40 Celebrity Couples Who Found Love Through Reality TV – And They’re Still Going Strong

Let’s be honest, few people watch reality TV expecting the couples involved to stay together. There’s a reason fans think there’s a curse on the on-camera romance. But believe it or not, some couples have bucked the trend! These 40 pairs withstood all the stress and drama of a reality TV stint and came out the other side.

40. Amber Brkich and “Boston” Rob Mariano

These two first encountered each other on the show Survivor: All Stars and their romance blossomed quickly. During the live season finale Mariano proposed to Brkich and her response, thankfully for him, was to accept. They wed in April 2005 – in front of cameras naturally – and now they have four kids together. Reportedly, all them are avid Survivor viewers. Awww.

39. Kym Johnson and Robert Herjavec

Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec was absolutely devastated after splitting from his wife Diane in 2014. Luckily, though, a new romance was just around the corner for him. The following year he was paired with professional dancer Kym Johnson on Dancing With the Stars and the pair fell in love. Now they’re happily married and raising their young twins.

38. Catherine Giudici and Sean Lowe

Sean Lowe was initially turned down by Emily Maynard on The Bachelorette, but he found love on the franchise anyway. When he was made the Bachelor in 2013, he was captivated by Catherine Guidici and eventually asked her to marry him. They’ve since had three children together – though none of them have yet been allowed to watch their parents on The Bachelor.

37. Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner

Both Cade Foehner and Gabby Barrett failed to emerge victorious in season 16 of American Idol, but they ended up scoring an even bigger prize: their romance! They wed in the fall of 2019, only a year after their reality TV experience, and things seem to have been smooth sailing ever since. And at the beginning of 2021 they became parents.

36. Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton

Cameron and Lauren got engaged despite them never having laid eyes on one another. Yes, really. They were participants on the reality series Love is Blind, the premise of which you can probably guess. And yet it worked out for them! They wed in 2018 and plan to have children soon.

35. Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval

Tom and Ariana met on Vanderpump Rules, and fans got to watch their relationship evolve over the course of several years. They’ve been together for more than half a decade, but if you’re hoping for a reality TV wedding you might be disappointed. The couple have said they don’t plan to ever get married.

34. Cheryl Burke and Matthew Lawrence

These two met thanks not only to Dancing with the Stars, but also to Matthew’s famous brother. Burke’s partner on the competition show was actor Joey Lawrence, and through him she got to know his bro. Sparks flew, then they split for a bit – and then they got back together. Now they’re husband and wife.

33. Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo

Even Rachel Lindsay herself admits it’s “kind of incredible” she found love on The Bachelorette. “Yeah, the odds are against you,” she told SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen in 2021. “All these people telling you what you should have done, how you should have navigated your season.” But she’s happy with her husband Bryan Abasolo.

32. Judd Winick and Pam Ling

Reality TV star Judd Winick wrote touchingly about his wife in February 2019. “On my birthday – 25 years ago today – I met Pam Ling,” he posted on Instagram. “It was on the very 1st day of filming Real World 3, San Francisco.” And that chance meeting led to a beautiful relationship and two kids.

31. Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson

Big Brother competitors Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson got together while on the show in 2017. From there they went on to be a married super-couple of reality TV, emerging victorious in a series of The Amazing Race. And they now have a couple of kids as well.

30. Amber Pike and Matt Barnett

Pike and Barnett of Love is Blind had a rocky road to the altar, but they actually made it work once they were married. They’ve had some ups and down along the way, but late in 2020 Barnett made an anniversary post on Instagram saying, “Here’s to two years and a million more years together.”

29. Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy

So You Think You Can Dance star Jenna Johnson joined Dancing With the Stars in 2016. And she didn’t just get a new job, she got a new love as well. She quietly embarked on a romance with fellow dancer Val Chmerkovskiy while the show progressed, and they wed in the spring of 2019.

28. Astrid Loch and Kevin Wendt

Astrid Loch and Kevin Wendt didn’t get together on Bachelor in Paradise – but once the show was over, romance blossomed. They were engaged during the summer of 2019 and say they want to start a big family. The couple said during a 2021 Instagram Q&A that they’ll have at least three children, plus some dogs.

