Jared Leto's Dating History Explained
The first step in having Jared Leto's dating history explained is to understand how heavily the actor guards his privacy. Speaking to Rolling Stone, the star explained that he's keen "to distract people" from his personal life and said, "if I was in a relationship ... I don't know if I would share that information publicly." Be that as it may, tabloids have continued to be in a frenzy regarding the rumored details of his allegedly busy love life.
In 2005, for instance, New York Post alleged that "Leto likes 'em young" and accused him of "aggressively pursuing" a slew of "teen models." The rumor resurfaced in 2018 when actor Dylan Sprouse accused the actor of sliding "into the dm's of every female model aged 18-25," on Twitter. The actor and musician has never commented on these accusations.
Having rarely been tied to one partner for an extended period of time, Leto has also been repeatedly linked to a bevy of beautiful women for the best part of two decades. That list has included a rumored night out with Britney Spears in 2003; public flirtations with British model Alexa Chung; complimenting "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke's eyes and making her blush during an E! News interview in 2014; and some Coachella coquetry with Halsey in 2016.
But is he a ladies' man or just a misunderstood tease? Get your ombré looking limber for the ladies and get us on speed dial, because this is Leto's dating history explained...
Jared Leto and Cameron Diaz dodged paparazzi for years
Cameron Diaz and Jared Leto's low-key relationship was the bane of tabloids everywhere, with The Telegraph bemoaning that the beautiful twosome was one of "Hollywood's most photogenic, but least photographed couples." The elusive pair started dating in 1999 and were even rumored to be engaged in 2003, per People. Yet somehow the couple managed to mostly keep their romance hidden from the PR scrum of most other celebrity couplings — not that it stopped the media from speculating wildly about them, regardless.
As reported by Cinema.com, Diaz was rumored to have called off her engagement to the "My So-Called Life" alum due to his extreme method acting processes during the filming of "Requiem For a Dream." On top of living off a heavily restricted diet, Leto was also said to have abstained from sex during the shoot — something which The Telegraph suggested "wreaked havoc on his relationship with Diaz." When the two finally called it quits in 2003, their heavily guarded romance was once again held under all manner of tabloid scrutiny.
According to Contact Music, there was "talk" that Leto went full Jordan Catalano in his relationship by prioritizing his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, over the "Being John Malkovich" star. Other rumors suggested that he was "jealous of Diaz's hot career," with a source telling Us Weekly (via Contact Music), "He wasn't very nice to her. They did very few things together. Lately, they seemed to live separate social lives."
Did Scarlett Johansson hit rock bottom for Jared Leto?
A year after his split from Cameron Diaz, Jared Leto had moved on to another gorgeous Hollywood blonde in the form of a then-19-year-old Scarlett Johansson. In August 2004, People listed the two as one of the summer's "hottest celebrity romances" amid reports that they'd been spotted "kissing a lot" at a party. Sadly for the "Black Widow" star, tabloid reports depicted the romance as being potentially one-sided: May we never forget the paparazzi picture appearing to show a disinterested Leto checking his flip phone while Johansson kissed him.
By October, vibes had allegedly worsened, with the Mirror describing how the "Ghost World" star had made a "mad dash to South Africa" to "keep a closer eye" on her beau. The outlet suggested that Leto had been "spending boozy nights out" with his "Lord of War" co-star Tanit Phoenix — a striking model who gushed to the newspaper about her co-star being "real flirty" and "so beautiful."
Was Johansson right to be concerned? Potentially, and the two appeared to quietly fizzle out. In an interview with Cosmopolitan in 2016, Johansson hinted at having learned to avoid relationships with people who were "attractively unavailable." The star dished about someone she dated "long ago" for whom she reached "rock bottom" with in trying to gain his affections. Whether or not that person was Leto is up for debate, though it's worth adding that the two appear to have been spotted being friendly since.
Were Ashley Olsen and Jared Leto friends with benefits?
By 2005, Jared Leto appeared to be the proud owner of a "Hollywood it-girl hook-up" bingo card and had enjoyed his first stamp, courtesy of Ashley Olsen. The former "Full House" star was reportedly spotted "on a cozy date" with the Oscar winner in 2005, per Us Weekly, with the outlet suggesting that the then-19-year-old Olsen twin was "like a giddy schoolgirl who has a new man," according to a source (via SFGATE).
In a pattern that would come to repeat across Leto's dating history, the two didn't appear to have anything long-lasting or serious. But they'd nonetheless continue to be spotted reigniting their spark in public for years to come. In 2008, for instance, Us Weekly reported that the two were seen holding hands and making out at the Art of Elysium gala in Los Angeles, with a witness telling the outlet, "They looked like a couple." However, a different source gave assurances that they weren't "back together" and that they were "just friends."
The lip-locking "friends" were once again spied spending some intimate time together in 2012, when Daily News reported the two as enjoying "a very flirtatious meal" in Beverly Hills. The outlet described how they "couldn't stop touching each other" — the "Dallas Buyers Club" actor was seen playing with Olsen's hair, while the "New York Minute" star was said to have "hugged" Leto and "put her head on his lap."
