, he was paralyzed from the neck down. Initially, he expressed to his wife, Dana Morosini, that he didn’t want his condition to become a burden on her. But she supported him through rehabilitation, and his grief over his disability soon transformed into a renewed sense of purpose. They turned to humanitarianism, which they continued until Christopher’s death in 2004, and Dana’s own death from lung cancer only two years later.


Who is your favorite celebrity couple? Tell us in the comments.




[a]NOTE TO VO ARTIST: Pls voice only what's in blue!