Why Kaley Cuoco And Henry Cavill's Relationship Was A Total Sham
Kaley Cuoco And Henry Cavill's past romance was one of those blink-and-you'll-miss it situations. They briefly dated back in 2013 — and we do mean briefly. One day, they were hitting up every grocery store in Los Angeles and the next, a statement was released that they had gone their separate ways but would remain friends. Many people were suspicious about their relationship from the start. The pairing was all kinds of unusual, they didn't appear to have any chemistry, and the timing of their hookup was oddly suspicious. Was this fauxmance a total sham? We'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but all signs point to heck yes.
It wouldn't be the first time the PR gods banded together to pair up two mismatched celebrities. HuffPost revealed that these types of concocted showmances date back to the "early 20th century," when "Rock Hudson's 1955 marriage to secretary Phyllis Gates was famously arranged" by his agent in an attempt to hide the truth about Hudson's sexuality.
Though the blueprint hasn't changed much decades later, there are more reasons why a made-for-publicity relationship might be hatched, from helping to promote the couple's upcoming projects or to simply boost their presence in the media. Did The Big Bang Theory starlet and her Man of Steel follow the same modus operandi? Let's discuss as we uncover why Kaley Cuoco and Henry Cavill's relationship was a total sham.
They weren't fooling anyone
It wasn't just their respective fans who called foul on this pairing, even the media wasn't convinced they were in a true romance. Just Google "Kaley Cuoco and Henry Cavill's fake relationship," and a ton of search results will pop up. Honestly, it's kind of sad, because they really weren't fooling anyone!
HuffPost equated their situation and other celebrity couples who've ventured into this territory as the real-life version of The Arrangement. You know, the since-canceled series about a concocted, high-profile marriage between celebrities. Not only did HuffPost cite Cuoco and Cavill's brief coupling as an example, but they also put Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston's "extremely camera-ready relationship" on blast. The website added, "That's why gossip addicts will relish The Arrangement for painting Hollywood the way we assume it really is ― calculating and manipulative."
If they were faking it, at least they're in good company with Swift and Hiddleston, no?
Striking a pose
Throughout the duration of their days-long situationship, Henry Cavill and Kaley Cuoco were pictured out on more dates than even real Hollywood couples go on. They were photographed walking through grocery store parking lots and going on a hike, followed by a sushi date to refuel after their strenuous exercise. But no location was too remote for paparazzi cameras to snap photos of the industry's latest "It Couple." Though they were usually spotted walking hand-in-hand, something about their body language was just ... off. Were they trying too hard to convince the public that they were a thing? If so, they didn't try hard enough!
When E! News reported the couple's breakup in July 2013, they also made mention of what appeared to be their staged outings. "[They] remain friends after a few dates together — almost all of which seem to have been captured by paparazzi!" Oooh. The shade of it all!
More speculation on the big sham theory
Still not convinced that these two were engaging in a deliberate and contrived relationship? Well, get a load of this: multiple outlets reported Henry Cavill and Kaley Cuoco had something in common. No, it wasn't their mutual love for picking up poultry and snacks. We're talking about the fact that they reportedly shared the same publicist, who the Daily Mail identified as Beverly Hills-based company, Viewpoint. Inc.
This makes it even more likely that The Big Bang Theory actress and Cavill were in a perfectly curated relationship that was cooked up by their publicist. The real question is why, and we think we have an answer. Bustle wondered if it was a "publicity stunt manufactured to draw attention to Superman and that blonde chick from the show with nerds?"
They may be onto something, so we're riding with Bustle on this one. We'll tell you why in a bit.
In lust right off the bat? No way!
Immediately after they stepped out as a couple, the gossip rags kicked into overdrive. It's as if someone was trying to convince us that Henry Cavill and Kaley Cuoco were a legit item, but even the juiciest tabloid stories about them came off as contrived and try-hard, kind of like the couple's easy come, easy go relationship.
Radar Online reported days after the start of their relationship that the blonde beauty and the Immortals actor were "completely in lust with each other" already.
"Henry and Kaley already seem like the perfect couple," an insider close to Cuoco told the website. "Henry has always thought Kaley is beautiful and the crush before they even met each other was mutual. Now that they're dating, they're completely in lust with each other."
In lust after just a few days? That's not completely impossible, it's just not believable at all!
This relationship came just in time
We still don't have any official proof that this coupling was a publicity stunt, but it's looking more and more like a fauxmance if you take the timing of Kaley Cuoco and Henry Cavill's relationship into consideration.
