Before the pipeline for celebrity gossip became instantaneous with the arrival of social media, regular fans had to get their relationship drama the old-fashioned way: through MTV shows, cheap tabloids, and fancy magazines.
Some of the biggest stars of the ’90s became couples that seemed almost too famous to be real. A few stayed together for years, while others vanished just as quickly as they appeared. Either way, these ten couples helped define ’90s celebrity culture.
1. Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown
Whitney Houston had one of the most gorgeous voices ever recorded, while Bobby Brown was R&B’s resident bad boy. At first glance, these two looked like an unlikely match, which only made them more fascinating.
They got married in 1992, and their relationship quickly became the talk of the town — the “town” being Hollywood, of course. Although they had to deal with addiction and personal struggles later on, there’s no denying that Whitney and Bobby were one of the most talked-about couples of the decade.
2. Claudia Schiffer and David Copperfield
A world-famous supermodel dating a talented magician sounds like the setup for a romcom a lot of people would pay good money to see, but it wasn’t fantasy at all.
Claudia Schiffer and David Copperfield met in the early ’90s, and just a couple of years later, they made it official. They never made it down the aisle, ending their relationship in 1999, but for several years, they had everyone under their spell.
3. Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche
Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche became a couple in 1997, right after Ellen came out. It’s no secret that being a public figure who was also openly gay was not a walk in the park back in the ’90s, making their romance even more significant.
They appeared together at major events, not hiding their relationship even if it meant some people would hate them. Sadly, their romance ended in 2000, but what they went through helped challenge Hollywood’s outdated attitudes and made them an important couple in LGBTQ+ pop-culture history.
4. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman met while filming Days of Thunder and married in 1990, becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest power couples.
Cruise later starred in A Few Good Men and Mission: Impossible, while Kidman appeared in Batman Forever. They also starred together in Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut. For years, they seemed like the ultimate red-carpet couple, but in 2001, they filed for divorce.
