Summer Lovin’: These Couples Prove That 2020 Wasn’t All Bad

Okay, so 2020 hasn’t been a banner year. 

Beyond the obvious—and, let’s be real—more important concerns, the world of pop culture has sustained a few body blows. Production on movies, television series and even our beloved reality shows came to a halt as everyone stayed home and figured out how to film using iPhones, tripods and ring lighting. Award shows went virtual, movie premieres were largely canceled and more than a few couples were driven apart in the days of social distancing.  

While certainly at least a few of them were already contemplating going their separate ways before the stay-at-home orders came down, the forced separation (for those pairs that hadn’t reached the co-habitating stage) and, alternatively, the mandated 24/7 together time proved equally disastrous.

Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler announced their divorce just after quarantine began in April—their seven-year marriage clearly unraveling well before designer masks became all the rage. Same for Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich, who split just ahead of their third anniversary. And a slew of beloved couples followed, with 2020 spelling the end for Bachelor pair Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph, athletes Aaron Rodgers and Danica Patrick, singers Kacey Musgraves and Ruston Kelly and Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson, as well as for all-around adorable pair Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock.

But some duos have proven it is possible to find love in the time of coronavirus. Because what better test is there of a relationship than to see if you can hang round-the-clock with the added stressors of a global pandemic thrown in?

Quarantine buddies became romantic matches, relationships were repaired (we’re looking at you Dave and Odette Annable!) and a few celebrities even found love and the person they never want to be socially distanced from. 

Perhaps this is what Rihanna was going on about…

It was game over once these two began making eyes at each other on the set of their forthcoming crime thriller, Midnight in the Switch Grass. “Our trailers were next to each other so I just waited outside on my trailer steps everyday I worked, just to catch one glimpse of eye contact,” the 30-year-old musician shared on the July 22 episode of director Randall Emmett and fiancée Lala Kent‘s Give Them Lala…With Randall podcast July 22. “She has the most gorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen.” And Fox thinks he’s, uh, pretty easy on the eyes as well. “The second that I was in a room with him and said hello to him and looked into his eyes, I knew right away that he was what I call a twin flame,” the 34-year-old actress added. “We’re actually two halves of the same soul I think. I said that to him almost immediately. I felt it right away.”

So Santa is real. A little more than eight years after The Young and the Restless alum declared, “All I wanted for Christmas was Demi Lovato,” the pair met in March and soon began quarantining together at the musician’s Los Angeles-area pad, building upon the instant frisson they felt between them. By April Ehrich had more or less moved in, a pal telling E! News he was “infatuated,” so the “I Love Me” singer, 28, wasn’t all that surprised when Ehrich, 29, dropped to one knee on the beach in late July. “They both always knew they were each other’s perfect match. Demi has been in love with Max since the second they went on their first date,” one insider told E! News. Echoed another, “They had a very deep connection from the moment they met that was different and unlike anything they had ever felt before… They just click on every level.”

We do know these two are making beautiful music together, the Pretty Little Liars star’s voice featured on G-Eazy’s June release, Everything’s Strange Here. But chatter about their official status ranges from just “having fun” to the engagement rumors that popped up when the 30-year-old actress was photographed with a sparkly new left hand accessory in mid-August. Either way, the two are certainly enjoying the companionship. “They connected after working together recently,” a source told E! News in May of the rapper, 31, and Benson, then newly split from model Cara Delevingne. “They are both funny and love being chill while sitting at home and laughing for hours.”

Well, isn’t this just the icing on the cake: Not only did Pitch Perfect star Astin, 32, confirm his romance with the Fancy Sprinkles founder on July 11 (a little more than a year after he and ex-wife Anna Camp announced their split), he did so while defending her honor, insisting the entrepreneur, CCO and mother of three is much more than simply Jack Osborne‘s ex-spouse. We’d say the 33-year-old is sweet on him as well, judging by her July 27 post proclaiming Astin “My real life Disney Prince.”

Fret not, Aca-fans—Camp found herself a new duet partner as well. Seven months after the Perfect Harmony star declared “things happen for a reason,” she went public with her reason, revealing a romance with former New Beat Fund drummer Johnson in a March post. “In the middle of nowhere with no one I’d rather be with,” the 37-year-old actress wrote of their trip to the deserts of Joshua Tree, Calif. Now parents to a Mini Bernedoodle named Mira, their pairing feels fated. “You never know just where you’ll end up,” she posted Aug. 9, “so happy it’s with you and our brand new pup.”

Though Affleck and his Deep Water costar Ana de Armas only just began dating this past spring—a loved-up March trip to her native Cuba served as their unofficial coming-out party—pals are already labeling the partnership a success, noting the actress’ commitment to supporting Affleck’s continued sobriety and her all-around caring nature. “Everything seems to work between them,” one insider told E! News, “and it’s been a long time since he has fallen hard like this.” And de Armas, 32, has already aced one major test: winning over the 48-year-old’s three kids with ex-wife Jennifer Garner. “They immediately warmed up to her and like her a lot,” a source told E! News. “Everything has worked out very well.”

Now that’s a good advertisement for Bumble. Four months after brand spokesperson Haddish, 40, and the Oscar-winning rapper and writer, 48, used the app to go on a virtual date (a video of the two bonding over childhood dreams and a love of soul food ran on the company’s Instagram), they’ve proven to be quite the match. “This is hands down the best relationship I’ve ever been in,” comedian Haddish gushed on Steve-O’s Wild Ride! podcast in August. “I’ve lost 20 pounds since I’ve been in this relationship. I feel more confident in me.” Amazing what a bit of support can do: “Knowing that I got somebody that cares about me, that really has my back—it seems like he does anyways—and I love it.”