Via HuffPost, the celebrities linked up at the same time Cavill was promoting the 2013 movie Man of Steel. Cuoco was starring as Penny on The Big Bang Theory but, let's face it, she wasn't exactly the breakout star at that time. In fact, after her allegedly sham-filled romance with Cavill, she negotiated a huge raise on the primetime series to the tune of $1 million per episode, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Cuoco is loaded with talent and brings the funnies on what Deadline described as the "longest-running multi-camera series in television history," but her fling with Cavill really catapulted her career and helped to put her on the map.
A movie plug raised eyebrows
Henry Cavill's most-anticipated film, Man of Steel, hit the box office in June 2013, according to Collider. And who better to help promote the action-packed film than his brand new girlfriend, Kaley Cuoco? With speculation about their romance bombarding the media, Cuoco and Cavill remained hush-hush about their relationship status, despite the numerous paparazzi pictures of them showing PDA while out on the town.
Still, Cuoco pulled a major thirst move by posting a photo of herself posing next to a Man of Steel movie poster, according to Express. The since-deleted picture, which was shared on her Twitter, showed Cuoco next to the poster and had a caption that read, "Everyone go see 'man of steel'. It's fantastic in every single way." Nope, nothing suspicious there, right?
So was that what this was all about? A way for Cavill to get more moviegoers into the theaters? Though the ruse to push fans to the box office may have worked, some of them apparently weren't impressed, as the Daily Beast deemed Man of Steel an ultimate "failure."
11 days later, it was all over
Us Weekly reported they had met at a "Hollywood party" in June 2013. Henry Cavill was reportedly nervous during their initial meeting, but he had always "wanted to date her." After parting ways with actress Gina Carano, Us Weekly claimed he asked Kaley Cuoco "if she was single," and things between them took off from there.
Cuoco had recently ended her relationship with musician Bret Bollinger, and she jumped right into things with Cavill. After Us Weekly's July 1, 2013 confirmation that they were a couple, 11 days later, the website reported they had split. Yes, we said 11 days!
"Things fizzled as quickly as they heated up," a source said. "They are still friends."
We didn't even get the chance to warm up to the idea that they could actually be a real couple, and it sounds like Cuoco and Cavill weren't even motivated to keep the sham alive.
She moved on quick, and we smell a ploy
After their 11-day fling came to an end (or 12-day, depending on your fauxmance math), Kaley Cuoco had no problem moving on to her next conquest. Cosmopolitan reported that soon after she and the Justice League star went their separate ways, a friend hooked her up with former professional tennis player and her now ex-husband, Ryan Sweeting (pictured, left).
After three months, something else really strange happened. Sweeting proposed. Two months after that, they were married. "I admit it happened fast, but that's who I am," she told Cosmo. "When we met, I knew he was the one. I'm not 18 anymore." Well, that quote didn't age well. 21 months after tying the knot, Cuoco and Sweeting decided to divorce, People reported.
So what does this have to do with her rumored fake romance with Cavill? Well, if she got engaged to Sweeting just three months after her fling with Cavill ended, does that mean Sweeting was her real, albeit secretive boyfriend the whole time, and Cavill was just used for clout? Possibly.
All eyes on Kaley
The same year of her breakup with Henry Cavill, Kaley Cuoco married former tennis pro Ryan Sweeting in a fire-and-ice-themed New Year's Eve ceremony. That didn't mean she was leaving Cavill in the rearview mirror, though. He was the topic of conversation during her April 2014 feature in Cosmopolitan magazine when she said, "I had no one following me until I met Superman."
Cuoco added she hadn't had "one paparazzi photo" taken until she was linked to the actor. "The recognition has been crazy. And then meeting Ryan and getting engaged so fast, I knew people were going to think it was so ridiculous," she said. Sounds like mission accomplished to us.
She made it seem as if having a private relationship with Cavill was nearly impossibly, and yet she somehow managed to engage in a secretive relationship with her onscreen boyfriend, The Big Bang Theory actor Johnny Galecki for two whole years!
Was Kaley his only sham relationship?
Kaley Cuoco has gotten married (twice) since her fleeting romance with Henry Cavill ended. And Cavill moved on, as well. But his 2016 relationship also pinged our PR stunt radars. The then-32-year-old actor confirmed to Elle in February of that same year that he was dating a 19-year-old woman who was later identified as Tara King. And, what do you know, he began gushing about his new "fantastic" girlfriend while doing press for his new film, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Oh lawd. Here we go again!
Three months after the aforementioned Elle article, and after the Washington Post suggested that "Batman v. Superman could be one of the biggest blockbuster bombs of all time," Cavill and King were over and done. "She was in too deep and he didn't want anything too serious. He has a lot going on right now," a source told Us Weekly. "They'll remain good friends, but it just wasn't meant to be."
Is that not the same breakup template that was used when he and Cuoco split, right down to the part about remaining friends? We hate to think Cavill is paired up in PR-fueled romances only when it's time to promote a movie, but we can't be the only ones noticing a pattern here.