The 20 biggest celeb love news stories of 2020

As 2020 comes to a close, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the biggest celebrity love-life news stories of the year, starting with the love triangle no one saw coming… In late April, there were reports that Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green were quarantining separately amid the coronavirus pandemic, indicating that their longtime off-and-on relationship had finally come to an end. Then in early May, the "Transformers" actress was seen hanging out with Machine Gun Kelly — her co-star in the upcoming thriller "Midnight in the Switchgrass." On May 18 — the same day the "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum confirmed on his podcast that he and Megan quietly separated in late 2019 — multiple media outlets reported that she and MGK were officially dating. Things soon got serious for the new couple. Over the summer, they went Instagram official … prompting Brian to publicly shade his estranged wife. Then in late November, Megan and the rapper-actor made their red-carpet debut as a couple at the 2020 American Music Awards. In the process, she debuted a new tattoo purportedly dedicated to him. Three days later, she filed for divorce. (As Megan became increasingly comfortable publicly gushing about her boyfriend, she also became increasingly comfortable bashing her ex.) Brian, meanwhile, caused a stir when he started spending time with Courtney Stodden and Tina Louise amid Megan's hot new romance. (Tina also moved on from Brian with a famous musician: She was seen packing on the PDA with Diddy in October.) Now keep reading for more of the year's biggest celeb love life updates…

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What a rollercoaster! In late May — following months of questions about the status of their relationship prompted by reports they were quarantining separately amid the coronavirus pandemic — Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich finally announced that they were calling it quits after nearly three years of marriage… But then it appeared as though they'd reconciled: They were seen out together several times over the summer amid reports they were eager to make their marriage work. Ultimately, however, they were unable to get past their differences. On Nov. 2, the "Dancing With the Stars" alum officially filed for divorce from the retired hockey star.

RELATED: Celeb splits of 2020

It was quite the whirlwind year for Demi Lovato. She was first seen with former soap star Max Ehrich in March, and from there, things took off like wildfire… Just weeks into their relationship, they made the decision to quarantine together amid the coronavirus pandemic. In July, they got engaged, but just two months later, they called it quits. Things soon turned messy, with Max publicly bashing the superstar on social media and even accusing her of using their relationship as a "calculated PR stunt" … which was ironic, to say the least. Following the breakup, Max seemingly intentionally stoked speculation there were new women in his life. In October, he shared photos of himself spending time with "American Idol" alum Sonika Vaid. The following month, singer Mariah Angeliq started making regular appearances on his Instagram feed.

RELATED: Celeb engagements of 2020

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas — who connected on the set of the upcoming thriller "Deep Water" in late 2019 — debuted their romance in early March during a trip to Cuba. The duo spent the coronavirus pandemic becoming practically attached at the hip and marking several milestones in their relationship. It started in mid-March when the A-list actor was snapped joining his new girlfriend as she went house hunting in the Los Angeles area. The following month, the duo made their relationship Instagram official: On April 30, the "Knives Out" star shared a slideshow of photos of herself celebrating her 32nd birthday with her beau in the California desert. (The slideshow included a selfie with the Oscar winner and a shot of Ben and Ana taking in the sunset with their arms wrapped around each other.) The happy couple shared their love with the world again when they appeared in the celeb-stuffed music video for Residente's song "Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe," which debuted on May 14. (They contributed a clip of themselves kissing during Ana's birthday bash.) Then on May 23, they were snapped walking their dogs in Los Angeles with the three children Ben shares with ex-wife Jennifer Garner: Violet, Seraphina and Samuel. It was the first time one of the A-list actor's girlfriends had been seen publicly with his children. (Not even former longtime love Lindsay Shookus was photographed with the kids.) In August, there were reports that Ana had moved in with Ben. She made it official in early December when she sold her home in the Los Angeles area to live with her beau full-time.

There was major trouble in paradise for Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West in 2020. Their issues reportedly kicked off amid the coronavirus pandemic and were exacerbated by a mental health setback for the rapper, who announced his bid for the presidency in July. Later that month, Kanye made headlines when he tweeted that he's "been trying to get divorced" for more than a year. He later publicly apologized to Kim, and in mid-August, it seemed as though the power couple had reached "a better place" in their relationship — thanks in part to a family vacation to the Dominican Republic that was characterized by some media outlets as a last-ditch effort to save their marriage. But things soon veered back off track… In September, there were conflicting reports about Kim's desire to end the marriage. Then in December, Kim and Kanye reportedly hit another rough patch in their relationship. According to a People magazine source, they "very much live separate lives" that "don't overlap much." The insider went on to say that they were spending "a lot of time apart" as they remained "focused on the things that are important to them."

