15 Celebrity Relationships That Started As Affairs

It happens every day around the world. People meet at their place of work, and there's an undeniable attraction, and an affair begins. One or both might be married, or not.

And when it happens in the celebrity world, keeping it a secret is dang near impossible. Sometimes affairs end quietly on their own, but sometimes they blossom into full-blown relationships. People end up getting divorced and then marrying their new objects of affection.

Unfortunately, people get hurt as well. And now in the age of social media, affairs are blown up and the injured party often hears about his/her lover's liaison on Instagram or Twitter, etc. Ouch! The sting can be very painful, but a lot of times unpleasant exchanges begin, too, and the war of the roses can carry on for weeks, even months in front of everybody.

Remember not so long ago when Ciara and Future went at it? That split and the ensuing custody battle for little Future carried out on social media right before our eyes. Shoot, some of the exchanges were even used in court.

But back to affairs… whole movies have been made about them. They've been a point of fascination for centuries really, and with the advent of television and other media, the fascination has continued, with TV shows fashioned after who's sleeping with whom.

But there are some affairs that actually turn into real relationships that last for years, for forever even. Look at what happened with Princess Diana, Prince Charles, and Camilla.

15 Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie Made It Last… For Awhile

Brad Pitt was married to Jennifer Anniston when he started a dalliance with Angelina Jolie. Anniston was reportedly heartbroken when Pitt actually left her for Jolie. One of the things that allegedly attracted Pitt to Jolie was her love of children. He wanted them and Anniston was hesitant. Jolie and Pitt ended up having and adopting a total of six kids, and oddly enough, those same kids became a bone of contention when the two split up. Reportedly, Pitt's discipline methods did not meet the approval of Jolie, and an incident in particular in 2016 on their private plane drove them apart. However, Pitt recently admitted that he had been battling an addiction and was seeing a therapist more than once a week. All the same, Pitt and Jolie made a really cool Hollywood power couple for the more than 10 years that it lasted.

14 Prince Charles And Camilla Parker Bowles Shocked The World

When Prince Charles married Princess Diana, it was the fairy tale wedding of the century… him the awkward-looking royal and her the sweet-faced debutante. And Diana became the perfect princess, gifting the royal family with two male heirs and performing her official duties with style and grace. So when rumors started escalating that he was having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, who was also married at the time, the world went into shock, especially in lieu of the fact that Camilla was rather plain looking compared to Diana's elegance. But it was true. Camilla was an old flame of Prince Charles and somehow they had rekindled their relationship right smack in the middle of his marriage to the beloved Diana. Camilla recently told People that when word got it, she was a prisoner in her own home. It wasn't until 2008, nearly 10 years after Diana's death, that the two felt comfortable enough to marry.

13 Blake Shelton And Miranda Lambert Were No Angels When They Hooked Up

It all started between country singers Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton when they did a duet live on stage at the 2005 CMT 100 Greatest Duets concert. Right then and there, Lambert told NBC's Dateline, she knew there was an undeniable chemistry. The only problem was… Shelton was married at the time. Lambert said she knew he should have been off limits. “I knew better… Because my parents are private investigators, for God's sakes. I've seen this my whole life, affairs.” But Shelton and Lambert made it happen, and he eventually divorced his wife. The two stuck it out for five years, before rumors of cheating on both sides turned into a split and eventual divorce. Shelton is with Gwen Stefani now, and Lambert is with musician Anderson East.

12 Eddie Cibrian And LeAnn Rimes Denied Affair

Actor Eddie Cibrian was married to model Brandi Glanville and country singer LeAnn Rimes was married to songwriter Dean Sheremet when rumors were flying that the two were having an affair. Cibrian especially went on a campaign to deny the liaison. Rimes - not so much - as there were already rustlings that her marriage was on the rocks. However, in an interview with US magazine after their divorce, Sheremet said he heard about the affair from Rimes herself one day when she called and confessed she was having an affair with her Northern Lights co-star Eddie Cibrian. Sheremet said he “never saw it coming.” He added that he has no ill feelings toward Rimes, but Glanville is another story. Since Cibrian and Rimes ended up marrying, that means Glanville has to accept the fact that Rimes is now step-mom to her two sons with Cibrian, and she is not happy about it to this day.

