13 Celebrity Couples Who Were High School Sweethearts

U2 frontman Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, have been together since they were teenagers

Many celebrity couples got together long before they found fame and fortune in Hollywood — with some even falling in love as early as high school.

Snoop Dogg and his longtime wife, Shante Broadus, for example, met as teenagers in Long Beach, Calif. The couple have been married since 1997.

“She understands me,” the rapper told PEOPLE in September 2024. “She’s a great mother, a tremendous grandmother, an excellent wife and a great friend. The good to my bad is her.”

Other celebrity duos who met as students include U2 frontman Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, and Glee actress Heather Morris and her husband, Taylor Hubbell.

Here are 13 celebrity couples who started out as high school sweethearts.

01 of 13

LeBron and Savannah James

NBA legend LeBron James has been with his wife, Savannah, since they were students at rival high schools in Ohio. The pair started dating as teens before tying the knot on Sept. 14, 2013. They welcomed son LeBron “Bronny” James Jr. in 2004, followed by son Bryce in 2007 and daughter Zhuri in 2014.

“A person like myself always needs a great sidekick and a person you can rely on no matter the circumstances. And she’s that,” the Philadelphia 76ers forward told Harper’s Bazaar of his wife in 2010. “She’s got my back and I love her for that.”

02 of 13

Bono and Ali Hewson

Bono has famously been with his wife, Ali, since they were students at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in the 1970s.

“We were teenagers,” the Irish musician later recalled in a 2016 red carpet interview with Extra. “We went to the same school, high school. It just so happens it was this afternoon [in 1976] I walked her to her bus — isn’t that mad?”

The pair married in 1982 and went on to welcome four children: daughters Jordan and Eve and sons Elijah and John.

03 of 13

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes

Brittany Mahomes has been supporting her husband, NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, ever since his days on their high school football team. The couple went to prom together in 2013, got engaged in 2020 and said “I do” in 2022. They share three children: Sterling, Patrick III and Golden.

“Whether it’s in business, or supporting our family, she always leads with strength and purpose,” Patrick said of Brittany in a June 2025 interview with PEOPLE. “That kind of confidence is powerful; it pushes me to be better every day.”

04 of 13

Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins

Country music star Thomas Rhett has known his wife, Lauren Akins, since they were in elementary school. The duo became friends in sixth grade.

“Even though the feeling was not reciprocated in the sixth grade, I already knew I was in love with her,” Rhett told British GQ in June 2019. “I know that sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.”

Rhett and Akins dated for six months when they were 15, per Taste of Country. After breaking up and dating other people, they got back together and tied the knot in 2012. The couple now share four daughters and one son.

05 of 13

Snoop Dogg and Shante Broadus

Snoop Dogg and Broadus met as teenagers at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. The couple wed in 1997 and share three kids (Snoop also has a fourth child, Julian, with Laurie Helmond).

Speaking on Today in 2023, the rapper opened up about why their marriage has withstood the test of time.

“I think because we were both young and we were both willing to sacrifice for each other,” he said. “She knew what my dreams and goals was, and at the same time, I knew what hers were.”

06 of 13

Ron and Cheryl Howard

Actor and director Ron Howard and his wife, Cheryl, had their first date as teens in 1970 before marrying in 1975. They now share four kids and six grandkids.

In June 2019, the former Andy Griffith Show star opened up about their instant connection in an interview with PEOPLE.

“I met her, and there was never anybody else,” he said. “… She’s unbelievably supportive and always has been. Our compatibility has endured through all kinds of experiences.”

07 of 13

Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Bongiovi

Jon Bon Jovi and Dorothea Bongiovi met as high school students in 1980 before eloping in Las Vegas in 1989.

“It shocked a lot of people — shocked about everybody: the band, management, agents, lawyers, parents, you name it,” the rock legend told PEOPLE in April 2024. “It’s a shame because it should have been a beautiful moment, but after we did it, people were trying to take it away. And 35 years later, we’re still married.”

The duo now share four kids and two grandkids, including Jake Bongiovi and Millie Bobby Brown’s daughter.

08 of 13

Jeff Daniels and Kathleen Treado

Dumb and Dumber star Jeff Daniels began dating his wife, Kathleen Treado, when they were in high school, and they got married in 1979.

After launching his career in New York City in the ‘80s, the couple ultimately decided to move back to their home state of Michigan to raise their three kids.

“Kathleen’s permanent. The family’s permanent,” Daniels explained to PEOPLE in May 2019. “Careers are job to job, you’re hot, you’re not.”

09 of 13

Ralph Macchio and Phyllis Fierro

The Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio has always had a good work-life balance thanks to the support of his longtime wife, Phyllis Fierro, whom he met when he was just 15. 

“Without her and without the foundation and the family we established, ‘one foot in, one foot out’ would have been very, very difficult on my own,” Macchio told PEOPLE in January 2021. “Because there would not be balance.”

The couple got married in 1987 and are the proud parents of two kids.

10 of 13

LL Cool J and Simone I. Smith

LL Cool J and his wife, Simone I. Smith, both grew up in New York City. In 1987, the duo met as teens when they were introduced by one of Smith’s cousins.

They got married in 1995 and share four children.

“Marriage isn’t for the weak, it’s for the faithful,” Smith wrote on Instagram in honor of the couple’s 30th wedding anniversary in 2025. “It takes work, love, listening, picking your battles, being a friend, a prayer warrior, a cheerleader, and a safe place.”

11 of 13

Heather Morris and Taylor Hubbell

Morris and Hubbell have been an item since high school. They tied the knot in 2015 and later welcomed two sons.

Morris paid tribute to her husband on Father’s Day in 2025 with a heartfelt Instagram post. “You show up, day in and day out, you defy your expectations; you inspire not only our boys but many others as a coach; you bring happiness and joy to so many,” she wrote.

12 of 13

Witney Carson and Carson McAllister

Dancing with the Stars pro Witney Carson was her husband Carson McAllister’s “dream girl” back when the duo were kids in American Fork, Utah.

“She didn’t know I existed until senior year,” McAllister told PEOPLE in January 2016. “We became really close friends and kinda started dating. From the second I got to know her, I could tell she was the most loving and understanding girl I’d ever met.”

The pair got married on New Year’s Day in 2016, and have welcomed two kids in the decade since.

13 of 13

Jane Kaczmarek and Rusty Long

Malcolm in the Middle star Jane Kaczmarek and her high school sweetheart, Rusty Long, broke up when they were young and went their separate ways after graduation. Fifty years later, however, the duo reconnected and got married in July 2025.

“I couldn’t believe how interesting he’d become,” Kaczmarek told PEOPLE in March 2026. “I said to him, ‘I could not make up a better man in my life right now than you.’ ”

Kaczmarek also shared that her adult kids, whom she shares with her ex-husband Bradley Whitford, are fans of Long. “[They] loved him from the minute they met him,” she said.

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