Having a relationship in the public eye can't be easy, and having people all around constantly doubting the legitimacy of their romance can only make it harder. That being said, fake relationships for publicity do exist, but most of the time, if they are orchestrated properly, fans never find out.This list will go over some of the most relevant relationships that people have called out for seeming fake or PR stunts. Many of them have been over for a long time, but fans are still not over them.
8 Taylor Swift And Tom Hiddleston
Taylor Swift had only just broken up with Calvin Harris when she was seen dancing with Thor star Tom Hiddleston at the 2016 Met Gala. Since then, the two of them appeared to look smitten and happily in love on several occasions. With how sudden their love affair seemed to get serious, fans became skeptical and suspected their romance was a PR stunt. Tom was quick to dispel those misconceptions at the time.
"Well, um. How best to put this? That notion is — look, the truth is that Taylor Swift and I are together, and we’re very happy. Thanks for asking. That’s the truth. It’s not a publicity stunt," he clarified. When their whirlwind romance ended after three intense months, fans began believing more in their love, with Taylor reportedly dedicating the song "Getaway Car" to him. And they seem to have ended on good terms.
"Taylor is an amazing woman," Tom said when they broke up. "She’s generous and kind and lovely, and we had the best time. Of course it was real."
7 Kim Kardashian And Pete Davidson
Kim Kardashian's divorce from Kanye West was messy, and because of that, and Kris Jenner's known mastery of controlling the narrative when it comes to protecting her family, people thought Kim's relationship with Pete Davidson was fake. They recently broke up after nine months together, reportedly due to their demanding schedules, and while some people still doubt how true their love was, people close to Kim have said that she had looked happier during their relationship than she had in a long time.
6 Zac Efron And Vanessa Hudgens
The timeline of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' relationship made people a little suspicious at the time, there's no doubt about it. The onscreen couple brought their romance to real life when they fell in love on the High School Musical set, and their relationship conveniently ended after the last movie of the franchise.
They have always spoken highly of each other though, and remember their time together fondly, so these rumors seem to be unfounded.
5 Henry Cavill And Kaley Cuoco
Kaley Cuoco and Henry Cavill didn't last very long, which was the main reason people called them out. The Big Bang Theory star went on a few very public dates with Henry around the time Man of Steel was about to come out, which sparked the rumors that the relationship was a publicity stunt, and ended in just two weeks.
4 Timothée Chalamet And Lily-Rose Depp
Fans tend to think that, when a relationship conveniently brings attention to an upcoming project, it's probably a PR stunt. That was the case with Timothée Chalamet and Lily-Rose Depp.
They started dating in late 2018, right before the release of their movie The King, but then they stayed together until early 2020, so regardless of how or why their relationship started, they clearly loved each other.
3 Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck
It might sound insane now, but at the time, when Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck announced that they were getting back together after almost 20 years, there were people who believed it was fake. Now, however, it's almost impossible to doubt their love. They recently got married in Nevada and spent a beautiful honeymoon in Europe.
2 Kim Kardashian And Kris Humphries
For a while, people thought that the socialite's relationship with basketball player Kris Humphries was another Kris Jenner master plan, but in a very vulnerable essay written for The Players Tribune, Kris Humphries unequivocally denied it.
"There’s definitely a lot about that world that is not entirely real. But our actual relationship was 100% real," he said. "When it was clear that it wasn’t working… what can I say? It sucked."
1 Megan Fox And Machine Gun Kelly
It was probably more out of disbelief that fans pointed out Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly's romance was a hoax, but ever since their engagement, most people have come to terms with the idea. They have caused some controversy with their sometimes excessively public relationship, but they seem impossibly happy and in love, and they deserve it.
