It’s not who you start the year with, but who you end it kissing as the clock strikes midnight.
As we all know, celebrities know how to deliver the relationship drama, breaking up, hooking up, reconciling and divorce-filing all the time. But 2019 proved to be a particularly busy year in the celebrity romance department, with some major splits and even more surprising hookups.
Just think: In 2018, Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande were arguably the most talked-about couple, but since their split, the Saturday Night Live star has been in three high-profile relationships this year alone. (BDE effect?) Meanwhile, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth both entered new romances after their split left fans shocked and watching The Last Song with tubs of ice cream to recover.
And 2019 proved to be the year that Bachelor Nation truly took over, with multiple contestants going on to date several mega-famous ladies after their time on Hannah Brown‘s season came to an end. Plus, a Property Brother snagged himself a New Girl and Lana Del Rey began dating a low-key reality star. (What is the opposite of “Summertime Sadness”?)
But which of these surprising relationships actually made it through the end of the year, heading into 2020 looking stronger (and happier) than ever? Let’s take a look back at 2019’s unexpected celeb couples (otherwise known as Pete Davidson’s relationship rewind)…
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Zooey Deschanel and Jonathan Scott
While learning that Zooey was splitting from husband Jonathan Pechenik, who she shares two kids with, was definitely unexpected, the news that she was dating Property Brothers star was even more so. And the adorkable couple hasn’t been shy about their relationship, posting Instagram photos, attending his brother J.D.’s wedding together and publicly professing their love after meeting while filming Carpool Karaoke. (Talk about a pop culture mad libs.)
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Gigi Hadid and Tyler Cameron
How did this shortlived romance between The Bachelorette fan-favorite (and finalist) and one of the most famous supermodels in the world start? DMs were slid into, obviously.
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Demi Lovato and Mike Johnson
How did this shortlived romance between The Bachelorette fan-favorite (and one of the frontrunners to be the next Bachelor) and the pop singer start? Flirty Instagram messages, obviously.
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Miley Cyrus and Kaitlynn Carter
Just days after announcing her split from husband of less than one year/on-and-off beau for almost a decade Liam Hemsworth, fans were surprised to see friends Miley and Kaitlynn, fresh off her own split from husband Brody Jenner, canoodling on a girls’ trip.
After two whirlwind months, the pair split, with The Hills: New Beginnings star later opening up about the unexpected romance in an essay for Elle, though she never mentioned Miley by name.
“This past July, I went on vacation with a female friend; the next thing I knew, I was in love with her,” Carter wrote. “Until that trip, it had never crossed my mind that I was even capable of loving a woman the way I loved her.”
Instagram / Cody Simpson
Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson
After her breakup with Kaitlynn, Miley developed a close bond with longtime friend Cody Simpson, an Australian singer whose previously wooed Gigi Hadid and Kylie Jenner.
The new couple weren’t shy about their relationship, engaging in a lot of PDA on social media, including going live on Instagram Stories (earning some backlash in the process), getting matching tattoos, Cody releasing a song about Miley, and The Masked Singer winner being by her side during and after her recent tonsillectomy surgery.
Despite rumblings of a split, the two are still together, with Cody spending Thanksgiving in Tennessee and a source telling E! News, “Cody has been very supportive throughout her recovery and she is very happy with him. They are doing well together.”
Liam Hemsworth and Maddison Brown
While he’s not moving on quite as publicly as Miley, Liam has also entered a new relationship (and filed for divorce), as the Aussie is dating the Dynasty star, a fellow Australian.
“Both being Aussies, their love for the beach and the fact that they share careers has bonded them,” a source told People, who were first spotted together in October. “They are a very cute couple.”
Ironically enough, when Maddison was on the Zach Sang Show a few months ago, she was asked to play a round of “F, Marry, Kill” with Hugh Jackman, Margot Robie and both Liam and Chris Hemsworth, and she answered, ”I want both of the Hemsworths. I’m gonna kill Hugh Jackman, I’m gonna marry Margot Robbie, because I would like to f–k her for life, and then I will f–k the Hemsworth brothers, but at the same time, both of them.”
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Liam Hemsworth and Gabriella Brooks
But Liam’s romance with Maddison was seemingly shortlived, as he fueled romance rumors with Gabriella, an Australian model, after he was photographed introducing her to his parents in Byron Bay, with the group going on to enjoy a lunch together.
MEGA
Pete Davidson and Kate Beckinsale
Fresh off his split from Ariana Grande, the Saturday Night Live star made headlines for his romance with the actress who was 20 years his senior.
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Pete Davidson and Margaret Qualley
Fresh off his split from Kate, Pete dated the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood… actress for several months over the summer, with her famous mom Andie MacDowell once saying, ”They have a nice relationship.”
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Pete Davidson and Kaia Gerber
Fresh off his split from Margaret, Pete made headlines for his romance with the 18-year-old model daughter of Cindy Crawford, with the duo being spotted out on dates in NYC and Los Angeles.
So if 2019 proved anything, it’s that the 26-year-old comedian does in fact have BDE: Big Date Energy.
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Emma Roberts and Garrett Hedlund
After calling off her engagement with American Horror Story co-star Evan Peters and ending their five-year romance, the Scream Queens star was the first to move on with Garrett, with the new couple being spotted out holding hands on multiple occasions out and about in LA. While they’ve never publicly addressed their relationship, Emma and the Triple Frontier star are heading into the New Year stronger than ever.
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Halsey and Evan Peters
In 2013, Halsey just wanted cookies and Evan Peters.
In 2019, after his split from Emma Roberts, they made their red carpet debut as a couple on Halloween.
Moral of their love story? Dream (and tweet) big!
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Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello
The singers were friends for years before they began their worldwide PDA tour, taking their kissing to the beach, the stage, Instagram and courtside.
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David Harbour and Lily Allen
Sure, there are stranger things that have happened in 2019, but no one was expecting to see this celeb couple step out together.
But low-key couple has recently sparked engagement rumors after Lily was sporting a ring on that finger when she attended he European premiere of Frozen 2 in November.
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Lana Del Rey and Sean “Sticks” Larkin
The “Summertime Sadness” singer dating Larkin, aka Sergeant Larkin, an analyst on A&E’s Live PD and the host of Live PD Presents PD CAM, is the most 2019 about 2019.
And in December, Lana made their romance Instagram official, posting a cute photo of the couple in which her new BF is kissing her head. The singer captioned the picture with a heart and orange emoji.
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Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin
The country superstar’s fans were shocked w hen she revealed on Valentine’s Day that she had married the NYPD officer in a top-secret ceremony, with the “Vice” singer later revealing they met when he was doing security during an appearance she was making on Good Morning America.
“My girlfriends, the Annies, saw him and knew I might be ready to hang out with someone,” she said of their meet-cute. “They invited him to our show behind my back. They plucked him for me.”
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Noah Centineo and Alexis Ren
The To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before breakout star and the Instagram model sparked romance rumors for month because confirming their relationship via, what else, social media.
At E!’s People’s Choice Awards, Alexis gushed about her “spontaneous” beau, telling us, “His heart is really that genuine. He has a heart of gold, and he’s that much of a dork in real life, too…he’ll chase me down the hall, it’s so funny.” Ah, who said chivalry is dead?
Disney
The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda
This most unexpected pairing quickly became the Internet’s most beloved and adorable pairing after The Mandalorian premiered on Disney+.
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Watch the 2019: What E! Year end-of-year special Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 10 p.m.! E! News returns Monday morning, Jan. 6 at 7 a.m.!