"I've got a date with a movie star?!"
— Ned Flanders, The Simpsons
A modern-day Wish Fulfillment narrative in which a non-famous person dates a famous public figure. The relationship between the two prior to dating can be anything ranging from total strangers, Childhood Friends who are reconnecting, a bodyguard and the celebrity they're meant to protect, etc. The normie will often be an Audience Surrogate and thus shown as a Fish Out of Water, having to adjust to the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Sometimes, the opposite will be true, with the celebrity having to navigate living the life of the regular folk while making sure their fame doesn't ruin it all. Expect the normie to learn that the celebrity has Hidden Depths and there's plenty beneath their public face. They are also likely to be portrayed as attractive to the celebrity because they are more grounded and relatable than those typically in the celebrity's orbit.
When conflict between the couple arises, it will often be caused by things like nosy and invasive paparazzi; tabloids and gossip magazines spreading Malicious Slander or questioning the viability of the pairing; Stalkers With A Crush, Loony Fans, the Groupie Brigade, and enraged fans who hate that the relationship even exists; insane Publicity Stunts to maintain the celeb's reputation; the drugs and hedonism that often comes with fame; jampacked work and socialization schedules keeping the two apart; and infidelity scares, as fame attracts Social Climbers more than willing to try their hand at Sleeping Their Way to the Top. Stories told from the perspective of the celebrity may even reveal the normie to be a Social Climber themselves or a Gold Digger, dating the celeb to access money, power, and clout. In sum, all the things that make Horrible Hollywood the awful place it can be.
Like with most Wish Fulfillment tropes, there's always the risk that the characters learn the hard way to Be Careful What You Wish For and that Wanting Is Better Than Having. With this trope in particular, the ultimate lesson to be learned will likely be that Celebrity is Overrated, especially if the relationship doesn't end in Happily Ever After. Conversely, the normie may "solve" the conflict by becoming a celebrity themself and putting the relationship on more equal standing.
Super-Trope to Girl Next Door Turned Superstar and a Sister Trope to Uptown Girl, which is about a romance between two people of different social classes. While class differences are often part of the normie-celeb romance, they are not necessary and are not the main focus. For example, this trope can still be at play if the normie is a non-famous wealthy person, like the child of a CEO or a successful investor; in fact, having the non-celeb be independently wealthy can justify how these two's paths managed to cross in the first place. While lifestyle differences are the cause of drama in both tropes, here it's the differences specifically tied to the trappings of fame and celebrity that cause problems. Also note that while popularity and fame are related, being the most popular person in school does not make one a celebrity.note
Compare and contrast Celebrity Power Couple. A possible outcome of a "Meet the Celebrity" Contest and the hope of many of those with a Celeb Crush. Can overlap with Publicity Stunt Relationship and often does with Secret Relationship to insulate the normie and protect the celebrity's image, especially if Contractual Purity is involved. Some works (Self Insert and Reader Insert Fics in particular) pair this with Fictional Fan, Real Celebrity for maximum wish fulfillment. See also The Outsider Befriends the Best.
No Real Life Examples, Please!
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You: Girlfriend #26 is Idol Singer Himeka "Kiki" Saiki, whose time in the spotlight being known as a musical genius has made her grow tired of the label, desiring to be abnormal rather than excellent. This pervades every aspect of her life, including her love life as she wants an abnormal boyfriend and is initially against dating a seemingly Ordinary High-School Student like Rentarou...until she finds out that he's already dating 25 other girls. She accepts his proposition to be GF #26.
- The Dangers in My Heart: Kyotaro Ichikawa is a young, socially awkward teen who ends up falling for Anna Yamada, a model and thus a low-level celebrity. She later takes on acting as her popularity increases. The two end up getting together but decide to keep their relationship a secret with few knowing, as Kyo is well aware that them dating would likely kill her popularity in the public and hurt her budding acting career. Things soon grow complicated when her agency starts restricting her appearance in public places, including her own school's culture festival, which adds more limitations to what the two can do as a couple.
- The Yuri Genre manga Maitsuki Niwatsuki Ooyatsuki by Yodokawa stars Asako, a manga editor who rents a house from a mysterious beauty, only to discover that a) her landlady is the recently-retired Idol Singer Miyako Kitano, and b) she lives in the same house. The two eventually start dating, while constantly dealing with Miyako's celebrity past and Asako's insecurities. As the story progresses, Asako's friend and colleague Hato also starts dating an idol, namely the new leader of Miyako's old band, Ruri.
