By Jessica Wedemeyer
8:54am PDT, Mar 26, 2020
Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the stars who found love, suffered heartbreak or experienced some other major event in their love lives in late March 2020, starting with this superstar, who insisted she was committed to staying single mere weeks ago… Us Weekly reported on March 25 that Demi Lovato and former "The Young and the Restless" star Max Ehrich are an item. The duo, who've been trading flirty comments on Instagram, reportedly "met a few weeks ago." The singer-actor joined the "Confident" chart-topper during a March 15 grocery-store run amid the coronavirus pandemic . Two days later, he was snapped wrapping an arm around her shoulders during yet another trip to a grocery store. Now keep reading for more of the week's biggest celeb love life updates…
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On March 25, TMZ identified the mystery man Ariana Grande was seen smooching at a bar in the Los Angeles area in early February: He's her new boyfriend, high-end real estate agent Dalton Gomez. According to the webloid, they've "been seeing each other for several months now." Less than a week earlier, Us Weekly reported that, according to a source, the singer-actress "likes guys who are funny but who also need to be taken care of" because she's "a nurturer and likes to be needed." Only time will tell if Dalton fits that description!
RELATED: Celeb flings and whirlwind romances
On March 22, Nina Dobrev and Olympic snowboarder Shaun White were caught on camera going for a bike ride in Malibu. According to Page Six, which published the pics, before they started cycling, "the pair were spotted kissing and it seemed to look like more than a friendly kiss." They were also seen together back in January. Said an E! News source, "Nina and Shaun have been spending a lot of time together recently. Their relationship doesn't have an official title right now, but that's pretty normal for Nina." The E! insider went on to say that the actress's inner circle is "pleasantly surprised" by her interest in the former Olympian, who is "a departure from previous guys" she's dated.
Did Halsey break up with Evan Peters and get back together with her ex, Yungblud? That's the question fans asked in late March after the singer deleted all but one photo of the "American Horror Story" star (a Valentine's Day tribute) from her Instagram. Further complicating the matter, the "Without Me" chart-topper took to her Instagram Story on March 22 to share a photo of her "first crack at making a Sunday dinner" — a traditional English Sunday roast including a Yorkshire pudding. She added a hashtag reading "Yorkshire Certified." Just minutes later, Yungblud — who was born in Yorkshire, England — shared the food snap on his own Instagram Story, adding the words "can confirm," along with the checkmark emoji and a heart emoji. His post seems to imply that he sampled the meal himself. Halsey and Evan were first linked in the summer of 2019 — around the time she and Yungblud called it quits.
Peter Weber reunited with Kelley Flanagan — who competed for his heart on season 24 of "The Bachelor" — in Chicago on March 25. According to TMZ, which published a photo of the pilot carrying the pretty brunette over his shoulder, the duo were "super-flirty and very handsy" with each other during their outing. In early March, there were rumors that they'd started seeing each other after he failed to find love with either of his finalists. (Part of the rumor, at least, turned out to be true.) The dating talk was spurred by the fact that Kelley, who made it to the final five on Peter's season of "The Bachelor" — was conspicuously absent from the "Women Tell All" special. (Fans speculated that producers kept her off the "Women Tell All" episode because she'd be unveiled as Pete's girlfriend of the "After the Final Rose" special.) Meanwhile, during a March 22 Q&A with fans on his Instagram Story, the bonafide breakup-expert shared his advice on dealing with splits: "Breakups are supposed to hurt," Peter wrote. "But I believe things happen for a reason and you're one step closer to your person now. You should never want to be with someone that doesn't want you back the same way." In other Kelley news…
On the March 18 episode of his "The Viall Files" podcast, Nick Viall cleared up recent rumors (that he started himself) that he and Kelley Flanagan are dating. "I met Kelley at [a party]. She's a nice person. She didn't disappoint in person. I thought she'd be cool in person. Everyone likes to think that there's always something going on — and there's not," he said. He then admitted that he was "totally aware of what people might say" when he took to Instagram to share a photo of them together. "I really enjoyed getting to meet Kelley — she's wonderful in person," he added.
