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16 CW Costars Who Fell In Love On Set Of Their Show
Shows on The CW are known for insane drama, ridiculous plot lines, and some of our fave TV couples of all time. The internet ships The CW couples more fervently than basically any network on TV. Fortunately for rabid fans, many of those on-screen couples have fallen in love off-screen as well! We don't know what's in the water over there but so many CW costars have hooked up behind the scenes and become real-life couples. From the early days of The CW, when it was bred out of UPN and The WB to today, costars getting together has been a part of the networks DNA.
When you're working alongside beautiful people all day, it's hard not to want to get together with a costar. Especially when you're rehearsing kissing them all day long. But, not all of The CW costars that have gotten together have stayed together. Many of these couples have had short-lived dalliances — then had to work together afterward! There are also some, though, that have gotten together for the long haul, proving costar relationships can work. Here are all of the CW stars who hooked up after meeting on-set!
Leighton Meester and Sebastian Stan, Gossip Girl
Before he was going toe-to-toe with Captain American, Sebastian Stan was spending some time on the Upper East Side. He appeared as Carter Baizen multiple times over Gossip Girl's first three seasons, and it was his guest appearances that led to him meeting series star Leighton Meester. The two instantly hit it off when he appeared on the show in 2008 and dated for two years before calling it quits. These days, they've both moved on from their CW roots. Stan is now Bucky Barnes in the MCU and Meester has a budding film and television career.
Phoebe Tonkin and Paul Wesley, The Vampire Diaries
When Tonkin first appeared on The Vampire Diaries as werewolf Hayley in 2012, Wesley took notice. His marriage to another star on The CW, Torrey DeVitto, was unraveling and by the end of 2013, Wesley was divorced and free to date his new costar. While the two didn't share very many scenes, they clearly hit it off behind-the-scenes and ended up dating for four years! The two had been off-and-on for a while, but when they unfollowed each other on Instagram in 2017, the world knew it was totally over. Maybe Paul should give up on dating his CW costars — he's batting 0 for 2!
Genevieve Cortese and Jared Padalecki, Supernatural
Cortese joined the cast of Supernatural in 2008 as demon Ruby, setting into motion the rest of her romantic life. Padalecki recalls meeting her off-stage and thinking she was beautiful but waited a few months before he made his move and took her out to lunch. He credits getting to know each other before dating as a reason why they work so well! Soon they were an item and haven't looked back since. The two didn't just date — they got married in 2010! The couple has three children together and, if you follow their Instagrams, you know these two love their time as a family. This is definitely one of the happiest tales of CW costars hooking up off-screen!
Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray, One Tree Hill
This is definitely one of the most public instances of two CW costars dating! After meeting on the set of One Tree Hill — and dating on-screen! — these two became one of the hottest couples in young Hollywood. They dated for two years before getting married in April 2005. Unfortunately, the marriage didn't exactly work out. A mere five months later, the two separated and were divorced by the next year. The two stayed professional for the sake of the show until Murray left the series in 2009. Since the split, Bush has gone on the record as saying she didn't exactly want to marry Murray but felt like she had to. Let's just say Murray wasn't exactly pleased by the comments!
Sophia Bush and James Lafferty, One Tree Hill
Sophia Bush is clearly no stranger to dating her One Tree Hill costars. Lafferty is one of three men she's gotten together with off-screen. Considering how hot that cast is, we say you go, girl! This may have been the most low-key of her costar relationships, though. After her very public split with CMM she ran into the arms of his TV brother! Murray himself spilled the beans about Bush and Lafferty's relationship during an interview. It wasn't until 2008 that these two got together, three years after Murray and Bush's marriage ended. It was short-lived, though, and they split by the next year.
Sophia Bush and Austin Nichols, One Tree Hill
Bush really has a penchant for the hotties she works with! Who can blame her? This was her longest costar relationship, spending six years with Nichols after he became a series regular on One Tree Hill. Nichols played her boyfriend-turned-husband on the show, and fans thought that maybe he was the one in real life, too. Unfortunately, after six years together they ended things, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Their split coincided almost perfectly with the series ending, meaning she wouldn't have to keep working with him the way she had with her other costar BFs!
Candice Accola and Zach Roerig, The Vampire Diaries
When The Vampire Diaries first began, Roerig's Matt and Accola's Caroline were a hot item in Mystic Falls. Turns out that chemistry worked off-screen as well and the two got together. Accola tweeted photos of the two out and about and, while they were lowkey about their relationship, they weren't hiding it! It didn't last too, long, though and after about a year as a couple, the two were done. Unfortunately for them, they still had to work together! Maybe their breakup is the reason Matt and Caroline didn't have too much screen time together on the last few seasons.
