21 Celebrities Who Dated, Married, Or Divorced Their Employees

Buzz Feed

26-02-2025

As a non-famous, regular person, it's fun to fantasize about marrying a celebrity. But that's exactly what it is: a FANTASY. A dream that probably won't come true.
But today, we're gonna indulge those fantasies — because I've compiled a list of celebs who dated their employees! Just regular people who stumbled upon a celebrity at work, and boom, the rest is history.
1. Christina Aguilera met her fiancé Matthew Rutler on set of the Burlesque movie in 2010. He was only a production assistant, while she obviously starred in the movie! They've been together ever since, and got engaged in 2014.
2. Hilary Duff dated her personal trainer, Jason Walsh, around 2016. Hilary called it the "first more serious relationship" she had since getting divorced from her ex-husband, Mike Comrie, earlier that same year. But it didn't last too long, and she's now happily married to musician Matthew Koma.
3. Britney Spears was married to her backup dancer, Kevin Federline, for three years. They met in 2004, got married just a couple months later, and had two kids together before finalizing their divorce in 2007. And bonus: she's now dating Paul Richard Soliz, who was a maintenance worker on her house.
4. Ethan Hawke is currently married to Ryan Shawhughes. She worked as his kids' nanny while he was married to Uma Thurman, but he and Ryan only started dating a year after his marriage to Uma ended. They got married in 2008, and have two kids together.
5. Way back in 2010, Kim Kardashian dated her bodyguard, Shengo Deane. They weren't together for long, but they had a little fling! So there's that!
6. Natalie Portman and her ex-husband Benjamin Millepied met on set for Black Swan in 2010. He was her choreographer, working with her on some of the ballet steps she'd perform in the movie. They were married for around seven years before finalizing their divorce in 2024.
7. Usher famously married his stylist, Tameka Foster, in 2007. They had two kids together before getting divorced in 2009. In 2021, she opened up about their marriage to Page Six, saying, "The truth is, I really, really loved my husband. It wasn't bullshit. It wasn't gold-digging."
8. We all know how adorable John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are — but you might not know how it all started. Wayyyy before getting married in 2013, she was a model in his 2006 music video "Stereo," which is where they met.
9. Pamela Anderson has been married five times. The last of those marriages was with Dan Hayhurst, who was her builder and bodyguard! They met when he renovated her house in Vancouver, and were married from 2020 until 2022.
10. Ariana Grande dated Ricky Alvarez, who was one of her backup dancers. They became official in 2015 and broke up the following year — but she did "[write] some songs about Ricky" (her words from "thank u, next," not mine).
11. And along those lines, how could I forget about Mariah Carey? She dated Bryan Tanaka, who was a backup dancer on her 2006 tour. But they didn't actually start dating until ten years after that, and spent many years together before breaking up in late 2023.
12. Patrick Dempsey and his wife Jillian met in the most adorable way: Patrick was her client at her hair salon! They got married in 1999 and now have three kids together. It's a match made in haircut heaven.
13. Madonna has had flings with several people who worked for her — including backup dancer Brahim Zaibat, choreographer Timor Steffens, and most recently, backup dancer Ahlamalik Williams. He is also 36 years younger than her. These two dated for three years, and broke up in 2022.
14. Jennifer Lopez has dated two of her backup dancers. The first was Cris Judd, who she hired for her "Love Don't Cost a Thing" music video — they got married in 2001, and separated a year later. Then, J.Lo dated Beau "Casper" Smart, another backup dancer, from 2011 until 2016.
15. Another bodyguard love story! Heidi Klum and her bodyguard, Martin Kristen, dated for about a year and a half. They broke up in 2014, and stopped working together at that point (duh).
16. Robin Williams, who passed away in 2014, married his son's nanny, Marsha Garces. She also became a production assistant on some of his movies. These two became pregnant in 1988, got married the year after, and got divorced in 2010.
Evan Agostini / Getty Images
17. Arnold Schwarzenegger had some kind of fling with his former housekeeper, Mildred Patricia Baena. It technically wasn't a full-on relationship; they allegedly just had a one-night stand. But she did give birth to his child in 1997, while he was still with his ex-wife Maria Shriver. And we only learned about it in 2011.
Klaus Pressberger / Getty Images
Again, I couldn't find a photo of the two of them; for this, I apologize!
18. Country singer LeeAnn Rimes was once married to her backup dancer, Dean Sheremet. They met when he was chosen to dance backup for her at the 2001 Country Music Awards. The pair were married from 2002 until 2009, ending because she reportedly cheated on Dean with her now-husband, Eddie Cibrian.
R. Diamond / Getty Images
19. Jeff Bridges met his current wife, Susan Geston, while she was working as a waitress in Montana in the mid-1970s. At the time, Jeff was filming the movie Rancho Deluxe. (So I guess she wasn't technically working for HIM, but still.) They got married in 1977 and have three kids! How cute!
Axelle / FilmMagic / Getty Images
20. And another actor who married a server! Nicolas Cage was once married to Alice Kim, who was his waitress at a restaurant in Los Angeles. She was 19 when they met, while he was 40. They got married only two months after meeting and had one son together, before getting divorced in 2017.
Luca Teuchmann / Getty Images
21. Similarly, David Schwimmer was married to Zoë Buckman, who is 19 years younger than him, for seven years — from 2010 until 2017. They had one daughter together. But how did they meet? Funny story: she was his waitress at the Cuckoo Club, a London nightclub.
Walter Mcbride / Getty Images
Any other celebrities who have dated or married an employee to add to this list? Tell me in the comments below!
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