Jared Leto allegedly hid his romance with Lindsay Lohan
Jared Leto continued to work his way through former Disney stars by allegedly dating his "Chapter 27" co-star Lindsay Lohan in 2006. Although outlets like Distractify have suggested that the two "hit it off" on the set of the Mark David Chapman biopic, the 30 Seconds to Mars frontman curiously suggested he avoided the "Mean Girls" on-set as he "didn't speak to anybody" in order to stay in character, per MTV.
Still, months later, Daily News reported that the two were "smitten" with each other and ready to "go public with their romance" (via Female First). Meanwhile, Life & Style (via Today) published a rumor that Lohan wanted to wed Leto and that "catching a husband would be a poke in [the eye]" of her frenemy Paris Hilton — something which will become all the more hilarious in approximately 100 words time.
Incredibly, none of this came to pass, however. Instead, outlets such as Female First alleged that Leto was "ashamed" of dating Lohan and "avoided being photographed with her." On the contrary, the "Freaky Friday" actor assured Elle that her ex was simply "paranoid" that she was going to "bring 15 paparazzi" along to their dates. Though their rumored romance cooled, the two appeared to remain friends. At least until 2016, when Lohan proved she was totally over Leto by weirdly accusing him of basing "his whole music and film career on the film, 'The Crow'" on Instagram (via Contact Music).
Sucking face with the hotel heiress
At the height of the savage Lindsay Lohan versus Paris Hilton turf war of the late '00s, the hotel heiress won an upper hand when she was spotted tongue wrestling with Jared Leto at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. A Page Six account of their time together described the "Stars Are Blind" superstar as giving her rumored paramour lap dances while kissing him.
Meanwhile, a separate report from Page Six on the hook-up suggested that this wasn't Hilton's first rodeo with the ladies' man (via Digital Spy). A source told the outlet, "This is not the first time they have made out — there just weren't any cameras around before." Which begs the question, who else has Leto been tonguing when the cameras aren't around to capture it?
Whether or not the two ever rekindled their good times together away from the sleazy peepers of the cameras is a mystery the rest of us mere mortals may never crack. What is certain, however, is that Hilton appeared to throw some good-natured shade Leto's way in 2021 when a fan recommended she watch his film "House of Gucci." Understandably, it was a characteristically impossible option for the star. "I want to watch it," she wrote on Twitter, "But it's only playing in Movie theatres and I'm on my honeymoon on a private island."
An Easter fling with Isabel Lucas
As the '00s started to wind down, Jared Leto appeared to switch up his dating game. He left behind the under-21 starlets of Paris Hilton's extended friend circle and started to pursue international models with minor acting careers. Enter Isabel Lucas, an ethereal Australian star who was "spotted out purchasing a load of Easter goodies" with the actor in 2009, according to Perez Hilton. The gossip blogger suggested the two were a "new couple" but also posited that they wouldn't last long and would "be over by Friday!"
It was a worthwhile wager considering that Lucas, who was "13 years Leto's junior," per Contact Music, was rumored to have a love life as chaotic as her new lover's. A year before hooking up with the "Fight Club" actor, Daily News reported that Lucas was in a car crash with her "Transformers 2" co-star Shia LaBeouf. Luckily, she survived the incident with little more than some "minor bumps and bruises," per the outlet, but her rumored relationship with actor Adrian Grenier wasn't as lucky.
People reported that the couple called it quits "right after" the accident, with a source telling the outlet that the "Entourage" star "didn't appreciate" seeing his girlfriend out and about with another man. Ever the gentleman, LaBoeuf confessed to Details that he was "philandering around" with Lucas at the time of the crash. As for Leto and his one-time honey? They were never spotted out and about again.
Jared Leto's hot girl summer: Supermodel edition
If there was ever any doubt that Jared Leto wasn't ready to settle down any time soon, it was during the Summer of 2011 when the actor and musician was spotted enjoying the company of two different supermodels. At the beginning of July, for instance, he was seen putting "his arm around Serbian model" Nina Senicar at a cafe in Milan while he was on tour with his band, 30 Seconds to Mars, per Just Jared.
Just a couple of weeks later, Leto was seen "taking a romantic stroll and sharing a kiss" with model and actor Katharina Damm in Saint Tropez, according to the Daily Mail. As ever, the outlet reported that "the new couple appeared smitten" together. But we all know how that sort of witness account worked out for Lindsay Lohan, and it would appear Leto's new romance was no different.
A couple of months after being spotted looking so loved up, the couple was reported as having gotten into "a verbal altercation" at a New York Fashion Week party, per Daily News. According to the outlet, witnesses alleged that the argument was heated, with Leto seeming "really angry" and Damm appearing "upset but defensive." Though they were said to be seen patching things up later that night, Leto was also reportedly spotted with his arm around rock legend Courtney Love while "Damm was nowhere to be found." Hey, he just loves that celebrity skin ...
Was he ever dating Chloe Bartoli?