11 Alicia Keys And Swizz Beatz Made Beautiful Music Before His Divorce

When word got out that singer/songwriter Alicia Keys was messing around with producer Swizz Beatz, no one wanted to believe the pop super star would do such a thing. After all, he was married and there were kids involved. But the affair became more and more obvious and Beatz made the move to divorce his wife Mashonda. After five years of marriage and a son, Beatz and Mashonda officially went their separate ways, but Mashonda had it in for Keys for some time, even calling keys a “homewrecker” at one point. Not long after their divorce became official, Beatz married Keys, and they too had a child together. Oddly enough, last year Keys and Mashonda came to a truce and the blended family even vacationed together in St. Bart's. And Keys dedicated a song to their blended family, called “Blended Family (What You Do For Love).” Awwwww.

10 Tori Spelling And Dean McDermott: What Goes Around…

When Dean McDermott met Tori Spelling, he was married. His wife Mary Jo Eustace, five years his senior, of course wasn't too happy with him over his dalliance with Spelling, who is six years his junior. McDermott cheated on Eustace with Spelling, then left her to marry Spelling, and they had five kids together. Spelling, incidentally, is the heiress to the Spelling entertainment empire. Perhaps McDermott had that in mind when he pursued the relationship with Spelling. Who knows? We only bring that up because McDermott has not only cheated on Spelling with another woman, he reportedly told his ex-wife that he regrets leaving her to marry Spelling! Oh snap! It's no secret that the Spelling/McDermott clan has had financial woes, despite Dad Spelling's deep pockets. In fact, Eustace has reported that she even let McDermott slide on three years of child support for their son Jack.

9 Debra Messing And Will Chase Got Involved Before Their Divorces

Actress Debra Messing is back in the limelight with the rebirth of sitcom Will & Grace. While the show was off the air, she did get some roles with other projects, including the TV musical Smash, which she co-starred with actor Will Chase. Messing was still married to writer/producer Daniel Zelman at the time Smash was in production. Chase was still married to Broadway actress Stephanie Gibson, although the two were reportedly getting a divorce. However, right smack in the middle of the musical's production, Messing and Chase reportedly started an affair. The divorces went through (Chase's second) and ever since that the two were seen together on the red carpet for a number of events. But the relationship only lasted about three years. The two went their separate ways in 2014, but it was reported that they remained close friends. Messing is back on the revival of Will & Grace and is said to be unattached these days.

8 Dwyane Wade And Gabrielle Union Manage Amid Cheating

NBA super star Dwyane Wade won three NBA championships with the Miami Heat, two of those with then team mate LeBron James. Wade spent last season with the Chicago Bulls, and now he is back with James at the Cleveland Cavaliers. During his career, his time off the court has been pretty newsworthy, too. He married his high school sweetheart Siovaughn and the then happy couple had two sons. But they didn't live happily ever after, as Wade allegedly began an affair with actress Gabrielle Union. It got ugly for a minute, with Siovaughn calling Union a "home wrecker," and then there was the custody battle for the two boys, which Wade basically won. It seemed Wade and Union were going to live happily ever after, but they separated for a while, and during that time, Wade had a fling with another woman, and she even had a baby from him. But Union forgave Wade, they reunited and had a fairy tale wedding, complete with his sons as part of the wedding party. Recently, Union admitted that she has had several miscarriages in an attempt to have her own child with her husband. Funny thing… in recent interviews, Union revealed that the two have to schedule their intimate time around his NBA schedule!

7 The Affair That Made Everyone Say 'Ew!' - Jesse James And the 'Bombshell'

Actress Sandra Bullock was at the peak of her career. She seemed happily married to Jesse James (six years) and quietly was in the process of adopting a beautiful baby boy from New Orleans (which she named Louis after Louis Armstrong). Then her world came crashing down when it came out that hubby James was having an affair with a tattooed dancer named Michelle “Bombshell” McGee. Later, James would admit on the Today show how hard it was to tell Bullock about his 11-month relationship with McGee. Actually, he was pretty much forced to do it, as Bullock's publicist had called to inform him that McGee was about to go public. He revealed how Bullock softly cried and then walked out on him, never to return. He ended the relationship with her, but later, he hooked up with Kat Von D, and she reports that he cheated on her, too… reportedly some 19 times!

6 Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Philippe And Abbie Cornish - The Home Wrecker

Sometimes people tend to think celebrities live storybook lives, but heartbreak can characterize their lives just like the rest of us. That's the way actress Reese Witherspoon sees it, as she characterizes her divorce from Ryan Philippe as “humiliating and isolating.” Here's the story… Witherspoon and Philippe were living happily ever after with their two kids. And then Philippe went to work on the movie Stop-Loss with Abbie Cornish and there were subtle rumors - which they denied - that Philippe and Cornish were hooking up. They ended up living together and Philippe and Witherspoon divorced. Cornish was dubbed the home wrecker, but she claimed in an interview with W magazine that it was a “difficult time” for her. She allegedly relocated from Australia to be with Philippe, even before he split from Witherspoon. Ironically, Cornish eventually moved out of the house she shared with Philippe, and get this… amid rumors he was cheating on her!