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton finally got engaged in October after five years of dating. Of course, they weren't the only bold-faced names who got engaged this year… Matthew Perry announced on Thanksgiving that he'd popped the question to girlfriend Molly Hurwitz. Jenna Dewan and Steve Kazee announced their engagement in February. Heather Locklear and her high school sweetheart got engaged sometime in the first half of the year. Liam Payne proposed to Maya Henry over the summer. And "Flip or Flop" star Tarek El Moussa asked "Selling Sunset" realtor Heather Rae Young to be his wife in July. (Meanwhile, his ex-wife, Christina Anstead, suddenly split from her husband of less than two years, Ant Anstead, in September.)

In mid-2020, there was a lucky lady in Brad Pitt's life for the first time since he and Angelina Jolie split in 2016. In late August, he was seen vacationing in France with Nicole Poturalski, but things soon took a strange turn when it became clear the 27-year-old German model was still happily married and in an open relationship with 68-year-old restauranteur Roland Mary. (She actually met Brad through her husband!) In late October, Nicole was seen with Roland for the first time since she and Brad were linked. A few days later, multiple media outlets reported that she and the 57-year-old A-lister had gone their separate ways. Earlier in the year, fans obsessed over Brad and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston when they put their friendship on display during the 2020 SAG Awards. The Oscar-winning actor also spent a good portion of 2020 feuding with his other ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, over custody of their children. Earlier in the year, there'd been reports that they'd actually been getting along "so much better" — but, sadly, the peace proved to be short-lived.

Khloe Kardashian spent the first half of 2020 denying rumors that she and off-and-on love Tristan Thomspon had reconciled. But as they grew closer and closer amid the coronavirus pandemic, it soon became clear that the professional basketball player had succeeded in his attempts to win back the reality star. In early August, People magazine confirmed that they did, in fact, reconcile in June. They were still going strong by December when Tristan moved to Boston to play for the Celtics … even though his inability to remain faithful amid a long-distance relationship caused problems for him and Khloe in the past.

Katie Holmes was first seen with Emilio Vitolo Jr. in early September. They soon became practically attached at the hip … in spite of a Sept. 9 DailyMail.com report claiming the 33-year-old chef was allegedly in the midst a two-year relationship with another woman when he started seeing the 41-year-old actress. He reportedly dumped his live-in fiancée, 24-year-old Rachel Emmons, via text when he found out that photos of him and Katie canoodling were set to hit the Internet. A source described the fashion designer as "traumatized" by the alleged infidelity. But there was no stopping Katie and Emilio! In mid-November, Us Weekly reported that the duo were "serious" and thinking long-term.

Nobody had this on their Bingo card! During an interview with Angela Yee that appeared on his YouTube channel on June 30, August Alsina claimed that he and Jada Pinkett Smith had an affair after her son, Jaden Smith, introduced them in 2015 — and that her husband, Will Smith, was fully aware of the romance and even gave them "his blessing" to see each other. On the July 10 episode of her Facebook Watch series "Red Table Talk," the 48-year-old actress admitted that she did, in fact, have a romantic "entanglement" with the singer — who's now 27 — about four years ago while briefly "separated amicably" from her hubby. Ultimately, Jada reconciled with the A-list actor and reached a "new place of unconditional love" in their marriage. They haven't spoken to August since… Keke Palmer, meanwhile, was dragged into the Smith family drama after an old photo of her and August sitting in a car together resurfaced on Twitter. When a fan asked her about the pic on July 10, the actress replied, "August was never my man lol." The singer quickly caught wind of Keke's tweet and fired back, alleging that they dated — and that he was the one who called things off between them after her pals "begged" him not to "further disturb [her] mental instability." She then hinted on Instagram (without mentioning August or his allegations about their past directly) that there was more to the story: "I wanna be mean, but I can't. I want to post screenshots, but I won't," she captioned a selfie, adding that she "wouldn't feel good kicking someone when they are down."

In June, Kelly Clarkson filed to divorce her husband of almost seven years, Brandon Blackstock. Things between the duo initially appeared amicable but soon turned nasty as they faced off over child custody and spousal support. They weren't the only long-term couple that shocked fans by suddenly calling it quits this year… In mid-November, the news broke that Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis, who got engaged back in 2013, quietly called it quits earlier this year. In July — less than two months after celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary — Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers announced on Instagram that they were throwing in the towel. In April, Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler also took to Instagram to announce that they planned to divorce after a decade of coupledom and nearly seven years as husband and wife. And in mid-January, multiple media outlets reported that Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler parted ways in late 2019 after nearly a decade as a couple.