Nathalie Kelley and Zach Roerig, The Vampire Diaries
Roerig clearly likes to make moves on his CW costars! Years after his split with Accola, a guest star on The Vampire Diaries left quite the impression. Roerig and Kelley met when she spent a few episodes in Mystics Falls in 2016, and their romance started from there. He didn't even have any scenes with her, and they still fell in love! Kelley and Roerig were super lovey-dovey on social media during their courtship (even posing together with Roerig's daughter!), but it was also on social media that Kelley confirmed their late-2017 split. Since then, Kelley's gotten married to someone else who wasn't a CW costar!
Jessica Szohr and Ed Westwick, Gossip Girl
When you have so many good-looking people on a TV show, there's bound to be multiple cast members hooking up. Szohr and Westwick are just one more in a long line of Gossip Girl costars that dated. The two stars got together behind-the-scenes in 2008 and fell for each other while dating different people! In an interview, Szohr said that suddenly she realized she was developing feelings for the person she would vent about her actual boyfriend to. Soon the two dropped their significant others and got together, dating until 2010. If the tabloids are to be believed, they broke up because Szohr was flirting with one of Westwick's friends at a party. It seems the two are still friends, though, and Szohr spoke out against the 2017 sexual assault allegations against her ex and said that she had reached out to him when it all made headlines.
AnnaLynne McCord and Kellan Lutz, 90210
These two met when Lutz was a recurring character on the remake of the classic soap. By 2010, they were dating — well, according to one of them, at least! McCord was open about her relationship with Lutz, and the two were photographed together often. But if you ask Lutz, the two never made it official! Pictures of you two smooching don't lie, though, Kellan! AnnaLynne and Kellan dated (according to at least one of them...) for about a year before breaking up. Maybe it was Lutz's noncommittal attitude that caused the split.
Alexis Bledel and Milo Ventimiglia, Gilmore Girls
When Milo joined Gilmore Girls in 2001, he was poised as a love interest for Bledel's Rory. The two quickly turned their on-screen romance into the real deal and began dating later that year. It got pretty serious, too! She mentioned in 2005 that the two had begun talking about marriage. But, by the summer of 2006, the two were done. Hopefully, there was no bad blood because these costars had to work together again when Gilmore Girls was revived by Netflix in 2016! Considering the fact that Milo said he asked for Jess to get killed off the show, though, we're not so sure...
Camila Mendes and Charles Melton, Riverdale
With Melton's promotion to series regular on Riverdale's third season came a promotion to "boyfriend" in Camila Mendes's life! These two CW costars began dating in October 2018, a few months after Mendes a split with boyfriend Victor Houston (and said she didn't want to date other actors!). Or, at least, October is when they confirmed their love via Instagram! Mendes has said on social media that she's happier than ever with this new relationship and all of their lovey-dovey pics show it!
Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood, Supergirl
Benoist is no stranger to dating costars. She even married her Glee costar Blake Jenner in 2015! The two were divorced by 2016, though, leaving the star wide open to date new scene partners! Wood joined the show on season two and quickly became a love interest for Benoist's character. It didn't take long for sparks to fly off-screen, as well, and this pair began dating in early 2018. The CW costars have jetted off to Paris together, walked their dogs through Vancouver, and even wore the same sweats to the Supergirl set.
Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, Gossip Girl
This is definitely the most high-profile costar relationship to come out of Gossip Girl! Lonely boy and his muse Serena were always on-again-off-again on the show, but in real life, they were solidly on for the first two years of the show. They kept their relationship low-key when it began, mostly because they didn't want to get in trouble at work! They soon realized that hooking up and emulating their characters was exactly what the showrunners wanted, fueling the depiction of the Gossip Girl way of life. When they finally did head to Splitsville, they told no one and hid it from the cast and crew for months before revealing it! Wow, talk about professional exes! They continued to work together — and hookup on-screen — for the next four years until the show ended.
Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder, The Vampire Diaries
Team Damon shippers were definitely all about this couple! The two began quietly dating in 2011 — denying their status for the mags but getting cozy at music festivals and restaurants all the while. They eventually did confirm that they were totally ~in love~ and "Nian" became a fan obsession. The two were together at the height of the rising sexual tension between their characters; something fans had been waiting for since season one. Alas, it wasn't mean to last and the two split in 2013 allegedly because Dobrev, who is ten years Somerhalder's junior, wasn't ready to settle down the way her S/O wanted. Ian eventually did get married to actress Nikki Reed and Dobrev occasionally hangs out with the couple!
Lili Reinhart and Cole Sprouse, Riverdale
These two may be the most obsessed-about CW costars who started dating of all time! The Riverdale hotties met on the set of the show and quickly made a connection. They were super coy about their budding relationship, though, posting cryptic pics on Instagram and refusing to answer questions about their private lives in interviews. Rumors of their relationship began in early 2017 when eagle-eyed fans noticed their social media banter. They finally began to give a little more insight into their relationship mid-2018 (i.e., confirming it and basically keeping everything else a secret!). It's probably their commitment to privacy in their relationship that makes them work so well — and keeps fans obsessing over the couple! We may not know much about their life together but we still get Cole's Instagram posts of his "muse," (his words!) and that's enough for us!