Just because she didn’t get Peter Weber‘s final rose doesn’t mean the medical sales rep, 26, hasn’t landed a Bachelor. After Fuller disembarked from the pilot’s season this year, fellow contestant Kelsey Weier played matchmaker. “She was like, ‘I think he’s single and he’s very attractive, you should talk to him,'” Fuller recalled to People. So in early April she found herself at Soules’ Arlington, Iowa farm, some three hours from Weier’s native West Des Moines. “I think we were both really nervous,” Fuller continued. “But it wasn’t awkward. It felt really natural. And immediately, I was like, ‘I really like him!’ I felt a genuine connection. And Iowa is so quiet—we were able to just focus on each other and enjoy each other’s company.” The 38-year-old farmer has since visited Fuller in Virginia Beach, the two popping into Leaping Lizard Cafe June 20, and so far long-distance dating is suiting them just fine. “The last few months have been really special for us,” she said. “We’re enjoying each other!”

Dare we say, it was a fairly dramatic capper to 29-year-old Weber’s somewhat whiplash-y season. Once he’d broken off an engagement to final rose recipient Hannah Ann Sluss and aborted an attempted reconciliation with also-ran Madison Prewett, the pilot changed course completely, flying to Chicago this past spring to woo fifth-place finisher Flanagan. Their romance took off fairly quickly from there. “She’s my biggest fan and she supports me and she’s always there for me,” he explained to Entertainment Tonight of the attorney, 28. “I know I have my partner in crime forever.” The co-pilots intend to move to New York City together post-COVID and have already sealed their commitment with some jewelry, Weber presenting Flanagan with a gumball machine ring when he told her he loved her. The real thing could be coming soon, he added: “We’ll see what’s in store down the road.”

Single since calling off her engagement to Jesse Metcalfe this January, the actress is now marching to the beat of a new drummer. Dating Thirty Seconds to Mars musician Shannon Leto (yup, Jared‘s brother!) has been just the antidote she needed after ending her 13-year on-and-off romance with actor Meltcalfe amid cheating accusations. “Cara has healed from the heartbreak and has moved on,” a source told E! News after the 36-year-old was spotted kissing Leto, 50, on a Santa Monica beach. “She’s truly in a good place.”

The Phantom Planet lead singer, previously engaged to Brie Larson, hinted he’d found a quarantine buddy back in April, posting a snap of the The Originals star, 31, modeling band merch on Instagram. “The new @phantomplanet shirt comes with the girl,” the 40-year-old wrote. “Please, please buy a shirt, it’s been 21 days. I need her out of my house.” By June it was clear he’d decided to keep her, actress Tonkin sharing her own Insta official photo of them kissing through face coverings. Her status update came with an important message: “wear yo masks!”

Does social distance make the heart grow fonder? Nearly 10 months after announcing they were ending their nine-year marriage, the parents of nearly 5-year-old daughter Charlie revealed in August that they were shifting course. In matching lip-locked posts, the What/If actor, 40, and the 35-year-old Supergirl actress revealed their light in the coronavirus tunnel: “2020. It ain’t all bad news.”

With a sweet beach snap June 14, Stokes confirmed the news Outer Banks diehards had known in their hearts for months: John B. and Sarah Cameron are a couple IRL too. “Cats outta the bag,” the 27-year-old actor captioned the date night post. Though, if we’re being real, that particular cat escaped back in April when Stokes revealed he was quarantining with Cline, 22, as well as costars Drew Starkey and Rudy Pankow. “We’re all staying together,” he told People. “We made a huge fort in the living room, so there’s this true honesty to the friendship you see onscreen, that is equally present offscreen as well.”

A sure sign the Vampire Diaries alum has found a winning partner in the Olympian: her willingness to go public with their months-long romance in late May. “Nina doesn’t take sharing her personal life very lightly,” a source told E! News of the actress, 31, who had posted a photo of herself giving the three-time gold medalist, 33, a trim, “but it shows how happy and secure she is with Shaun and their relationship that she is willing to take this step.” Score one for quarantine. After the well-matched pair (“They both are fun, low maintenance people who like to laugh and stay active,” said the source) successfully hunkered down together, they “made it clear to their friends that they are a serious couple.”

Just months into their romance, Platt made sure to make boyfriend Galvin feel like royalty. “Long story short, Ben made me a birthday video,” Galvin explained during an interview on the Little Known Facts podcast just days after he turned 26 on May 6. “Ben very sweetly for the past, like, probably three months, has been putting together this video for me. It’s all my favorite drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race and beyond and all of my friends in drag, wishing me a happy birthday.” The two do know how to put on a show, Galvin following up Platt’s two-year run in Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen in late 2017. The second couple to emerge from the musical, “It makes sense sense,” Galvin said of the show’s matchmaking success, “like, we all went through the war together. We all feel very connected.”

After ending her three-year romance with fellow gymnast Stacey Ervin Jr., the four-time Olympic gold medalist found a mate that made her heart do a back flip. “It’s just us,” she posted on Instagram Aug. 2, going public with her love for football player Owens, 25. So far, the Houston Texans safety has proven to be a solid spotter, with Biles, 23, writing Aug. 14, “the only time I fall is when he’s there to catch me.” As if she ever falls…

In the words of the newly rejoined Mr. and Mrs. Annable, “2020. It ain’t all bad news.”