It was quite the year for Lily James. In May, there were reports that she and Matt Smith — who reportedly split in late 2019 — were officially back together after rekindling their romance amid the coronavirus pandemic. But then in July, she was seen looking cozy with Chris Evans, indicating that her relationship with the "Doctor Who" star had once again come to an end. Things really got messy in October when the "Cinderella" star was snapped packing on the PDA with Dominic West in Rome… even though the 50-year-old "The Wire" alum has been married to Irish landscape designer and aristocrat Catherine FitzGerald since 2010. In the wake of the scandal, Dominic and his missus presented a united front, posing for a photo op outside their home in England and insisting to the media that their "marriage is strong" and that they're "very much still together." The 31-year-old English actress, meanwhile, had reportedly only just broken up with Matt for good when she was photographed with Dominic: The Sun reported that the off-and-on duo "tried to get things back on track again" following her headline-making hangouts with Chris. Sadly, that wasn't the end of it… A different British tabloid reported that Lily also had an inappropriate relationship with Armie Hammer when they shot the Netflix drama "Rebecca" in the summer of 2019 — nearly a year before he and now-estranged wife Elizabeth Chambers announced that they were calling it quits. 

Another whirlwind romance! In February, Ariana Grande was seen smooching a mystery man at a bar in the Los Angeles area, indicating that her rumored romance with Mikey Foster had come to an end. The following month, TMZ identified her new beau as high-end real estate agent Dalton Gomez. In May, they took a major step forward in their relationship: Dalton appeared alongside the singer-actress in the music video for "Stuck with U," her collaboration with Justin Bieber. In June, she made their relationship Instagram official while celebrating her 27th birthday. Then in late December, Ariana announced that she and Dalton had gotten engaged.

It was an emotional rollercoaster of a year for Scott Disick and Sofia Richie. In late May, there were reports that the longtime couple were "on a break" as the 37-year-old reality star chose to focus on himself amid a rough patch in his mental health. Less than a week later, multiple media outlets reported that he and the 22-year-old model had actually called it quits for good. In the wake of the breakup, there were rumors that Scott was aiming for a reconciliation with his former off-and-on love of nearly a decade, Kourtney Kardashian. By mid-July, however, he and Sofia were officially back on. Their reunion proved to be short-lived, though: By mid-August, they'd split again. This time, the breakup stuck. In the months that followed, Scott was seen with several beautiful young women: models Bella Banos, Megan Blake Irwin and, most frequently, Amelia Gray Hamlin. (But the Kourtney reconciliation rumors persisted.) Sofia, meanwhile, started spending time with Matthew Morton following her split from Scott, though that relationship had cooled by mid-December.

In October, Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost tied the knot in Palisades, New York, "in an intimate ceremony with their immediate family and loved ones, following COVID-19 safety precautions as directed by the CDC." They weren't the only bold-faced names who said "I do" this year — though many power couples (including Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez and Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom) opted to postpone or dramatically downscale their wedding plans amid the coronavirus pandemic… Also in October, John Cena quietly married his girlfriend of about a year and a half, Shay Shariatzadeh. Emma Stone reportedly married Dave McCary in the spring after canceling their big wedding plans. Sean Penn and "Animal Kingdom" actress Leila George had "a COVID wedding" in July. And there was even a British royal wedding this year: Princess Beatrice married property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on July 17.

"Dancing With the Stars" fans were shocked when professional dancers Gleb Savchenko and Elena Samodanova announced in early November that they'd called it quits after 14 years of marriage … and even more shocked when she publicly accused him of "multiple affairs" and "ongoing infidelity" and attributed their breakup to "a recent inappropriate relationship." The rumor mill immediately pointed the finger at "Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause — Gleb's partner on season 29 of "DWTS." He and Chrishell publicly denied the rumors, which persisted until she dropped a big bombshell in early December. She was actually dating a different "DWTS" pro: Gleb's good friend Keo Motsepe. After Chrishell and Keo went public with their romance, Gleb unveiled the new lady in his life: "Sharknado" franchise star Cassie Scerbo. The two new couples vacationed together in Mexico in mid-December. Meanwhile, Chrishell's estranged husband Justin Hartley, who filed for divorce in late 2019, debuted his new girlfriend, Sofia Pernas, in May. Over the summer, as her perspective of the breakup played out on the third season of "Selling Sunset," Chrishell fueled rumors that Justin cheated on her with Sofia, whom they both knew from their time on "The Young and the Restless."

