Celebs Who Started Low-Key Relationships In 2020

For many, 2020 is the year love died. Okay, we're being dramatic, but it's the year that's taken more than a few celebrity couples from us. Queen Rihanna split from her billionaire boyfriend, Amanda Bynes ditched her fiancé (though, admittedly, we sort of saw that one coming), and even Miley Cyrus ended things with Cody Simpson — and they had matching tattoos. Is anything sacred?

Those aren't the only celebs who've split. This year also saw the end of Vanessa Hudgens' nearly nine-year relationship, Kristin Cavallari's seven-year marriage, and Scott Disick and Sofia Richie's three-year relationship. We'd also throw in the fact that Dorinda Medley broke up with The Real Housewives of New York, but there's only so much our hearts can take, and does being married to the reality TV hustle even really count?

Despite all this infinite proof that love is dead, some A-listers have managed to ignite the spark, but they're not all flaunting it around like Demi Lovato and her whirlwind engagement. These celebrity couples started low-key seeing each other in 2020. In the words of Rihanna, who will someday love again, they found love in a hopeless place. 

Zac Efron didn't have such a great start to the year. According to the New Zealand Herald, he rode out the end of 2020 while being airlifted out of Papua New Guinea for an alleged "life-or-death" medical situation. Clearly, he recovered quickly with a new Netflix series, a new lease on life, and a new relationship. So, who's the mystery woman?

For much of this year, we thought Efron was one of Hollywood's most eligible bachelors, but he seemingly entered a low-key relationship away from the razzle-dazzle of Tinseltown. According to People, the High School Musical actor started seeing Vanessa Valladares, who The Cut describes as an "aspiring model and waitress." That's right: Efron is reportedly dating a normal person that he reportedly met at a normal place — a cafe if we're getting into specifics. Apparently, the pair are "having fun" and "she spends a lot of time" with him. Excuse us, but can you imagine just bumping into Zac Efron at a cafe and then actually falling in love? It's like an IRL rom-com. Really, that's the actual plot to the Disney Channel Original Movie Starstruck.

In any event, things appear to be working out. An anonymous source confirmed to Us Weekly that Valladares is "good for" Efron, and she's helped him calm down. He's reportedly "not partying too much." The pair spend their days enjoying the great outdoors. How wholesome.

Let's be real: none of Brad Pitt's relationships are ever low profile. His alleged Angelina Jolie/Jennifer Aniston love triangle spawned decades of tabloid headlines, but Pitt's new boo seems decidedly more low-key, at least in the way she handles her relationships. According to Daily Mail, the actor first met 27-year-old model Nicole Poturalski in August 2019 at her husband's restaurant. Yep, Poturalski is married to 68-year-old restaurateur Roland Mary, but their marriage is reportedly "open."

It's unclear exactly when romance sparked between the pair, but they were spotted in the VIP area of a Kanye West concert in Los Angeles towards the end of 2019. Tabloids didn't start calling Poturalski Pitt's "girlfriend" until August 2020, when he was spotted publicly kissing the star for the first time before jet setting to the South of France, according to OK! Despite the tabloid gossip and rumors of an angry Jolie, the pair are low-key enough that they haven't said a word to the press.

According to Us Weekly, they're keeping it casual. "It's currently a go-with-the-flow situation, and Nicole's not running around yelling about her love for Brad from the rooftops," a source told the tabloid.

It's not like most of us are exactly tuned into Trevor Noah's love life, so it's not totally surprising that The Daily Show host has been dating someone under our noses for months. Add on pandemic restrictions and the fact that celebs basically have to hide under masks in public — an arguably better disguise than a hoodie and sunglasses — and there you have it. How were we supposed to know?

According to E!, Noah has been secretly dating Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly for "several months," and she's been living with him in his Manhattan apartment. He's been locked in there filming his show, and clearly, he hasn't left enough for the paps to catch on. "We're in a similar position in more ways than we've ever been to many in our audience. We're not coming to you from a glitzy, glamorous world. I'm not in a studio. I'm in my apartment," he told the Los Angeles Times in August. In any event, E! claims their relationship is "getting serious."

KJ Apa isn't the only Riverdale star who made things Instagram official in 2020. In early September, Camila Mendes sealed the deal with boyfriend Grayson Vaughan by posting a photo of them kissing on an airport tarmac. "Long distance love," she captioned the post, prompting a fan to comment in all caps, "SINCE WHEN ??" Seriously, since when?

It's unclear how and when Mendes and Vaughan met. We do know that Vaughan is a photographer who snapped photos of Apa. Perhaps he's done more behind-the-scenes work with the Riverdale cast. According to Elle, Mendes has been liking his Instagram photos since mid-February, which is about the same time they were spotted in public together for the first time. Just Jared Jr. caught the pair leaving a Ferragamo store in Milan during Milan Fashion Week, which makes sense because Mendes worked on the brand's new Viva campaign. Since then, Page Six has seen them out and about in Los Angeles, but there's little evidence of their romance beyond Mendes' lone Instagram post.

When Tiffany Haddish isn't bringing her own chicken to awards shows, the actress is apparently trolling for dudes on dating apps — and that's where she connected with her new A-list love. In an April 2020 interview with Today, the actress revealed that she had recently gone on a virtual Bumble date with Common, though she had been using the app's social distance date features for a while. This came after The Jasmine Brand suggested the pair had been quarantining together.

By August, things appeared to be exclusive, and both parties officially spoke out. Haddish told Steve-O (of Jackass fame) that she was "in a relationship" during an episode of his Steve-O's Wild Ride podcast. Common got a lot sappier when he appeared on Live with Kelly and Ryan. "She's a wonderful woman, a queen, and just a beautiful person, man," he said during the interview. "You know, I just care for her a lot, enjoy her, and am grateful to have her in my life. I'm happy." Awww!

If there's one relationship we never thought 2020 would take, it was Cara Delevingne and Ashley Benson. For crying out loud, the pair bought a sex bench together. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and that's apparently what brought Benson into the arms of Halsey's allegedly cheating ex, G-Eazy.

Per our own report, Benson and Delevigne went public with their split in May 2020, and rumors of her relationship with G-Eazy surfaced not long after. That same month, Us Weekly reported that the pair was keeping it low-key. "They are hanging out and seeing each other, but it's not serious," a source told the tabloid. Later in June, the couple was spotted holding hands on a hike.

Though things between Benson and G-Eazy are allegedly easy breezy, it's serious enough that the rapper featured his rumored girlfriend on a song. According to People, Benson sings on his single "All the Things You're Searching For" where G-Eazy proclaims that someone – who most certainly sounds like Benson — is "the best sex [he] ever had."