- Nana: Average employee and band groupie Nana K. has a Celeb Crush on Takumi, the bass player of the popular rock band, Trapnest. Through her friendship with roomie Nana O., lead singer of a rising rock band herself, she's able to meet him after attending one of their concerts when he comes to her apartment to hang out with the rest of his bandmates. At first, nothing comes of it, but everyone trying to ward Takumi away from Nana K. (partially to give Blackstones's guitarist Nobu a shot at Nana K., who he has a crush on, but also because Takumi is widely known to be a cold-hearted and manipulative jerk to women) makes Takumi decide to pursue her, for the hell of it. This goes horribly and messily, with Takumi simultaneously treating Nana K. as just a convenient lay whenever he wants, but also getting jealous and prideful enough to force her into sex when she tries to end things. Nana K. gets pregnant and despite not knowing if the kid is his or not, decides to willingly enter a Loveless Marriage with Takumi (one in which she explicitly tells him he can take on as many mistress he wants with her turning a blind eye) to ensure that her and her baby can be taken care of.
- Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: While filming Young Neil's movie, Wallace, a relatively normal guy, starts hooking up with The Clash At Demonhead's bass player Todd, who is one half of a celebrity couple with lead singer Envy Adams. Unfortunately, as Todd has never dated anyone other than Envy, he becomes massively attached to Wallace, who only views their relationship as a short-term fling he has no emotional investment in. This utterly crushes Todd, and becomes one of the many factors in the film's cancellation.
- Sensual Phrase: Ordinary High-School Student Aine ends up the lyricist for the rock band Λucifer and the object of desire for lead singer Sakuya. Throughout the relationship, which begins in secret, she has to deal with a litany of trouble and legitimate trauma, ranging from jealous fans, paparazzi and negative press, rival band members kidnapping and attempting to sexually assault her, hell she's not even safe from the president of the label who rapes her as a way to control Sakuya.
- Skip Beat!: Subverted; after graduating junior high school, Kyouko follows her childhood friend Shou to Tokyo to help him pursue his dream of being an idol and rock star. Despite his growing fame, Kyouko is content to be in the background as his live-in girlfriend. Then she overhears Shou talking to his agent (who he's implied to be sleeping with) that he doesn't hold any romantic feelings towards Kyouko and only brought her along to be his live-in maid. Kyouko snaps and vows vengeance on Shou for using her for their entire lives by entering show biz and becoming so successful her career overshadows his.
- Tamon's B-Side: One of the main focuses of the series is the growing romantic relationship between the high school student Utage and Tamon, the member of a popular Boy Band. Utage tries to keep a professional distance from Tamon, both as a fan and his housekeeper, but she eventually realizes she has romantic feelings for him.
Comic Books
- One Archie Comic involved typical teen Jerk Jock Reggie lying about being involved with a famous celebrity, knowing that this will entice the ever-jealous Veronica to take him to a dance rather than Archie. When his plan works, he cons Archie into going to her to break the news believing this will also humiliate the redhead. Instead the celebrity explains she doesn't know "Reggie" and actually hasn't had a date with anyone in town since everyone, assuming she's unapproachable and surrounded by potential dates, never bothers to ask her out — naturally she ends up dating Archie the entire time she'll be in town.
- Deconstructed in Astro City. Astra, a superhero and member of the First Family, is dating an ordinary guy named Matt. He's secretly transmitting their location to paparazzi and recording their dates, because he feels that he doesn't stand a chance to stay with her in the long term.
- Halloween Blues: Forrester is a police detective, Dana was a rising Hollywood star, they met when she was filming in New England and got married. The difference in status comes up when he's on trial for her murder as it's believed he pulled an Inheritance Murder (he definitely wouldn't be able to afford his Cool Car or Big Fancy House on a cop's salary). However, they do seem to have had a Slap-Slap-Kiss relationship, going by the conversations he and Dana (now a ghost) have.