In other Bachelor Nation news… Last summer, there were rumors (which they denied at the time) that all was not well between Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph. During an interview with People magazine that hit the Internet on March 25, the former star of "The Bachelor" revealed that he and his girlfriend did, in fact, briefly breakup in August 2019. "To put it very frank, after the show, we realized we weren't communicating as well as we once did," he said. "Nobody was forcing us to talk about real things going on, so we let a lot of things build up. … I was like, 'I feel like we need to figure this out and in order to do that, we need space.' She agreed. So it was a mutual thing." Just two days later, he reached out to Cassie to tell her how much he missed her. "It was a very real and very emotional breakup, but it was also very good to be real and emotional because it forced us to have conversations and move on," he said. "Now, we know the flags to look for. When issues start to creep up, it's like, let's go have a conversation. We're trying to be more transparent and honest and really trust each other." He added that "in a weird way," it felt like he "kind of broke up with myself" when they split. They're in a much better place these days. "We talk and we plan and we have so much hope," said the reality star. "If she were here, she'd nudge me for saying this, but I think an engagement is something we'd both like to see this year. No matter what, I don't want my life without her. Our relationship hasn't always been easy, but it's been worth it."
In still more Bachelor Nation news… During a joint March 22 Instagram Live, former "The Bachelor" co-stars Mike Johnson and Connor Saeli — who both competed for Hannah Brown's heart on season 15 of "The Bachelorette" — sparked rumors that there's something romantic going on between Connor and Madison Prewett following her recent split from Peter Weber. First, Mike asked Connor if he'd be interested in signing on for the next season of "Bachelor in Paradise" if "a certain individual goes." Then, he asked Connor point blank, "What's up with you and Madison?" Replied Connor, "I don't know — we'll see. … I can't give you anything." According to an E! News source, though, it's all much ado about nothing: Connor simply slid into Madison's DMs "sending her words of support" after she and Peter split. "It was purely platonic," said the insider. "No further conversations happened after the fact. Madi has been focusing on moving forward with her life by spending quality time with her family." Meanwhile, Mike expressed interest in another woman who romanced Pilot Pete on season 24 of "The Bachelor" — Kelley Flanagan. "I think Kelley has amazing dimples," he said. "I think that she's a little bad a–, that's for sure."
Us Weekly reported on March 24 that, according to a source, Taylor Swift and her longtime boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, "definitely" want to get married someday. "[They] have talked about their future and marriage," said the source. "They don't have a set deadline in place, but they're very much in love. … Taylor considers Joe one of the only safe constants in her life. He has always been a huge support and stuck by her."
Us Weekly reported on March 22 that, according to a source, Ana de Armas "is very happy" with her new boyfriend, Ben Affleck. "She loves spending time with him and they have great chemistry and a lot of fun together," said the source. The duo have been attached at the hip since debuting their romance earlier this month.
Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell tied the knot at Australia Zoo on March 25, the animal activist revealed on Instagram, noting that they opted to exchange vows in an extremely intimate ceremony — rather than with the larger event they originally had planned — due to the global coronavirus pandemic. "We held a small ceremony and I married my best friend," she captioned a photo of herself kissing her new husband. "There are no words to describe the amount of love and light in my heart right now. We've planned this beautiful day for nearly a year and had to change everything, as we didn't have guests at our wedding. This was a very difficult decision but important to keep everyone safe. We wish all of our friends and family could have been there with us, however it's lovely that we will be able to share photos and videos. Right now we're encouraging the world to hold onto hope and love, which will carry us forward during this profound time in history. Today we celebrated life and reveled in every beautiful moment we shared together in our Australia Zoo gardens. Mum helped me get ready, Robert walked me down the aisle, Chandler became my husband and together we lit a candle in Dad's memory. We shared tears and smiles and love. Thankfully, since we all live at Australia Zoo as a family, we could be there for each other. To everyone reading this – stay safe, social distance and remember LOVE WINS!"
In a March 21 YouTube video, Jenelle Evans confirmed recent rumors (which she previously denied) that she and husband David Eason are back together. "[We] are deciding to work things out right now … and taking it slowly," she said, adding that she recently moved back to their home in North Carolina after spending time in Nashville during their separation. She went on to say that "things are going pretty smooth" and that "a lot of things have changed" between her and David since they split in late 2019. "[We] have decided to just try to remain positive no matter what, and if we have an issue, we really need to talk it out," she said. She then defended her hubby against rumors that he's abusive: "I want to tell you guys that David has never abused the children. He's never abused me," she said. "We've always had disagreements and those would turn into big arguments, and this is the reason why I decided to go back home and work out my relationship — because ultimately, it's for my family." She's the one who initiated the reconciliation, she said: "While I was in Tennessee — I'm not gonna lie — I contacted David first, and I told him, 'I'm sorry.' He contacted me back, and he said, 'For what?' And I said, 'I think we just ended things abruptly and I think we need to try to work things out for our family and our marriage.' And he said, 'Okay,'" she recalled. After they'd started talking again and he'd visited her in Nashville "two or three times," she told him, "Things have got to change. We cannot be so unhappy. We have to start communicating with each other about our problems and we have to sort it out and we can't let the same thing keep happening or the same topic for an argument keep occurring." Continued the mother of three, "I think things got so bad into our relationship where I was so unhappy that I needed to come out of it, and I feel like the only way to come out of it was if I were to distance myself. So I distanced myself for a little bit and I realized that's not what I wanted and I needed to work out my marriage. And I didn't want another failed marriage and I just wanted the kids to be happy. … [I realized] what I was missing and I wanted to come back home, and I did — and I'm happy I did." Now, she said, "things are pretty good" and they're "all happy here as a family" and "feeling pretty blessed." Jenelle concluded by saying that she does "not do good being single." As she acknowledged, she "hasn't been single for long ever in her life." No kidding.