27. Emma Slater and Sasha Farber

Dancing With the Stars seems to have a pretty high rate of successful couples coming out of it. Maybe because of the intimacy of dancing? Emma Slater and Sasha Farber are among those who got together while filming the show, and they married during 2018. Plenty of former DWTS participants received invites.

26. Matt Hoover and Suzy Preston

This couple were definitely winners on The Biggest Loser. They both appeared in the second series two of the show, but there weren’t yet any indications of a romance. Hoover won the contest while Preston was in the top three. And then news came in that they’d begun a relationship. He asked Preston to marry him on TV, in the middle of an appearance on The Today Show, and they wed in 2006.

25. Jason and Molly Mesnick

There was some serious drama during the 13th season of The Bachelor. Molly fell for Jason, but he then asked Melissa to marry him. Next Jason dumped Melissa and decided to win Molly’s heart again! And now Jason and Molly have been married for more than ten years.

24. Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark

Tayshia Adams and Zac Clark were engaged at the end of The Bachelorette’s 16th season in 2020. And afterwards she told People magazine, “If you had told me in March that I’d be getting engaged at the end of the year, I would not have believed it for a second. But I want to experience life with [Zac] by my side. He’s what I’ve always wanted.” Fingers crossed.

23. Christina Hsu and Azaria Azene

Hsu and Azene first encountered each other during season 12 of The Amazing Race, and sparks flew. They wed in 2011, and a delighted Hsu told People magazine that same year, “After filming we would talk on the phone as friends and now we’ve been together for over three years.”

22. Melissa and Joe Gorga

Melissa hopped onto The Real Housewives of New Jersey in its third season, and she fell in love with Teresa Giudice’s brother Joe Gorga. They got married in 2004 and have since had three kids together. And yeah, they have big fights on RHONJ now – but are any of them actually real?

21. Daniele Donato and Dominic Briones

These two met during season 13 of Big Brother and they instantly took a shine to each other. By the time Danielle cried to Dominic that she hoped he wouldn’t leave, it was clear what would happen next. After the show finished the pair began dating and now they’re married with a kid.

20. Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Not one but two Chmerkovskiys have found love on Dancing With the Stars. Val Chmerkovskiy’s married to Jenna Johnson, and his brother Maksim Chmerkovskiy likewise is wed to a fellow pro-dancer. He wed the mother of his child Peta Murgatroyd in July 2017, with his brother being picked to be best man.

19. Hannah Godwin and Dylan Barbour

Bachelor Nation alumnus Dylan Barbour found love on the sixth season of Bachelor in Paradise when he met Hannah Godwin. There were some stumbles along the way, but now they’re engaged and seem happy together. And Godwin has told Us Weekly magazine that they’re looking for a bigger place. Are kids on the way?

18. JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers

JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers were engaged in the 12th season of the The Bachelorette. And then a few years later they got engaged again! Fletcher wrote on Instagram in the summer of 2019 that their first proposal had been “a leap of faith” and after that “we stuck by each other and worked every day towards our relationship.”

17. Rachel Reilly and Brendon Villegas

This pair were one of the few Big Brother couples who went the distance, so they’re practically reality TV royalty. Granted, it’s been a while since the cameras were on them, but they have plans to rectify that. They’ll next star in I Love the Brenchels – Moving On alongside their family.

16. Dean Unglert and Caelynn Miller-Keyes

Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert left the sixth series of Bachelor in Paradise early, and then revealed via Instagram that they’d become a couple. Don’t expect them to get married, though. In a 2020 episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever! Unglert said, “I don’t need the title of husband to show the world that I’m committed to one person.”

15. Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter

Trista Rehn was the first ever Bachelorette, and the show went well for her. She and Ryan Sutter are now happily married, and in 2020 the now-Mrs. Sutter told Us Weekly magazine, “I decided going in that I needed to give myself wholeheartedly to the experience in order for it to work.” And it did work.

14. Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner

Plenty of commentators thought nothing good could come out of Married of First Sight, but Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner proved them wrong. In 2019, after half a decade of marriage, Otis said to People magazine, “People laughed at us when they heard we were doing the show. Now here we are!”

13. Olivia Henken and Josh Logan

This pair of musicians were both contestants on season 5 of the The Voice, and each of them was tutored by Christina Aguilera. They didn’t actually win anything, but Henken herself said it best to Wave 3 News in 2018, “Josh likes to say that we both won the show, because we got each other out of it.”

12. Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert

Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert are another feelgood Bachelor in Paradise story. They’d both appeared on Bachelor Nation shows before, but with little reward until they encountered each other during BiP’s 2015 season. Now they’re married with three children together, and there may be more on the way.

11. Dale Moss and Clare Crawley

It’s been an absolute rollercoaster with Moss and Crawley. They were set to marry during the 16th season of The Bachelorette but then split up in 2021. Later on in the year, though, there were some strong hints they were getting back together. In April Moss told the Hollywood Raw podcast, “We’re really, really focused on one another and just building things properly,” which sounds promising.

10. Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev

Spare a thought for poor John Cena. When his fiancée Nikki Bella competed on Dancing With the Stars, Cena hoped her dance partner Artem Chigvintsev would oversee their first wedding dance. Instead, Bella split with Cena in July 2018 and before too long was in the arms of Chigvintsev. Now they’re married with a son.

9. Whitney Duncan and Keith Tollefson

Scandal time! While filming Survivor: South Pacific Duncan struck up a romance with fellow contestant Keith Tollefson… but she was still married to Donny Fallgatter at the time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Duncan and Fallgater ended up divorcing, and Duncan wed Tollefson in the summer of 2014. Her Instagram bio now reads: “met my soulmate on Survivor.”

8. Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo

Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo’s engagement began on an episode of Big Brother, and it was very sweet. Arroyo told her via video message, “Nic, we met in the Big Brother house over two years ago. And right away, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and I fell in love with your personality.” She said yes, of course.

7. Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann

The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak initially encountered Kroy Biermann at a Dancing with Atlanta Stars event and she was instantly attracted to him. Some of that love-at-first-sight exchange was filmed as well, which Zolciak remains grateful for. Now she’s making new memories with him and their six children.

6. Allison Holker and Stephen “tWitch” Boss

TV personalities Allison Holker and Stephen “tWitch” Boss met while doing So You Think You Can Dance. They danced both on the show and around each other until they finally got together at an end-of-season party. And they’ve maintained a strong, healthy relationship ever since, with tWitch adopting Holker’s daughter once they married.

5. Giuliana and Bill Rancic

Giuliana DePandi got together with her husband Bill Rancic thanks to The Apprentice. He was a contestant on the show in 2004, and DePandi was a journalist. When Rancic won, she was assigned to interview him – and she was more than happy to do so. After getting married they even got their own reality show, Giuliana & Bill.

4. Nichole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jionni LaValle

Back in 2010 Snooki’s stardom on Jersey Shore led her to a club, and that was when she first encountered Jionni LaValle. Despite her later insistence that she didn’t like him initially, the pair hooked up. And it evolved into a serious relationship that’s still ongoing to this day.

3. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt

Spencer Pratt was at a club back in 2007 because he was looking to be signed up to reality series The Hills. It worked out better than he could have ever imagined. He encountered Heidi Montag at that club, she was immediately taken by him, and over a decade later the couple are still going strong.

2. Cara Maria Sorbello and Paulie Calafiore

The romance between Sorbello and Calafiore was wild – but, for fans of reality television, endlessly entertaining. When they first met on The Challenger: Final Reckoning, Calafiore was dating The Bachelor’s Danielle Maltby. Except then he started seeing Sorbello, too, which Maltby absolutely did not like. Now Calafiore and Sorbello are together, and we’ll just have to see what happens next.

1. Miranda Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin

Reality TV was the butterfly effect that caused Miranda Lambert to meet her husband. She rose to fame thanks to the series Nashville Star, which won her a record contract. Flash forward many years and she appeared on Good Morning America to perform, where she met police officer Brendan McLoughlin. And the rest is history!