- Spider-Man: In most stories, Peter Parker's day job for his Secret Identity is unremarkable: he has most famously worked as a freelance photographer and as a high school teacher. His most well-known love interest is the supermodel Mary Jane Watson. The disparity between their careers gets brought up in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man when Peter's former bullies are consumed by envy as they wonder how a nobody like him could marry someone who regularly appears on magazine covers.
Fan Works
- The Bolt Chronicles: From "The Ship" onward, Bolt and Mittens become the Official Couple of the series. The former is a famous, now-retired TV actor who was the star of his own show, while the latter is a street stray who was adopted by Bolt's family. Despite this, the occasional problems they encounter center around their being in an Interspecies Romance, rather than a difference in notability status.
- Synépeies - A Collection Of NTR Consequences: A darker take on the trope, in "Karma Comes Calling," Jerkass celebrity Yuusuke Imaizumi seduces ordinary college student Minatsu and manipulates her into becoming one of his many prostitutes. It falls apart when Keisuke, who has a crush on Minatsu, exposes Imaizumi's misdeeds and destroys his reputation as revenge.
- In What If (The Matrix), practically everyone knows superstar actor Lloyd Reagan and practically nobody knows his unassuming wife Thalia. Thalia is annoyed by her husband's "Hollywood phony" behavior, as she puts it, when he treats the Loony Fan crowds with "autographs and false promises"; however, she has resigned herself to it. Anyway, the real problem in the marriage is the fact that he is a traitor and murderer who had her brainwashed into being his wife — and now doesn't remember it himself either.
Film — Live-Action
- The American President: President Andrew Shephard dates Sydney Ellen Wade, an environmental lobbyist, which starts a media frenzy. Scandal ensues, as Republicans attack the previously untouchable widower president for dating a liberal lobbyist and call into question his "family man" reputation. It also creates a conflict of interest in their relationship, as Sydney is in fact lobbying her boyfriend to support environment-friendly legislation.
- Another Cinderella Story: The "prince" of this Cinderella Plot is a pop star named Joey Parker, who wants to spend his senior year of high school as a normal student at his old school. Of course, everyone is obsessed with Joey, and his ex-girlfriend is the school's Alpha Bitch. Mary, the abused adopted daughter of a washed-up singer, has a Celeb Crush on him, just like everyone else; they meet at the school dance, and Joey falls in love with her. The plot continues after he discovers who she is, showing the drama of a celebrity trying to date an ordinary girl, as both of them deal with things like his insane ex-girlfriend, her adoptive sisters trying to sabotage things, and her general insecurities surrounding everything.
- Beyond the Lights: Noni is a rising pop star and Kaz is a By-the-Book Cop newly assigned to her guard detail while she's on tour. After he stops her from killing herself, the two begin a relationship with one another. However, her sexed-up bad girl image, vindictive ex, overbearing Stage Mom, and the constant paparazzi leaving them little privacy are all obstacles for the pair to overcome, especially as Kaz's father is hellbent on setting Kaz up for a future congressional run and thus disapproves of the entire relationship.
- Subverted in The Bodyguard, when the titular bodyguard, Frank Farmer, goes on a date with his client, superstar singer Rachel Marron. After spending the night together, Frank realizes he cannot protect Rachel and be with her, so he ends their relationship after one date.
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall: Peter Better is a TV music composer who is in a 5-year relationship with the star of the show he's currently writing for, the titular Sarah Marshall. She, however, abruptly dumps him, and Peter escapes to Hawaii on a trip to try to get over her, because as a celebrity he works with, her face is literally everywhere. Things get messier when he finds out she is also staying at the resort he's at with her new British Rock Star boyfriend, Aldus Snow.
- In The Idea of You, Solene falls in love with and starts dating Hayes, member of a world-famous boy band. Apart from his superstardom, their dynamic is also complicated by the fact she is sixteen years his senior. When their relationship is made public and the pressure becomes too much for Solene and in particular for her teenage daughter Izzy to handle, Solene breaks it off. However, unlike in the original book where the breakup is final, here Solene and Hayes decide to reconnect in five years if both are still interested — and end up doing just that, since by that point Izzy is an adult living separately and Hayes' boy band has broken up, so a good deal of the fans' craze around him has died down.