During a joint March 18 Instagram Live, Lily Allen and David Harbour sparked rumors that they'd secretly tied the knot. After telling a fan that she only sold 5,000 copies of her last album, the "Smile" singer told her beau, "You think you married a pop star? You didn't." She then attempted to backpedal, telling fans, "Not that we're married. We're not married. I just want to make sure you know." The "Stranger Things" star created more confusion by chiming in, "But she is my wife." Responded Lily, "Yes, we do pretend." The duo first sparked romance rumors in August 2019.
On the March 20 episode of "The Real," Tiffany Haddish addressed her rumored romance with Common — and maintained that it's all platonic between them. "That's my friend," she said. "He been my friend for a while. But if he wants to date me, I will date him." She then quickly changed the subject by asking co-host Jeannie Mai, who's dating Jeezy, for tips on how to "date a rapper."
Anna Camp took to Instagram on March 23 to debut her new boyfriend: former New Beat Fund drummer Michael Johnson. "In the middle of nowhere with no one I'd rather be with," she captioned a photo of them together in Joshua Tree, California. He's the first person she's dated publicly since she filed to divorce former "Pitch Perfect" co-star Skylar Astin last year.
Noah Centineo and Alexis Ren sparked split rumors in late March when fans noticed that they'd mysteriously unfollowed each other on Instagram. The purported breakup comes as a surprise considering earlier this month, a Page Six spy spotted the duo, who'd reportedly been seeing each other since May 2019, acting "touchy-feely and cozy" with each other during a night out in New York City.
According to TMZ, Grace Gummer filed to divorce Tay Strathairn in Los Angeles on March 23. It's unclear when exactly the "Mr. Robot" actress secretly married the former Dawes keyboardist, to whom she was first linked in October 2017. The duo go way back: They reportedly met in 1993 when she was 7 and he was 13 on the set of "The River Wild," in which her mother, Meryl Streep, and his father, David Strathairn, starred.
The March 19 episode of "Very Cavallari" depicted colorist Justin Anderson's proposal to his boyfriend of more than five years, "Scream Queens" actor Austin Rhodes, at their home in Nashville. It's unclear when exactly the question-popping took place, though the bulk of the third season of the E! reality show was shot in late 2019.
Angelica Ross got some unfortunate news after she debuted her new boyfriend on Twitter on March 18: He was cheating on another woman with her. "Finally found him and have to distance myself from him 😫 an early test we're committed to passing. I miss you," she captioned a selfie with her mystery man, referring to the fact that they would be quarantining apart from each other amid the coronavirus pandemic. The next day, she returned to Twitter to reveal that her followers informed her of the truth: "The internet is AMAZING. I've been talking to the mother of his son and fiancé all morning. #PlotTwist!" she tweeted. She then retweeted a fan who spelled out what happened: "For those who don't get it. Queen Angelica found this man and was dating [him]. She posted this on Twitter and we all REJOICED in excitement. Twitter FBI probably saw the tweet and told Angelica this man has a kid and is engaged. Angelica was talking to his fiancé all morning." Added the "Pose" star, "Basically." The next day, she tweeted to defend herself, "You might think I'm careless with my heart, but I'm not. I'm filtering an obscene amount of guys just to give ONE the time of day. I never slept with him. I thought it was going to be special. Back to focusing on keeping my house in order.
During an interview with "Extra" that popped up online on March 24, Dennis Quaid revealed that he and Laura Savoie planned to tie the knot at Craig T. Nelson's home in Kauai on April 4 before they decided to postpone their nuptials amid the coronavirus pandemic. "It was going to be nice and small," said the actor, adding that his fiancée's wedding dress "was already ordered" and somehow "made it here from Spain" in spite of disruptions to shipping around the globe. In addition to changing their wedding date, the couple may also change the venue when they do eventually tie the knot: "We may do something closer to home," said Dennis.