It was a whirlwind romance for Kate Beckinsale and Goody Grace. The age-mismatched duo were snapped holding hands in April — three months after they were first seen together at a pre-Grammys party, though it was unclear at the time that they were anything more than friends. The Canadian musician, who's in his early 20s, soon moved in with the "Underworld" actress, who's in her late 40s, amid the coronavirus pandemic. But by October, their quarantine romance had sadly come to an end.

In late January, Pamela Anderson released a statement announcing that she'd married producer Jon Peters 30 years after they first dated in the late '80s (pictured). But then less than two weeks later, she released another statement announcing that they'd called it quits. She also claimed that their marriage was never legally binding. (They didn't file a marriage certificate after they exchanged vows.) In the wake of the breakup, the former couple engaged in a game of "he said, she said" with the media, with sources close to the actress alleging that she agreed to marry Jon after just three days of texting amid a spiritual cleanse that left her feeling "vulnerable." The former "Baywatch" beauty reportedly realized she'd "made a terrible mistake" after just a day and a half of marriage and called things off with the producer, whom she found to be "too controlling." Later, Jon claimed that it was his decision to end the relationship. He also alleged that the model-actress proposed to him via text and that he "was engaged to someone else" at the time and "dropped everything" for the former Playboy model. Something else he claims to have dropped? Almost $200K to pay off Pamela's bills. Her rep called the allegations "entirely fabricated" and "ludicrous," and oddly, Jon later denied that he'd spoken to the press at all. In late February, Us Weekly reported that Jon had already gotten engaged to another woman. Pam, meanwhile, moved on with her full-time bodyguard of nearly two years, Dan Hayhurst. In early September, she tweeted that she and Jon were "never married" and called their wedding "just a bizarre lunch."

It was truly an unforgettable year for Bachelor Nation. In March, season 24 of "The Bachelor" ended with Peter Weber popping the question to Hannah Ann Sluss after Madison Prewett left the show of her own volition. Hannah Ann happily accepted Peter's proposal but called things off with him a couple months later (in January) when she realized he couldn't fully commit to her. Peter then briefly attempted to reconcile with Madi: On the live portion of the finale — their first time seeing each other since she left the show — they presented a united front and said that they intended to continue dating and working on their relationship. But then just two days later, they announced on Instagram that they'd "mutually decided to not pursue our relationship any further." Peter went on to find love with another woman who competed for his heart on the show: Kelley Flanagan. (Madi, meanwhile, sparked rumors she was dating Denver Nuggets power forward Michael Porter Jr. in October.) Peter wasn't the only Bachelor Nation lead who had a messy 2020… In late May, Colton Underwood and Cassie Randolph — who fell in love on season 23 of "The Bachelor" — took to social media to announce that they called it quits after more than a year of coupledom. Although initial reports indicated the breakup was mutual and amicable, things soon turned nasty, with the former couple sharing shady comments about one another on social media. Then in September, Cassie accused Colton — who was briefly linked to Lucy Hale in July — of stalking and harassing her and sought a restraining order against him. By early November, they'd settled their differences (in the eyes of the law, at least) — Cassie dropped the restraining order… On the Sept. 1 episode of her "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast with Rachel Lindsay, Becca Kufrin confirmed widespread reports that she and Garrett Yrigoyen — who fell in love and got engaged on season 14 of "The Bachelorette" — had called it quits. He wasted no time coupling up with another woman. And finally, Clare Crawley fell madly in love with one of her suitors, Dale Moss, and cut short her time on season 16 of "The Bachelorette," handing over the reins to Tayshia Adams. Clare and Dale got engaged just two weeks into their relationship on the fourth episode of the 16th season of the ABC reality show, which was filmed over the summer.

It was a huge year for the ladies of the "Real Housewives" franchises! Teresa Giudice revealed her new boyfriend — New Jersey-based businessman Luis "Louie" Ruelas — in early November. Braunwyn Windham-Burke officially came out as a lesbian and introduced her new girlfriend in early December. Megan King had a whirlwind romance with entrepreneur Christian Schauf that came to an end in late November. Erika Jayne announced in early November that she's divorcing her husband of more than 20 years, attorney Tom Girardi, and later accused him of having an affair. Bethenny Frankel and her boyfriend of two years, Paul Bernon, broke up over the summer. Cynthia Bailey and Kelly Dodd both wed the respective men in their lives on Oct. 10. And Porsha Williams and her off-and-on fiancé, Dennis McKinley, both claimed on social media in early October that they're no longer a couple.