- Long Shot: Intrepid Reporter Fred reconnects with his childhood babysitter, now Sec. of State and presidential candidate Charlotte at a fundraiser. Against the wishes of her Chief of Staff, Maggie, she hires him to be her speechwriter and the two begin a Secret Relationship. When she finds out, Maggie argues that this would only hurt her political ambitions as the public would never accept them, and later on the relationship (in the form of an embarrassing video of Fred) is used by Charlotte's political rivals as blackmail against her.
- Marry Me (2022): International pop superstar Kate ends up in a Publicity Stunt Relationship with divorced math teacher Charlie after she finds out her fourth groom-to-be is cheating on her on the day of their public and televised wedding and she impulsively asks Charlie (who's in the crowd) if he'd marry her instead. In a panic, he agreed. At first, Charlie is uncomfortable with all of the press and interviews they have to do and feels like he'll never be able to fit into Kat's world, but the two do end up developing genuine feelings for each other.
- Notting Hill: After Anna, an international acting megastar, bumps into bookstore owner William a second time in the streets, the two begin a relationship and even from the beginning, there are issues. Anna is plagued by the press (who mistake William as one of them) and disparaged in public, she becomes mired in a Tabloid Melodrama when racy pictures she took when she was younger are published in the papers, and she talks negatively about him to her colleagues (albeit to keep her private life separate from her messy public life). This causes the two to break up and make up several times throughout the story.
- Rocketman (2019): Once he starts to become a sensation, Elton meets John Reid, the first man who he's able to form a romantic relationship with. John became intrigued by him during his show earlier that night and seized the opportunity to meet him while he was alone and downcast at the afterparty. While John is already in the music industry at this point, his career doesn't have an impact until Elton hires him as his manager; at first, they're simply dating. "Honky Cat" shows the two riding on the high of Elton's fame and fortune, while Elton finally begins to engage with the true rockstar lifestyle with John at his side. Unfortunately, once John does become his manager, things take a dark turn, as it turns out that Elton's status and money were all John actually cared for.
- Singin' in the Rain: After a chance encounter in which small-time chorus girl Kathy Selden insults his acting and rejects his flirtations, movie star Don Lockwood falls in love with Kathy. Lina, an actress in a Publicity Stunt Relationship with Don who's actually in love with him even though he actually hates her, gets Kathy fired from her job out of jealousy. This leads to Kathy turning to acting where she continues her relationship with Don and her conflict with Lina over Don remains an ongoing issue in her career.
- The Substance: Subverted. Elisabeth, the White-Dwarf Starlet, comes close to going on a date with regular guy Fred, a high school classmate of hers, but Sue exacerbates Elisabeth's insecurities about her appearance, causing her to give up on the date at the last minute.
- Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!: In a stunt to improve his public image, the publicist of famous actor and known bad boy Tad Hamilton hosts a "Meet the Celebrity" Contest with the prize being a date with him. Small-town girl Rosalee with a Celeb Crush on Tad wins it and flies out to LA for what ends up being a disastrous first date. The two eventually date more seriously when he flies out to her town and begs her to give him a real shot, though this is more to maintain his reformed image than anything. Tad eventually gets offered film roles again and he asks Rosalee to join him in LA. Subverted however in that Tad is the Romantic False Lead; Rosalee eventually chooses to be with her friend, coworker, and Dogged Nice Guy Pete, who tried to sabotage her relationship with Tad for most of the film.
Literature
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Everyone is shocked when Hermione shows up at the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum, the world-famous Seeker for the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team and Durmstrang's Triwizard Champion. While Hermione was not one of the fawning Viktor Krum fangirls, she liked him and appreciated his attention enough that she accepted his invitation, continuing to see him for some time after. This makes Ron, also a fan of Krum's, insanely jealous, though he doesn't admit it. Gossip columnist Rita Skeeter writes a story speculating that Hermione is using Krum to toy with her famous friend Harry's emotions (not understanding or caring that Harry and Hermione are just Like Brother and Sister), which gets Hermoine the cold shoulder from Mrs. Weasley and a ton of hate mail, including a literal curse that lands her in the Hospital Wing. Downplayed since they end up breaking things off more because Viktor has to go back to Bulgaria than anything about his fame, though they continue to write to each other.
- I Was Born For This: Rowan, who is part of the famous teen rock band The Ark, deliberately doesn't reveal the identity of his girlfriend Bliss for her privacy and safety. When her identity is finally found out, Bliss is hated by a large segment of the fandom. The hatred comes not only from Rowan's Groupie Brigade, but also those who ship him with his other bandmate Jimmy. They eventually break up because of this.
- Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai: The Official Couple of the series consists of Sakuta Azusagawa, an Ordinary High-School Student, and Mai Sakurajima, a fairly well-known child actress who's transitioning to adult roles. In the third book, she accidentally lets slip to her manager that they're dating, and are made to keep it on the down-low to avoid aggravating Contractual Purity standards since Mai's Career Resurrection isn't solidified yet. Later a Paparazzi gets a photo of them together, and they quickly move to get in front of it: Mai holds a press conference and confirms that, yes, she has a boyfriend, and he's a normal boy from her high school so please leave him alone.
Live-Action TV
- Mexican telenovela "Alcanzar Una Estrella" hangs around this trope where main character Lorena is a nerdy and non-attractive girl that dreams to be a singer and starts having a crush on popular singer Eduardo Casablanca. While, initially Eduardo is not attracted by Lorena (and provoking her a big depression), he starts developing feelings for her after reading her cards and starts developing a friendship with Lorena, helping her building her own career as a singer and actress, becoming a couple in the end.
- 30 Rock: Tracy, comedian and star of The Girlie Show with Tracy Jordan, is Happily Married to his non-celebrity wife Angie. The two met long before Tracy became famous at a strip club. Contrary to the typical dynamic, Angie is well accustomed to the demands of fame, even encouraging Tracy to get into a fake affair because Tracy has a reputation of being a philandering ladies' man to maintain. In reality, Tracy has never cheated on his wife once because he genuinely loves her. Later subverted when Angie becomes a reality TV star herself.
- The Arrangement (2017): The show focuses on the relationship between Kyle, one of the biggest Hollywood stars in the world, and Megan, a small-time actress who mostly performs in modest theater plays. The early plot involves Megan adjusting to being involved with an extremely rich and famous boyfriend, such as being the target of Malicious Slander of people who think she's a Gold Digger or having to be more careful with her social media. But Megan's biggest issue is having to deal with Kyle's meddlesome producers who constantly get involved in her personal and professional life so they can "uplift her" image and make her and Kyle look like a Celebrity Power Couple. Later subverted, as Megan's career begins to take off and they really do become a Celebrity Power Couple.
- Banjun Drama: In "I Will Love You," Ji-hoon, a normal patisserie, becomes the cooking teacher for Han Eun-byeol, his favorite celebrity, to help her for a role in a movie. Despite difficulties faced from the press and people around Eun-byeol, the two eventually start dating, and even promise to run away with each other. However, it turns out that everything - from their first meeting to their trip away from the press - was a part of a hidden camera prank, and Ji-hoon is left heartbroken.
- Castle: When Richard Castle, a famous mystery novelist and playboy, gets together with NYPD detective and Ascended Fangirl Kate Beckett after years of Will They or Won't They?, they keep their relationship private because Beckett doesn't want to become a public figure too. In "Limelight", when rumors about Castle getting back with his ex-wife make the papers, while Kate knows Castle didn't actually do this, they talk about how Castle will always attract such rumors unless he announces their engagement publicly. Kate declines at first, but, after dealing with a case where a pop star's manipulative mother used a staged paparazzi photo to break her up with her boyfriend, she decides to announce the engagement herself as a surprise.
Beckett: I know, I know, Castle. I like my privacy. But I do realize that you're somewhat famous.Castle: Somewhat?Beckett: Yes. And if we're going to be together I have to come to terms with that. And if they are going to write about you, I want it to be the truth. I want it to be about us.
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: In one episode, typical teen-cum-surrogate son of his wealthy uncle Will starts dating a jet-setting pop singer, but when he expects her to settle down with him, he's surprised that she lives the typical celebrity life and has many suitors (even though all of her songs talk about how unwilling she is).
- Im With Her: Patrick Owen, an average school teacher, has a chance encounter with famed movie star Alex Young while getting coffee. They hit it off and, after some initial doubts, start dating. Over the course of the short-lived series, Patrick finds himself overwhelmed by the barrage of paparazzi and lack of privacy that comes with his newfound relationship. Fun fact, the series is loosely based off of show creator Chris Henchey's relationship with his wife, actress Brooke Shields.