During an interview with The Daily Mail that hit the Internet on March 22, Meital Dohan walked back her previous comments about Al Pacino's alleged stinginess during their relationship: "I was trying to explain that we really tried to make it work. It was an amazing, generous and beautiful love. What happened between us was bigger than materialistic things like flowers or chocolates or diamonds or cars," she said, making it clear she wasn't after her beau's fortune. "The relationship between us wasn't based on anything like that. Not even slightly. It wasn't about any kind of rational benefits. Neither of us did it in a strategic way. It was pure love." She also hit back at the suggestion that she served as the 79-year-old star's caregiver. "That's ridiculous," she said, adding that she didn't think she was "missing out on anything" by dating an older man. "We had a very full relationship," she said. "He's in great shape and I didn't feel there was anything challenging from that perspective." The issue, she said, was her desire to have children: "I used to say to myself, 'Why didn't we meet when he was younger?'" she recalled. "It was one of the most incredible love stories of my life, but there was an acknowledgement that we're both at different places in our lives. … Two years is a long time [to be together], and I was like, 'We love each other, but where is this going? I really want to have kids.' It's harder when someone's that much older than you, because I still have a family to build, while he already has a family. … At his age, it's a rigid decision." The 43 year old went on to say that she and the Oscar winner "connected immediately" when they first met. "It was like I was seeing sparkly stars and hearts in the air between us. By the time we met for the third time. I realized we were in love," she gushed. "I felt this relationship was meant to be. We had a deep connection of souls." She then detailed their February split: "We had a little fight about something. That's what started it. And then it grew into something bigger. It was my initiation. It was, 'Where are we going with this? It's been two years. Are we going to the next step or are we going backwards? Are we going to part ways?' … We didn't say that it's not working, because it was still kind of working, but we were just saying that maybe it's time to move on. It was a mutual decision." The "Weeds" alum — who added that she's still sad and cries over the breakup and hopes Al "feels sadness too" — said that she and the "Serpico" star "want to be in each other's lives" following the split but that she'd "be very jealous" if he started seeing someone new so soon. Meital concluded by saying she still believes in love but is on "a love detox at the moment." Added the actress, "It was never my goal in life to meet a person of that age, but I don't regret it. I still have time to have kids and of course I want to fall in love again. … I probably won't start dating someone's who 21, but never say never."
In a preview for the upcoming fifth season of "Total Bellas" that Nikki Bella posted on Instagram on March 21, the former wrestler gushes about her "whirlwind romance" with her fiancé, Artem Chigvintsev: "We have just been caught in this tornado of happiness, paparazzi, media. It's been insane but so worth it," she says. "I have never in my life had such a passionate connection with someone like this. Even when we hold hands or we kiss or we dance, it's constant fireworks 24/7." Continues the mother-to-be, "Everyone says, 'You just have this lust thing. It's not real. It's gonna wear off. You're gonna get sick of him.' But I can't wait to prove them wrong. You only hate it because you know it's the real deal."
On the March 19 episode of Diane von Fürstenberg's "InCharge with DVF" podcast, Priyanka Chopra gushed about her marriage to Nick Jonas. "I really feel like being with someone like my husband now, there's such an incredible power," she said. "It's so attractive to me that he … feels empowered when he sees me empowered. Like, he'll stand on a [red] carpet on the side and watch when they're taking pictures. He'll, like, want to see things I've done. Like, he feels so proud." She went on to say that when she and the singer shared the "five things that we love about each other," the first thing he cited was her ambition. "I've never heard a guy say that," she marveled. The former "Quantico" star then detailed how her husband reminds her of her late father: "I always tell him that. I feel like my mother manifested him in my life," she said. "They always say that girls end up marrying someone who's like your father, and Nick is. He's someone who's the life of a party. He'll always have friends around him. He'll make people laugh. [He's] super-thoughtful, conscientious, kind. I do feel like I ended up marrying a version of my dad." She added of their immediate connection, "It sort of took me by surprise, and it just swept me off my feet, like, instantly. It was crazy how natural it felt."
On the March 16 episode of the "Hollywood Raw" podcast, actor-rapper Simon Rex alleged that after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry started dating in 2016, "a couple British tabloids offered to pay me a lot of money to say a lie that we actually hooked up." Added the "Scary Movie" franchise star, "I said no to a lot of money because I didn't feel right lying. … It was a lot of money, man. I think they offered me like, $70,000." The truth? They co-starred on a 2005 episode of the short-lived UPN sitcom "Cuts" … and later lunched together. "Nothing happened. We never even kissed," he said. "We hung out once in a very non-datey way. She was just someone I had met on a TV show and we got lunch. That was the extent of it."