5 Three Ring Circus: Meg Ryan, Dennis Quaid And Russell Crowe

Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid looked like they had a marriage that was going to last. After all, they had made it past the seven-year itch and were headed toward 10 years of wedded bliss. But then… Ryan met actor Russell Crowe on the set of Proof of Life. Like so many, Ryan and Crowe denied they had an affair, but soon after the wrap of the movie, Quaid and Ryan announced they were divorcing. Ryan blamed Quaid, claiming he had cheated on her during their marriage, but the truth was she was no angel either. The pair dated for two years after the fling, and insiders even claimed Crowe wanted to marry Ryan. He had a habit of gifting her with things like a puppy and a 1963 Buick Rivera. But then came reports that he snuck out of an event with Courtney Love, and that was it for Ryan. However, as recent as 2014, Crowe reportedly told friends he wished he had never let Ryan go.

4 Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, And Antonio Banderas The 40-Year Triangle

When she was only 14, some 40+ years ago, Melanie Griffith began dating Don Johnson, who was 22 at the time. They married in 1976, but it only lasted six months. Then Griffith hooked up with actor Steven Bauer, with whom she had a child. That marriage broke down and Griffith ran back to Don Johnson and they married again, and this time it lasted from 1989 until 1996. But before their second split, she started messing around with Antonio Banderas. And once her and Johnson divorced again, she married Banderas. Got all that? There's more. When Banderas hooked up with Griffith, he was still married. He divorced his wife to marry Griffith and the two stayed together until 2014, when Griffith filed for divorce amidst rumors of cheating. The divorce became final in 2015, with the two keeping their respective earnings; however, according to TMZ, Banderas is paying Griffith $65,000 a month in spousal support. Meanwhile, Griffith and Johnson were seen together right after her latest divorce in Los Angeles boarding a plane to head to London to see their daughter, Dakota, who stars in the Fifty Shades movies.

3 Elizabeth Taylor Stole Eddie Fisher From BFF Debbie Reynolds

Elizabeth Taylor was the queen of the big screen, and she was also queen of affairs of the heart. The celebrated actress married eight times, twice to Richard Burton. But one of her marriages truly stands out as a major scandal, and that was to Eddie Fisher, who she allegedly stole from her BFF Debbie Reynolds. Fisher and Reynolds (who later revealed she was pure when she married Fisher) were married, and at the time, Fisher was already known as a player. In fact, in her book, Reynolds reveals that Frank Sinatra warned her about Fisher. A year after they were married, Reynolds gave birth to daughter Carrie Fisher (yes, of Star Wars fame). When Taylor's then husband, Mike Todd, was killed in a plane crash, Fisher rushed to her side to supposedly help her through a rough period, and since they were all friends, Reynolds did not object. But it turned into an affair, right under Reynolds' nose, and then Fisher divorced Reynolds and married Taylor. Ironically, less than five years later, Taylor would cheat on Fisher with Richard Burton, who she eventually married, divorced and married again.

2 Joanne Woodward And Paul Newman: A Great Love Story That Started Out Wrong

The marriage of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, both stars of the big screen, lasted an eternity by Hollywood standards… . 50 years. But the love affair started out on the wrong foot. When Newman met the blond beauty, he was married. They met on the set of the Broadway show “Picnic,” where he was the star and she was a mere understudy to the female lead. They also had in common that they were students of Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio, and both shared a desire to head to Hollywood to make motion pictures. By the time Newman divorced his first wife, four years later, the two were cast in The Long, Hot Summer, and their love for each other became public and in 1958, Newman and Woodward were married in Las Vegas. It was a match made, well, sort of, in heaven. Woodward said of Newman: “Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat.” That's love!

1 Why Spencer Tracy Never Left His Wife For Katherine Hepburn 

On the big screen, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy sizzled, and that was true off screen as well. But the problem was… Tracy was married. Their real life love affair lasted 25 years, and only ended when Tracy died. The iconic actors met on the set in 1942 during production of Woman of the Year, and their last film together was Guess Who's Coming to Dinner just before his passing in 1967. The pair did nine films together, and although rumors persisted about their romantic liaison, Hepburn did not acknowledge it until 1983 after Tracy's wife Louise died. Why didn't Tracy ever leave Louise? The story is that when their son John was diagnosed as deaf, Louise, also an aspiring actress at the time, devoted her life to being a mother, and Tracy felt he could never abandon her. How noble was that.