- Mona Mc Cluskey: The premise of this short-lived 1960s sitcom is that Mona, a Hollywood starlet, marries Air Force Sergeant Mike McCluskey, who insists from the start that they live on his very modest salary ($280/month in 1965, equivalent to roughly $2800/month in 2024). She, on the other hand, keeps trying to find ways to spend her money without him knowing. The show lasted about seven months, which many a cynical critic observed would be about as long as such a marriage would last in Real Life.
- The Nanny: Downplayed; former bridal shop employee Fran Fine becomes the live-in nanny to theater producer Maxwell Sheffield and his three children. The entire show is premised on 1) the Belligerent Sexual Tension and eventual romance between Maxwell and Fran and 2) the cultural differences between them given that she comes from a lower class, Ashkenazi Jewish, New York background and he, a posh, upper class, British one. While he is famous, Maxwell's fame is comedically downplayed as he's Always Second Best to and stuck in the shadow of his one-sided rival Andrew Lloyd Webber, so the issues in this relationship are more about class than celebrity, making them more of an example of Uptown Girl.
- SNL Korea:
- Parodied in the "3-Minute Girlfriend/Boyfriend" segments, where normal-if-down-on-their-luck people date Adam Westing versions of the guest hosts.
- In the Red Velvet episode's "Sitcom Family" sketch, Do Hyun is preparing to marry Irene, and Irene is the one who has to convince his family, who's a little crazy, to approve.
- In the short-lived Wedding Band, Tommy dates an actress who is the star of a famous sci-fi show. Everything is great as he is not starstruck by her or hung up on her show. This falls to pieces when she reveals to him the big twist of her show's series finale. He is so incensed and rants about how the show is ruined and was a waste of time, proving that he is Not So Above It All.
Music
- HoneyWorks's Confession Executive Committee series has the "Days of the Week" songs, which focus on Midori Hamanaka, a normal boy who likes playing music; and his love interest, the popular teen model Sena Narumi. They only have mutual crushes in their first song, but in "Sunday's Secret" they have to only limit their courtship to one day a week, and even when they get together they can't make it public knowledge. "Wednesday's Promise" centers around the tribulations of their relationship, namely that Contractual Purity forces them to keep it Secret from nearly everyone. Midori expresses frustration over his "peasant" status compared to Sena, as well as envy toward the actors who play her boyfriend on TV. Despite this, he continues to be head over heels for her and ends the song claiming that their love is the best thing ever, and she's just as crazy about him. They are eventually exposed by paparazzi, and Sena comes clean about it in "Thursday's Scandal".
Video Games
- Leap of Faith (2022): James, a former sewage worker, can potentially get into a relationship with pop star Lexi Dimante. Her path involves their handling her being mobbed by fans while going on dates, her talent agent Jan who opposes her relationship on PR grounds, and dealing with a Sex Equals Love mentality entrenched into her due to her time in Hollywood.
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons: At one point, heroic warrior Link travels to Subrosia and finds a new Ribbon for Rosa, a pop superstar and the biggest celebrity among the Subrosians. She's so grateful that she rewards him with a date, which comes in handy—her magical necklace serves as a universal Skeleton Key in Subrosia, giving Link access to the Spirit of Summer's pavilion in the Temple of Seasons.
- Mega Man Star Force: Geo Stelar unwittingly befriends Idol Singer Sonia Strumm, who he meets when she's trying to get away from her annoying exploitive manager. He connects with her as he empathizes with Sonia's loss of her mother, with his father gone missing in space. Half way in the game they go on a date together, and get close in subsequent games.
- Persona 4: Downplayed as teenage Idol Singer Rise Fujikawa retires prior to her meeting Ordinary High-School Student Yu in Inaba, as she feared that people enjoyed her fanservicey stage persona "Risette" and not her. However, she's still widely known in their school with her own legion of fanboys and even her old manager hanging around trying to recruit her back into showbiz. Her Social Link is all about going on "dates" with her as she comes to terms with the fact that she Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight and eventually agrees to come out of retirement. Like all female social links in the game, you can make the relationship official.
