10 Celebrity Couples Who Had to Keep Working Together After Breaking Up
For normal humans, a breakup usually means you can delete the photos, return the old Motorhead t-shirt, and never again pretend you “love that for them” when your ex posts a gym selfie. However, for celebrities, the process is entirely different, particularly when their ex-partner is also their co-star, producer, or occasional cuddle buddy. The contracts are signed, and the show must go on.
Here are 10 couples who broke up and then still had to act professionally to fulfill their contracts.
1. Kaley Cuoco & Johnny Galecki
Their characters ended up married on The Big Bang Theory, but Kaley and Johnny’s real relationship ended in 2010 after about two years. Then they went back to work playing flirty, affectionate love interests on a hit sitcom in front of an audience. The key was mutual respect and staying close friends instead of going toxic with each other. Not every split couple can do that.
2. Zendaya & Jacob Elordi
Zendaya and Jacob Elordi were never officially a couple, but they were photographed traveling together in Greece in 2019 and later seen looking very cozy. Cozy enough that fans basically married them. By 2020, it seemed to fade out quietly. They still worked together on Euphoria, and Elordi publicly congratulated Zendaya when she won her first Emmy, so whatever they had back in Greece is now gone and forgotten.
3. Jennifer Lawrence & Nicholas Hoult
They met on X-Men and dated for several years before splitting in 2014. That’s right around the time JLaw was busy doing her own stuff, figuring out who she was without the movies and without the relationship. Hoult later made it sound surprisingly manageable to work together post-breakup, mostly because big franchise sets are hectic and not everyone is together all day, every day.
4. B.J. Novak & Mindy Kaling
On The Office, Kelly and Ryan were everyone’s favorite couple (right after Pam and Jim, of course). Off-screen, Mindy and B.J. had an equally confusing, on-and-off situation where even they weren’t always sure what to call it. Eventually, they grew up and transitioned into a close friendship that looks much healthier than most people’s actual marriages. They still pop up together at big events, and B.J. is the godfather to Mindy’s three kids, so maybe things aren’t as awkward with these two.
5. Michael C. Hall & Jennifer Carpenter
Imagine divorcing your spouse and then immediately returning to work where you play siblings in a show about a serial killer. Sounds like some weird fanfic, but Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter were actually married while filming Dexter (2008–2011), then split before the series ended in 2013. They kept working together because they are both adults and A-tier professionals. Too bad their relationship didn’t last.
6. Madelyn Cline & Chase Stokes
Outer Banks stars Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes confirmed they were dating in 2020. After about a year and a half, they split but had to keep working together. Stokes said they agreed to put work first, no matter what. That’s a beautiful sentiment, but all that kissing on camera probably didn’t help.
7. Lili Reinhart & Cole Sprouse
Fans started shipping Betty and Jughead the second Riverdale launched in 2017, and then the actors started dating in real life. What? That’s perfect! Or so we’d thought. They went public around 2018, but after plenty of rumors, Sprouse confirmed the split in 2020. They kept filming together for years after, all the way until the show’s final season in 2023.
8. Milo Ventimiglia & Hayden Panettiere
Before he became America’s comfort-dad on This Is Us, Milo was a lead on Heroes alongside Hayden Panettiere. They began dating in 2007 and kept the relationship private, likely due to their noticeable age difference at the time, which drew public attention and raised questions, even though it was within the law. Not illegal, but definitely in the creep territory. They split in 2009 but still had to film together until the series wrapped in 2010. Milo later implied “dating coworkers” wasn’t a sequel he wanted.
9. Dwayne Johnson & Dany Garcia
The Rock and Dany Garcia ended their decade-long marriage in 2007, then continued building an empire together because, apparently, the only thing stronger than love is a lot of money. They’ve kept collaborating on major projects, including films she’s executive-produced. Johnson has been blunt that it takes work, maturity, and effort that most people don’t feel like doing. They also share a daughter, Simone Alexandra Johnson, so teamwork wasn’t optional.
10. Zach Braff & Florence Pugh
After dating for a while, Florence Pugh and Zach Braff starred in A Good Person together, then broke up, and were forced to (as per the contract) do the promo tour. Braff, who directed the film, continued praising Pugh’s talent publicly, essentially making it clear that whatever happened personally didn’t change his professional respect for her. There was no yelling, zero drama—just tip-top professionalism from both sides.