Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes exes still have to work together on the big screen.
The process is easier for some than others. Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, for instance, dated during the early seasons of Gossip Girl. After splitting in 2010, Lively and Badgley continued to costar on the CW hit. Their characters, Serena and Dan, were even endgame and tied the knot in the series finale.
Years later, their costar Chace Crawford was asked whether it was awkward working beside the exes.
“During your time on Gossip Girl, Chace, did Blake Lively and Penn Badgley’s real-life relationship and breakup cause drama amongst the cast?” Andy Cohen asked on an August 2019 episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.
“Not at all. Not in the least,” Crawford replied. “Most mature people in the world.”
Scroll down to revisit the celebrity couples who worked together after splitting up.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez
Lopez was cast in Unstoppable, a 2024 biopic about boxer Anthony Robles, while she was still married to Affleck. He coproduced the film with pal Matt Damon. The movie premiered in summer 2024 after Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck, her husband of two years.
Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz
News broke in October 2024 that Tatum and Kravitz would star opposite one another in the Zellner brothers’ movie Alpha Gang. That same day, multiple outlets confirmed the pair broke up and ended their engagement.
Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes
The twosome formed a relationship after meeting on the set of Outer Banks. Cline and Stokes confirmed their romance in June 2020, after already dating for two months. The actors worked together on season 2 of the Netflix series in 2021 while they were still a couple. News broke in November 2021 that the pair split. Cline and Stokes eventually reunited in early 2022 to film season 3 of the hit drama.
James Roday Rodriguez and Maggie Lawson
The duo met while filming Psych in 2006. They dated for eight years before calling it quits in 2014. That same year, the USA Network comedy came to an end after eight seasons. The twosome seemingly remained friends and have since reconnected on screen for 2017’s Psych: The Movie, 2020’s Psych 2: Lassie Come Home and 2021’s Psych 3: This Is Gus.
Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder
Damon and Elena’s chemistry on The Vampire Diaries was very real as Somerhalder and Dobrev started dating in 2010 while costarring on The CW drama. They took their romance public a year later.
“I didn’t want to be dating one of my costars — my goal on the show was to be professional,” Dobrev told Seventeen in 2012. “But sometimes you can’t help who you have a connection with, and you can only fight it for so long — which I did for a really, really long time.”
Us broke the news in May 2013 that the couple had split, but Damon and Elena’s will-they-won’t-they romance was just heating up. Still, Dobrev remained a series regular and had romantic scenes with her ex until her character’s 2015 exit, and she returned in 2017 for the series finale.
Dobrev subsequently became friends with both Somerhalder and his wife, Nikki Reed, who he married in May 2015. “I don’t think [our friendship] weird at all,” Dobrev said during a January 2019 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “I think that’s great. I think, ‘Why can’t everyone be friends?’ I think that they have a beautiful baby, and they are happy and so am I, and what’s bad about that? I don’t see any problem with that.”
Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett
While the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series costars never publicly confirmed their offscreen romance, fans were convinced the actors were more than friends — and Rodrigo’s 2021 debut album, Sour, hinted at plenty of breakup drama. The twosome put their past behind them when they reunited for season 2 of the Disney+ series, which premiered in May 2021.
Joey King and Jacob Elordi
After meeting and falling in love on the set of 2018’s The Kissing Booth, King and Elordi went their separate ways after several months of dating. The twosome reprised their roles as Elle Evans and Noah Flynn, respectively, for the 2020 sequel.
“I know what everyone wants to know, of course. And yeah, it was crazy,” King said on “Mood with Lauren Elizabeth” podcast in October 2019 about working with her ex. “It was a wild experience, but honestly, it was a really beautiful time because I learned a lot about myself and I grew as an actor, I grew as a person.”
Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse
Us Weekly broke the news that the Riverdale costars called it quits after nearly two years of dating in July 2019. The pair, who portray onscreen couple Betty and Jughead, started filming season 4 of the CW series shortly before the split made headlines.
