As we start a new year, we can’t help but think of all the tough losses in 2023 — including all of our fantasy boyfriends.
OK, yes, we knew we wouldn’t actually marry any of these celebrity crushes. We’re not completely delusional — but who doesn’t love a fantasy? Alas, our imaginary boyfriends found real happiness and got married in 2023. So as we toast to the New Year, join Us in pouring one out to say goodbye to our favorite bachelors (who may or may not continue to star in our dreams).
Chris Evans
Our hearts broke just a little when we heard Evans, 42, married Alba Baptista. We fully thought the Captain America actor, 42, was the millennial George Clooney. We weren’t supposed to have to deal with him ditching his bachelor status until he hit his 50s! However, he did mention in July 2022 that he was prioritizing finding love. We should’ve known he wouldn’t take as long as the rest of us to find The One. He started dating Baptista, 26, in 2021.
Cheers to Evans and Baptista, who tied the knot in September with a dual wedding ceremonies in his native Massachusetts and her native Portugal.
Brian Bowen Smith
Milo Ventimiglia
This was another surprise wedding — though we do appreciate that Ventimiglia, 46, made sure Us Weekly was first to know about his wedding to Jarah Mariano in October. Still, having never publicly confirmed their relationship, fans had no idea that the This Is Us star was ready to tie the knot with Mariano. However, as fangirls who fell for him during his days playing Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls, it does make us smile to know that the 39-year-old model’s maiden name is that of his iconic bad boy character.
Raise a glass to Ventimiglia and Mariano, who tied the knot earlier this year in a private wedding ceremony among family and close friends.
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Champagne Collet & OBC Wines
Jack Antonoff
If Evans is the mainstream heartthrob, Antonoff is the quirky crush. He’s cute, funny and writes music with Taylor Swift — so we shed a little tear when the 39-year-old tied the know with Margaret Qualley. To be fair, the Bleachers frontman gave Us plenty of time to adjust to the idea, with the Maid actress, 29, first posting her diamond engagement ring in May 2022. While he’ll never write lyrics about Us, we’re still excited to hear the songs Qualley will inspire.
Best wishes to Antonoff and Qualley, who tied the knot in July on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, bringing tons of stars (including Swift and Channing Tatum) to the Garden State.
Reduster
Dylan Sprouse
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Even our early 2000s Disney Channel crushes couldn’t avoid crushing our souls this year. Anyone who grew up watching The Suite Life of Zach and Cody had a preferred brother, so 2023 was rough for the Zach girls. (The Cody girls, meanwhile, know that Cole Sprouse is approaching the three-year mark with girlfriend Ari Fournier.) However, Dylan’s marriage wasn’t exactly shocking. After all, he has been open about his love for model Barbara Palvin for several years, and they announced their engagement earlier this year.
Dylan said “I do” to Palvin in her native Hungary in July, and we say “Egészségedre” (which means “cheers” in Hungarian) to them.
Kim Kardashian, Travis KelceStefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Baby2Baby;JC Olivera/Getty Images
Social media was abuzz with dating rumors, drama and more throughout 2023, and some celebs couldn’t resist chiming in themselves.
Travis Kelce‘s grateful shout-out to Erin Andrews and Kim Kardashian‘s ode to her iconic crying face were enough to keep Us laughing all year long, but they weren’t the only stars who got a little creative in the comments section.
From Serena Williams and Blake Lively to Liev Schreiber and Flavor Flav, Hollywood’s favorites gave Us a lesson in playful pot-stirring and gentle roasting. Some stars even used the replies as a place to shoot their shot (we see you, Sharon Stone).
Scroll down to relive the funniest celeb interactions in the comments section from 2023:
Travis Kelce Owes Erin Andrews ‘Big Time’
Kelce gave credit to Andrews and her podcast cohost, Charissa Thompson, after they pitched him as a potential love interest for Taylor Swift on their “Calm Down” show in August, one month after he publicly shouted out Swift on his own “New Heights” podcast. The couple were first spotted together in September, much to the delight of Andrews and Thompson.
“😂😂 You two are something else!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 I owe you big time!!” Kelce commented on a “Calm Down” clip shared via Instagram in October. The show’s official account replied, teasing, “@killatrav we do what we can. This is what we’re here for! 😘.”
Liev Schreiber Has No Time for Scandoval
Bravo fans weren’t surprised when Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix was profiled by The New York Times in May — two months after her ex-boyfriend Tom Sandoval‘s now-infamous cheating scandal broke the internet — but Schreiber wasn’t exactly interested. “Is this news?” he asked in the comments section of the newspaper’s Instagram post promoting the interview.
