The Real Life Partners Of The Cast Of F9

If there is one thing fans know about the "Fast and Furious" franchise, it is that family is the core thread that bonds every movie together, not unlike the fuse on an insanely powerful magnet car. You might be so deeply enamoured with how Toretto and the rest of the crew come together over a family barbecue and a bucket of ice cold brewskis that you eventually start to wonder about who the cast of "F9" is dating/married to/in love with in their actual lives. You may also wonder if family is just as important to the actors behind the scenes as it is to the seemingly invincible rogues they depict in the movie. 

Spoiler alert: Family sure does seem like a very big deal to the "F9" characters' real-life counterparts. Ready to delve into the personal lives of the wildly successful ensemble cast? You better buckle your seatbelt, take a hearty bite of a crustless tuna sandwich, and raise a toast to love, life, and of course, family. Yes, we are about to get into the ins and outs of the "F9" cast's relationships. 

In the "Fast and Furious" franchise, Dominic Toretto's entire world arguably revolves around family even more than cars. And the same appears to be true for the man behind the character, Vin Diesel — albeit in the most private manner imaginable. Diesel has been the long-term partner of Mexican model Paloma Jiménez for an unconfirmed time, with Gossip Cop reporting that the two apparently first connected in 2007. However, aside from the occasional red carpet appearance, their relationship has played out behind closed doors.

Speaking to Details in 2006 (via Towleroad), Diesel said he takes an old school Hollywood approach to his personal life. "I come from the Harrison Ford, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino code of silence," he shared. However, Diesel has broken this code of silence a handful of times to share some tidbits of sweetness about his life with Jiménez via his Instagram feed. The two have three children together and Diesel isn't shy about showing his love for them, and how much he adores being a dad alongside his partner.

In 2014, he even posted a rare photo of Jiménez with their son Vincent on his Instagram, along with an adorable caption: "There is no greater gift to a man than a loving mother to his children. The Mayan Queen." And we can 1000% imagine him saying this in a "Fast and Furious"-esque family barbecue. 

Oscar winner Charlize Theron is arguably the highest profile member of the "Fast and Furious" cast, and like Michelle Rodriguez, she also seems quite content with being unattached. When she appeared on "The Drew Barrymore Show" in 2020, Theron confessed that she's not "dated anybody for over five years," due to her maintaining some understandably high standards. "I feel like I'm in a place in my life where you gotta come with a lot of game," she said. "The kind of game that's like, 'My life is really good, so you better be able to bring that and maybe better,' because I just won't accept anything less." Theron instead stays focused on raising her two children Jackson and August, telling Drew Barrymore that she doesn't "long for that much" as a result of how satisfied she feels with her life.

Prior to this romance recess, Theron was dating actor Sean Penn from 2013 to 2015 and even called him "the love of my life" in an interview with Elle UK. However, Theron addressed speculation that the two were ever engaged while on "The Howard Stern Show." Dismissing the rumour entirely, she said, "I've never wanted to get married. That's never been something that's important to me."

Since joining the "Fast and Furious" franchise in 2003, Tyrese Gibson's love life has been up and down, to say the least. As ET noted, after he and first wife Norma Mitchell divorced in 2009, they wound up in "a tumultuous and very public battle" over custody of their daughter. Gibson went on to marry Samantha Lee, but they split in December 2020. In a joint statement that went up on Instagram, Gibson and Lee called their decision to divorce "a painful and significant development."

According to Ace Showbiz, Gibson moved on quickly and made his next relationship with social media influencer Zelie Timothy official in March 2021. In a video that went up on Instagram, they are seen enjoying a smoky night out together. Just a month later, and the two were already causing a stir online when Timothy shared an Instagram Story of Gibson shaving her pubic hair. As reported by Page Six, the influencer captioned the video with an eye roll emoji and wrote, "I will never let go of my King. But does your man shave you though?" (If you answered with a weirded out "No?" in your own head to that, you're not alone).

Both Timothy and Gibson's respective Instagram feeds feature mushy visual tributes to one another and their various date nights. In an Instagram post from April 2021, Timothy shared a photo set from an extra-special looking evening out which she captioned, "I've honestly never been this happy."

He might be new to the "Fast and Furious" crew, but we can probably all agree that it feels like John Cena has become an integral part of the Toretto clan. Behind the scenes, former WWE superstar Cena has started to lay down the roots for his own clan by marrying girlfriend Shay Shariatzadeh. Cena exchanged nuptials with his Canadian partner at the end of 2020 after 18 months of dating, with E! News reporting that the two met while filming the movie "Playing With Fire." Chatting with ET about the flick at the premiere, Cena gushed, "[T]his one will always have a special meaning because I got to ... meet someone special."

Though they reportedly connected on a film set, Shariatzadeh isn't your average Hollywood type. Rather, she's a product manager for tech company Avigilon with a bachelor's degree in engineering who fell in love with the profession at a young age. "My brother studied engineering in school," John Cena's wife said in a feature for the Avigilon website, "and I remember one day he came home with a project and it was an autonomous car — and that was it!"

Cena was previously engaged to fellow WWE superstar Nikki Bella, but the two officially rang the bell on their love story in 2018. Bella confirmed the decision in a statement to People where she described her time with him as being "a beautiful and loving 6-year relationship with a wonderful man."

Another incredible Hollywood partnership that has lasted longer than the average industry relationship is the legendary one enjoyed between Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. As Russell recounted to Conan O'Brien, he and his love met in 1966 on the set of the movie "The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band" but didn't start dating until they worked together on 1983's "Swing Shift." Hawn recalled to BBC Radio 4 that the first time she met Russell, who is five years her junior, she thought he was "adorable" but "much too young." 

Meanwhile, Russell revealed on "CBS Sunday Morning" that on their second encounter he made a decision to put his "worst foot forward when it came to any kind of relationship" and as a result he was "horribly hungover" when he met her. "If you can handle that," he mused, "then maybe there's a chance of some reality there of us being together." Luckily, it transpired that Hawn could handle it and then some as the couple have been together ever since and appear to be having an absolute blast. In a sweet Instagram post shared on Father's Day 2020, Hawn shared a picture of the two goofing off together along with the caption, "Nobody laughs like him and nobody loves like him." If these two lovebirds could bottle that energy they'd make an absolute killing — we'll have what they're having, thanks. 

And finally we have the ballad of Cardi B and Offset. A relationship with more on-and-off moments than "Fast and Furious" has dead characters who mysteriously reappear years later. Per Harper's Bazaar's timeline of their love story, the two met in 2016, started dating and were married in 2017, and had their first baby together in 2018 — and suffice it to say, it's hardly been a smooth ride for the couple.

The relationship has been plagued by so many rumours of Migos rapper Offset's infidelity, and Cardi B has felt the need to speak out in defence of her decision to stand by her man throughout their romance. In an interview with Vogue, the "F9" actor discussed how "a lot of women felt disappointed" in her for taking back Offset after "he cheated," but that her decision to say is also a "real-life" part of marriage. "Everybody has issues," she said. "I believe in forgiveness."

Regardless of her loyalty, the two separated briefly in 2018 before quickly reuniting. In 2020, Cardi B even filed for divorce from Offset — a decision which was apparently overturned just a month later. In explaining her decision to once again return to her partner, she said on Instagram Stories (via Entertainment Tonight), "[We're just] two young motherf***ers that got married early. We're no different than y'alls dysfunctional a** relationships." Zing. Leave it to Cardi to drive her point home.