Web Animation
- Helluva Boss: The episode "Spring Broken" reveals that Blitzo, who is an imp and part of the second-lowest caste in Hell, used to date Verosika Mayday, a succubus who is a famous pop star both in Hell and on Earth. They broke up on very bad terms, though, due to him stealing her credit card and travelling to Wrath to blow all of her money on horseback-riding lessons. This has led to Verosika and Blitzo having an antagonistic relationship in the present where they end up engaging in Snark-to-Snark Combat whenever they cross paths. "Apology Tour" reveals that there's a little bit more to the breakup situation: Blitzo actually got cold feet and fled after Verosika told him that she loved him since his Dark and Troubled Past has left him both craving love and believing that he doesn't deserve it, and this is what lead to him deliberately sabotaging their relationship beyond repair and breaking her heart with his credit card theft escapade. Thankfully, they have a heart-to-heart about what happened in season 2 and end up burying the hatchet once and for all.
Web Comics
- Marry Me (Bobby Crosby): Because she's a bit of a romantic wreck, pop idol Stacia spontaneously decides to accept the "proposal" of a fan holding a "Marry Me" sign. That fan being main character Guy, who was just holding the sign for a friend. This eventually leads to real romance, but not before crazy fans and a media circus surrounding their marriage turns Guy's once normal life completely upside down.
Western Animation
- BoJack Horseman: In episode "Hooray! Todd Episode!", one of Princess Carolyn's clients, the movie starlet Courtney Portnoy, has developed a (deserved) reputation as privileged and out of touch. To help remedy this, Princess Carolyn arranges for Courtney to have a Publicity Stunt Relationship with the "boring nobody" Todd so she can seem more down-to-earth and relatable.
- Family Guy: In "Chris Has Got a Date, Date, Date, Date, Date", Chris gets Taylor Swift to dance with him at homecoming. Taylor performs a love song written about Chris until her crowd boos her, so she instead writes a song badmouthing Chris, which attracts the praises of her fans. Chris eventually dumps Taylor after realizing her song is about him.
- Miraculous Ladybug:
- In season 5, baker's daughter Marinette Dupain-Cheng finally lands her Celeb Crush, internationally-famous model Adrien Agreste. This is not without problems. For Marinette, the problem is separating Adrien from his public persona as Incorruptible Pure Pureness, a persona that has intimidated her for the past four seasons, even as it's been clear to everyone else that Adrien really is just a sweet, humble goofball. Adrien, on the other hand, for all that he's gotten used to being loved and adored by girls all over the world, has no idea why Marinette is interested in him and worries that being himself will disappoint her (as happened with his previous girlfriend Kagami), and thus keeps defaulting to his "pure" persona in the mistaken belief that this would please her, intimidating her further (and causing her to regress into an even more neurotic mess than usual). Over the course of the season, they both do a lot of self-reflection to figure out why their hang-ups exist and eventually, they finally get their Big Damn Kiss. Interestingly, Adrien being a celebrity wasn't what attracted Marinette to him in the first place (she initially thought he'd be a self-absorbed brat, especially after knowing that he was childhood friends with Chloe Bourgeois, and only developed her crush on him upon discovering that he wasn't like that at all).
- Season 6 has multiple episodes focusing on the public image part of the deal. Even though Adrien has retired from modeling (he never really enjoyed it), he's still well-known throughout Paris, so paparazzi trying to snap pictures of Marinette and influencers dragging her name through the mud become the new normal, with Marinette's father and Adrien's bodyguard doing their best to keep them at bay.
- The Simpsons:
- In "A Fish Called Selma", Marge's chainsmoking, DMV working, older sister Selma begins dating (and soon marries) actor Troy McClure. It's a loveless sham, organised by Troy's agent to get him back in the limelight for a Career Resurrection, but constantly Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places Selma is content to go along with it until Troy's agent tells them to conceive a Trophy Child to maintain the illusion. Selma leaves as she refuses to raise a child in a loveless marriage.
- In "A Star Is Born Again", store owner Ned Flanders starts dating a woman who turns out to be actress Sara Sloane, who is in town shooting a movie, and he soon finds that her sultry, paparazzi-filled Hollywood lifestyle conflicts with his conservative Christian values.
- Transformers: Animated: In a Mythology Gag referencing their relationship in Beast Machines, according to the Allspark Almanac II, Botanica, a member of the Autobot High Council and heavily involved in Cybertron's social scene, is dating Rattletrap, a Con Man who lives on the streets. Their relationship has apparently tanked her social standing.