Reality TV lovers weren’t pleased with the diss, including podcast host Danny Pellegrino, who joked that Schreiber was officially on his “arch nemesis” list after the shady comment. “Sincere apology to you and Ms. Madix,” Schreiber replied. “Didn’t realize I was in [the] entertainment section.”
Selena Gomez Drops ‘Facts’ About Benny Blanco Romance
In early December, fans began to wonder whether Gomez and Blanco were more than just musical collaborators — and Gomez didn’t hesitate to confirm the rumors. “Facts,” she replied after the Instagram account @popfactions posted about the dating speculation. She later doubled down, calling Blanco “the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Courtesy of Selena Gomez/Instagram
Some social media users were skeptical about the relationship, but Gomez swiftly shut them down. “He’s still better than anyone I’ve been with. Facts,” she wrote in a separate comment, further revealing that she and Blanco had been dating for “six months.”
Clapping back once more, Gomez reminded the haters, “If you don’t feel free to say whatever you want. But I will never allow your words to guide my life. Ever. I’m done. if you can’t accept me at my happiest then don’t be in [my] life at all.”
Vanessa Hudgens Cries Over Austin Butler’s Elvis Voice
Butler’s lasting commitment to embodying Elvis Presley remained meme-worthy well after the Baz Luhrmann biopic Elvis was released in 2022. Social media users even caught Butler’s ex Hudgens — who previously said she was the one who convinced him to play Presley — getting in on the fun.
“He went to the Lady Gaga school of Oscar campaign acting,” read the caption of a January Instagram post, which featured a screenshot of a headline about Butler’s speaking voice still sounding like Presley. Hudgens was quick to chime in, writing, “Crying,” in the comments section.
Several celebrities have earned the title of “The Internet’s Boyfriend,” but some have stood out more than others throughout 2023. The slang term of endearment is used in reference to a popular male celebrity who fans obsess over online. “They stand for something good, whether that be just kindness, whether that be challenging gender norms, […]
Joe Jonas Celebrates His Own Birthday
When Jonas turned 34 in August, he was one of the first to send himself well-wishes. The official Jonas Brothers account shared a photo of the singer and encouraged fans to send him a birthday message in the comments section, and Jonas obliged. “Happy birthday bud!” he wrote. “Love ya!”
Kim Kardashian Sympathizes With Katy Perry’s ‘Ugly Cry Face’
After Perry shared a zoomed in GIF of herself crying behind the American Idol judges table, Kardashian was quick to jump in with some words of reassurance.
“Hi this is my ugly cry face,” Perry captioned her original video, with Kardashian noting in the comments section, “We all have one.”
Her quip referred to the viral Keeping Up With the Kardashians moment in which the Skims founder lost her diamond earring in the ocean. Although Kardashian has called the frequently memed moment “so old” (and assured fans that she did find the earring off camera), the GIF of her bawling in the ocean will likely continue to live on into 2024.
Ellen Pompeo Has Thoughts About ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Residuals
The Writers’ Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes transformed the entertainment industry in 2023, with support from major actors like Pompeo amplifying the cause even further.
Netflix’s official TikTok account shared a series of throwback images of Pompeo’s Grey’s Anatomy character, Meredith Grey, with relatable captions overlayed. In the final photo, Grey sobs hysterically with the words, “Me when Meredith says pick me, chose me, love me,” calling back to one of the show’s most beloved moments.
Pompeo popped into the network’s comments section to call attention to one demand outlined by the union’s strike. “Also me when @netflix doesn’t pay actors residuals holla let’s talk,” she penned, earning praise from plenty of fans.
Sharon Stone Thirsts Over Bad Bunny in Our Comments Section
Us Weekly’s own comments section is popping, if we do say so ourselves. In one memorable (and spicy) comment, Stone reacted to Bad Bunny’s NSFW shower selfie.
Referencing our headline about how fans Photoshopped their own faces onto the singer’s steamy snap, Stone deadpanned, “Wishful thinking It can break your VCR I’m told.”
Not only did her reaction leave Us shook, but other celebs joined in to marvel at the comment, including Selling Sunset’s Christine Quinn, who dropped a GIF in the chain.
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images/Getty Images
Blake Lively Keeps Trolling Ryan Reynolds
It’s clear that Lively and Reynolds’ love language is teasing each other, especially online.
In the comments section of one of Lively’s posts — a vibrant postpartum bikini snap — a fan pondered, “How have you had 4 kids??? 🔥🔥🔥,” referencing her physique. The Gossip Girl alum hilariously responded by tagging her personal trainer, Don Saladino, instead of Reynolds. In the same comment, she feigned correcting herself.