While they later reunited, the pair’s on-again, off-again relationship ended for good in May 2020.
Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper
The Mamma Mia costars met in 2007 on set of the hit musical and dated for three years before breaking up in 2010. Seyfried revealed in 2011 that their split was due to the British actor seeing someone else, telling ELLE, “I got my heart broken pretty hard.” The Mean Girls actress later went on to marry Thomas Sadoski — with whom she shares a daughter — in March 2017, while Cooper dated Ruth Negga for eight years before they split up in April 2018.
The Letters to Juliet actress and Cooper reunited to film 2018’s Mamma Mia sequel — and according to Seyfried, her husband wasn’t exactly ecstatic about the idea. “I think he has the same kind of issues that I would have if we were hanging out with his ex-girlfriend from long ago,” Seyfried told The Mirror in July 2018. “I think it’s always like, ‘I’m so in love with this person, so that person must be so in love with her too.’” However, Cooper told Attitude magazine that same month, “We knew we were going to be working together [again] on set, going back to a part, which was certainly going to remind us of 10 years earlier … It was a pleasant atmosphere. It was really interesting to see how different our lives are after 10 years.”
Tarek El Moussa and Christina El Moussa
The real estate experts were married for seven years and during that time, they became household names on HGTV’s Flip or Flop. After making headlines for an explosive argument, they announced that they were splitting up in December 2016 before finalizing their divorce in January 2018. Despite the split, the two — who share daughter Taylor and son Brayden — embarked on another season of the hit reality series, signing up for another 15 episodes. “It’s all new territory. Since we have to see each other every day, it’s beyond awkward,” Christina said in a press release at the time.
After Christina and Tarek went their separate ways, the reality TV personality started dating Ant Anstead — but according to Christina, there are no hard feelings. She exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2018, “Tarek likes [Ant]. What’s not to like? Everybody likes him. He’s a great guy.” Meanwhile, a month later, Tarek told Us of filming the new season with his ex, “There were ups and downs. But at the end of the day, we’re still business partners. … It’s not something that we can just throw away, especially after all these years.”
Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki
The Big Bang Theory costars — whose characters Leonard and Penny (spoiler alert!) marry in the ninth season — secretly dated for two years when the show first began. Following their split, Galecki told CBS Watch! magazine in December 2013, “We’re dear friends … Kaley’s not just an ex, she’s a part of my life.” Cuoco made her own stance clear in April 2018, when she penned a sweet message to her ex and colleague on Instagram for his birthday. “Happy happy birthday to the best tv husband a girl could ask for! This pic was taken during our first press tour in Rome. I don’t think we had any idea the ride we would be on! Love u Mooks!” she captioned a sweet shot of them. The former pair have remained on good terms ever since: The Roseanne alum even attended Cuoco’s wedding to husband Karl Cook in June 2018.
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson
The Twilight stars were involved in a high-profile romance before the Panic Room actress was caught cheating with her Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders, in 2012. Despite Stewart’s public apology, a source told Us Weekly at the time, “Rob is beyond devastated. He’s so heartbroken. He’s shocked she could hurt him and humiliate him this way.”
Stewart and Pattinson — who played Bella and Edward in the movie adaption of the beloved books — briefly reunited to promote The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in November 2012, but the damage was done. They ended their relationship for good in May 2013. Despite the drama, the former couple appear to be on friendly terms, as they have been spotted hanging out together in Hollywood in June 2018.
Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake
The Charlie’s Angels alum dated the former boy bander for four years before they went their separate ways in 2007. Despite their split, they ended up acting together in 2011’s Bad Teacher, which featured Diaz’s Elizabeth Halsey shamelessly trying to hook up with Timberlake’s Scott Delacorte. Diaz told Us Weekly in March 2011, “Justin and I have always had a good laugh together, and to make a movie where we get to have a laugh together … there really was no one else who was more perfect for this part.”
The There’s Something About Mary star — who married Good Charlotte frontman Benji Madden in 2015 and shares daughter Raddix with the musician — also gushed that the “SexyBack” singer is “a genius comedian. . . he’s clearly talented.” The ‘NSync frontman later married Jessica Biel in 2012 and the pair welcomed son Silas in 2015.
Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray
The One Tree Hill costars — who played high school sweethearts Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott — were briefly married in April 2005, however, they separated five months later. While the former couple attempted to keep things peaceful on set, Bush recalled to Cosmopolitan magazine in 2017 that their relationship and subsequent divorce was “a massive event in my life. And the trauma of it was amplified by how public it became.”
A year later, Bush revealed she felt pressured to marry the House of Wax actor. “It was not a thing I actually really wanted to do, but you know, it’s cool,” she explained to Andy Cohen, when asked why she asked down the aisle. “How do you let everybody down, and how do you — what’s the fight? And when you have bosses telling you that you’re the only person who gets a person to work on time, and 200 people either get to see their kids at night or they don’t because our days start on time.”
Murray — who wed his Chosen costar, Sarah Roemer, in January 2015 and the pair now have two kids — released a statement following Bush’s comments via his rep: “This story is ludicrous … Thirteen years since his divorce from Sophia, he has a very happy family life with his wife and children.”
Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody
The OC costars dated for three years before splitting up in 2006. Despite the split, there doesn’t seem to be any bad feelings between the former colleagues, who played Summer Roberts and Seth Cohen on the hit show. In fact, when the Jennifer’s Body actor was asked on Watch What Happens Live in 2013 who was the better kisser — Bilson or their OC costar Olivia Wilde — Brody answered, “I was dating Rachel at the time, so there were less barriers.” A year later in February, Brody participated in an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit and referred to the Hart of Dixie actress as “one of the all time greats!”
Us Weekly exclusively revealed in February 2014 that Brody and his The Oranges costar Leighton Meester got married in a top-secret wedding. Meanwhile, Bilson and her Jumper costar Hayden Christensen dated for 10 years before splitting up in September 2017. They share a daughter named Briar, who was born in October 2014.
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
The Shades of Blue actress and Anthony were married for seven years before they announced they were splitting up in 2011. Their divorce was finalized three years later. The former couple — who share twins Max and Emme — still connected professionally, and the “Vivir Mi Vida” singer ended up helping Lopez on her Spanish album.
The Enough star confirmed in 2017 that making music together helped heal their issues. “At first I was like, we’re good with the kids, but if we start working together, are we going to start going at each other again?” she said on Live with Kelly. “But it’s been awesome. Honestly, I think it’s even helped our relationship and it’s made things even better.” Anthony later married Shannon De Lima before they divorced in 2017, while Lopez is engaged to Alex Rodriguez.
Blake Lively and Penn Badgley
In 2013, a rep told Us Weekly that the Gossip Girl costars — who played Serena van der Woodsen and Dan Humphrey — had secretly ended things in September 2010 after three years of dating. An insider told Us at the time, “They’re still good friends and hang out on the set.” Two years later, Badgley congratulated his ex on getting married to Ryan Reynolds after Lively and the Deadpool star wed. In February 2017, Badgley secretly married his girlfriend, Domino Kirke, at a Brooklyn courthouse.
Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal
The No Doubt singer and bassist quietly got together after Stefani joined the group in 1989 — but they split up in 1994. Despite the breakup, the former flames powered through, putting out Tragic Kingdom, the hit album inspired by the couple’s tumultuous relationship.
Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick
The rocky romance between the reality stars has been well documented on Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The pair — who share Mason, Penelope and Reign — dated on and off for nine years before breaking up in 2015. Despite their public split, the two still continue to film the hit E! series together. In September 2017, Us Weekly exclusively revealed that Disick had moved onto Sofia Richie.