Jared Leto has long been rumored to have enjoyed an ongoing on-and-off relationship with celebrity stylist Chloe Bartoli, with Radar suggesting their rumored romance began in 2013. In 2018, the rumor mill regarding the alleged couple went into overdrive when Bartoli shared a selfie of the two hiking together in the desert on Instagram.
It's worth noting, however, that Leto has always made regular appearances on Bartoli's feed, with the stylist first sharing a picture featuring him on Instagram in 2012. In no instance has any picture made reference to the two being anything more than just good pals. Can't two incredibly beautiful people with a shared interest in fashion simply enjoy a platonic relationship in peace? Apparently not. Unfortunately, that may be due to Leto's increasing reputation as a ladies' man and Bartoli's former tabloid-fodder romance with Scott Disick.
In 2015, paparazzi snapped the stylist "getting uncomfortably close" to her ex-boyfriend in Monaco, per Us Weekly. ET then reported that Disick split from wife Kourtney Kardashian following the encounter, and Bartoli subsequently received an onslaught of online abuse for being a "home wrecker" over the images. In 2017, the two were snapped getting "amorous" together at a luxury villa in Cannes, per the Daily Mail. So, who knows — maybe the stylist just enjoys ongoing casual liaisons with blue-eyed men?
Rumored hook-ups with Miley Cyrus
By 2014, Jared Leto apparently realized that he can't stop and won't stop consorting with former Disney stars. Rumors started to circulate that he was hooking up with "Hannah Montana" actor Miley Cyrus, with a source telling Us Weekly that the musicians had "known each other for a while" and were bonding over "art and music" and a shared affinity for nudity.
"A pal" assured the outlet, however, that "Jared doesn't do girlfriends" and that the coupling between the then-22-year-old pop star and the 43-year-old actor was just a bit of fun. Those good times were apparently ongoing into 2015, with the ever-reputable Star Magazine reporting the two as enjoying "a secret" arrangement at a West Hollywood hotel away from the prying lenses of the paparazzi (via Hollywood Life). A source alleged to the outlet that the young starlet knew what the arrangement was because Leto was "seeing a lot of other women," but she also didn't care.
In public, Cyrus appeared to flirt with rumors of their illicit hook-ups. First, by curiously introducing Leto as "the woman with whom I had my first lesbian experience" at the 2015 MTV VMA's and later by rubbing up against him in a barely-there outfit at the event, per Hollywood Life. In a since-deleted Instagram post, the provocative "Wrecking Ball" singer shared a picture of the incident with a caption jokingly making reference to her "trying to hump Jared Leto," per the outlet.
A rumored romance with Lupita Nyong'o
At the same time that he was allegedly getting intimate with Miley Cyrus, Chloe Bartoli, and whoever else, Jared Leto was also rumored to be involved with "Us" star Lupita Nyong'o. In 2014, Page Six posited that "an Oscar romance" was "blossoming between" the two after they had allegedly exhibited some red-hot chemistry during the Hollywood awards season. At the Independent Spirit Awards, the "Dallas Buyers Club" award winner further raised eyebrows by thanking Nyong'o in his acceptance speech, per People.
Leto used his comically extensive speech to thank "all the women I've been with, and all the women who think they've been with me," including his "future ex-wife, Lupita." Given the sudden tabloid interest in the two as a couple, the actor may have simply been trolling the media. Certainly, his awards season pal was laughing off the tabloid rumors on "The Ellen Show." When asked about her alleged relationship with Leto, Nyong'o quipped, "But I thought Miley Cyrus broke us up? That was the last thing I heard."
Chemistry aside, the two may not have been romantically involved. E! News, for instance, reported the pair as "having tons of fun together" at a SAG Awards after-party but without "outward displays of any romantic gestures." Then, in 2019, Nyong'o reflected to Net-A-Porter that their connection went "beyond the dating rumors" and that they simply shared "an intimacy that grew" from being on their respective Oscar campaigns together.
Jared Leto may be dating Valery Kaufman
Since 2015, there have been rumors that Jared Leto is officially "off the market" after he was "spotted ... twice in a week" with Russian model Valery Kaufman in New York, per People. It was a news report most people probably took with a pinch of salt given that the actor doesn't exactly have a proven track record with long-term, monogamous relationships. This time around, the couple continued to be seen together for years to come, however.
In 2017, Just Jared reported that the actor and his "rumored girlfriend" had lunch together in New York, while the Daily Mail reported that the two were seen out and about wearing "bizarre outfits" together in the city — which, as everyone knows, is a celebrity love language. Sightings of the two hanging out together on and off continued straight through until 2020, when People reported that they were "closer than ever" after spending more time with each other.
A source alleged that the couple with a 22-year age gap "initially seemed to be friends" who "didn't go on solo dates." However, the two allegedly found romance since and have "been off and on now for a few years," with Kaufman reportedly having met her rumored boyfriend's beloved mom. As with so much of Leto's dating history, little more is known about his relationship with the model. But based on the private star's track history, that appears to be exactly how he likes it, too.