The year 2023 has nearly come to a close, bringing Us royal ceremonies, unexpected celebrity couplings and more. In May, Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son, King Charles III, ascended the throne as Britain’s new monarch. The late queen died in September 2022 after 70 years as sovereign and was succeeded by Charles. During the coronation, […]
“Wait. No. That’s not how. He’s not the father,” she wrote. “He’s just the one who helps me fit into (some of) my clothes again after. He’s an even better person and friend than trainer. And that’s saying a lot. ♥️.”
Flavor Flav Brings Uncle Vibes to Billie Eilish’s Clapback Post
From convincing Us on TikTok that Swift’s Reputation (Taylor’s Version) was coming this fall to defending his “flavorful” rendition of the national anthem, Flav wasn’t afraid to stir the pot on social media in 2023. But he also used his keyboard prowess to stand up for others.
He showed love for fellow musical artist Eilish, who called out Variety for “outing [her] on a red carpet” in the caption of an Instagram dump that included a snap of her and the rapper. In a message that has seemingly been deleted, Flav stepped fearlessly into the post’s heated comments section.
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“Imma just out here helping everyone remember how to be happy,,, that’s what I was made for!!!” he wrote, referring to Eilish’s song on the Barbie soundtrack.
Other celebs also sounded off in the replies, including LGBTQIA+ advocates Tyler the Creator, Hunter Schafer and Jonathan Van Ness.
“Kylie and Travis are off again, they were supposed to spend the holidays together, but she went to Aspen to be with her family and friends up there,” a source shared with Us in January. “This has happened so many times before, they’re known to be on-again, off-again, but always remain friends and great coparents.”
Jenner, who shares daughter Stormi and son Aire with Scott, subsequently moved on with Timothée Chalamet. After taking her romance with Chalamet public, Jenner offered an update on her coparenting dynamic with Scott.
“It’s going … I think we’re doing the best job that we can do,” she told WSJ. Magazine in October.
Meanwhile, Kourtney Kardashian shocked her fans when she announced in June that she was expecting a baby with husband Travis Barker. (The Poosh founder also shares kids Mason, Penelope and Reign with ex Scott Disick. Barker, for his part, has two teenage kids, son Landon and daughter Alabama, with ex-wife Shanna Moakler. He is also a father figure to Moakler’s daughter Atiana, whom she shares with Oscar De La Hoya.)
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Three months after her pregnancy reveal, Kardashian opened up about how she was rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery ahead of her fourth child’s arrival. Kardashian and Barker’s son, Rocky, was born in October.
Scroll down for a recap of the year’s most memorable Kardashian-Jenner moments:
It was a banner year for Hallmark romances and mysteries, with the network dropping some of our all-time favorite made-for-TV movies before and during the Christmas season.
Network staple Andrew Walker re-teamed with Nikki DeLoach twice in 2023 for new installments in their Curious Caterer series on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. (After costarring in Dying for Chocolate last year, they made Grilling Season and Fatal Vows in 2023.)
“If it’s dropped into me, it’s almost like something gets channeled and I will have, like, a flash of an image of something — or I will dream of, like, a scene or something will come to me,” DeLoach exclusively told Us Weeklyin February of manifesting the film. “And this was something that came to me and I was like, ‘I think you and I have to do a mystery wheel together. I don’t exactly know what it is yet, but I saw it. I saw us doing this.’”
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Keep scrolling for Us’ unofficial ranking of the best Hallmark movies of 2023 (and the standout moments that stole our hearts):
2023 was filled with wild celebrity moments and the memes that followed suit did not disappoint.
Pedro Pascal went viral on more than one occasion this year, cementing himself as the king of memes. A scene from Pascal and Nicolas Cage’s 2022 film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, got a second wind in March when one of their scenes became a popular TikTok template.
In the clip, Cage looks unhappy as he sits shotgun while he and Pascal drive along the coastline as the song “Make Your Own Kind of Music” plays. As the tune progresses, Cage glares at Pascal, who can’t help but smile wide and gaze adoringly at his pal. One user took the scene to describe how a sleepover with their friends typically turns out.
“My friend looking at me after I agreed to stay up late with them,” read the caption over Cage’s head before transitioning to Pascal. “Me passing out at 9 p.m. like the granny I am.”
Pascal got the meme treatment — when a pop culture moment rapidly spreads online — a second time that same month after a clip of him eating a sandwich went viral again on TikTok.
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While Pascal’s meme game dominated earlier in the year, the Barbie movie took the reins in the back half. From introducing all the different Barbies and their occupations to Ken just being his best self, the internet exploded as users embraced Barbie mania.
Keep scrolling to relive and laugh at the biggest celebrity memes in 2023:
