Celebrity Relationships That Fans Think Were Faked for PR

What’s the wonderful world of Hollywood, where celebrity couples make up and break up every other day, it’s no wonder so many people think that a good majority of celebrity couples are just fabricated. Now, we’re not talking about the conspiracy theories that couples who have been married in Hollywood for over 20 years are PR stunts. No, We’re going to talk about a specific number of couples in Hollywood where the timing was so strange, that many are truly convinced it was made up for one reason or another.

Before we get into that, though, what is a PR stunt, specifically a PR relationship in Hollywood? PR stunts are used to gain eyeballs, media interaction, and even sales for a project. Basically, something happens, and everyone’s eyes are on a person or brand. One of the biggest conspiracy theories in Hollywood is that there is a slew of PR relationships, meaning that there are relationships in Hollywood that people think big executives made up to sell tickets to a movie, raise people’s careers, or more.

As we said, many think that nearly all relationships in Hollywood are fake, but that’s not the case. Quite a few celebrity couples have admitted that their relationships were fabricated for one reason or another, but we’re also going to talk about the ones that nearly everyone is convinced were fake.

For instance, we’re going to talk about throwback couples like Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson or Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, who dated entirely through the movie series they were a part of and broke up inconspicuously days or months after it wrapped up.

Hollywood is full of secrets and mysteries, so why not dive into what fans believe to be some of the fakest relationships in Hollywood?

Below see which celebrity couples have fans convinced were a PR stunt, along with some that were definitely confirmed as such:

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Pamela Anderson & Liam Neeson

Pamela Anderson & Liam Neeson

On Aug. 29, TMZ claimed that The Naked Gun co-stars, Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson’s “flirty press tour” was a “PR bake-off” to promote the film. The rouse allegedly began in the spring of 2024 as a way to pitch the comedy to fans. Anderson and Neeson apparently didn’t stay in contact and next saw each other a year later for the promotional junket beginning in July 2025. But the Daily Mail says that couldn’t be further from the truth, saying, “It’s very sincere how they feel. That is the truth. They’re not going to show up on the red carpet and be adorable just to be fake, that’s not either of them.”

Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce

Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce

One couple that’s still together, and that so many think is PR, is Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, simply because of her world tour and his new life in Hollywood lining up. But as of Aug 2025, they got engaged!

Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney

Glen Powell & Sydney Sweeney

While Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney were promoting Anyone But You, many were convinced there was an affair going on. But joke’s on us, because Powell later admitted that they leaned into the romance rumors for their film, as a PR stunt.

“That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully,” he said to the New York Times, insinuating it was Sweeney’s idea. “Sydney is very smart.”

Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson

Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattinson

One celebrity couple that people are convinced was for their film was Twilight co-stars, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. Since their characters were on-screen lovers, many theorized they faked a romance to help boost the film; and it doesn’t help that they started dating after filming, in 2009. They split up soon after the films wrapped up for good.

Alex Pettyfer & Dianna Agron

Alex Pettyfer & Dianna Agron

One couple you probably forgot about was I am Number Four co-stars, Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron. They started dating while filming this movie and then broke up the day after the film was released in theaters. As you can imagine, many fans believe this was a PR stunt.

However, many don’t believe this to be the case. Per Marie Claire UK, Agron was reportedly terrified of him, and he allegedly gave her vicious phone calls.

Lil Xan & Noah Cyrus

Lil Xan & Noah Cyrus

Another confirmed PR relationship was between Lil Xan and Noah Cyrus, who were one of the controversial couples of 2018. Per Teen Vogue, Xan said the relationship was set up by Columbia Records (which they later denied) saying, “It was something set up by, uh, Columbia Records… Columbia, uh, set it up to boost, uh, her like… y’know… like, everybody sh*t poppin’. Shout out to Columbia Records, too, for setting up that fake relationship. I didn’t want to do it, to be completely honest. … It was just added work to my schedule, you know what I mean?”

Theo James & Shailene Woodley

Theo James & Shailene Woodley

Fans simply did not buy that Divergent co-stars Theo James and Shailene Woodley were a real couple. They sparked romance rumors while filming the series, per many sources, but their romance was incredibly brief, and fizzled out by the time the film hit theaters.

Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn

Jennifer Aniston & Vince Vaughn

Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn played on-screen lovers in the film, The Break Up, in 2006. They started their romance while filming, and almost immediately after the movie tour ended, they split up; leading many to believe it was a stunt to promote the film.

Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens

Zac Efron & Vanessa Hudgens

We all remember the Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens dating era. They started dating when they filmed the first High School Musical, but they broke up soon after the final movie; leading many to believe it was all a Disney PR move to make an It-couple for the brand.

Shawn Mendes & Hailey Baldwin

Shawn Mendes & Hailey Baldwin

From 2017 to 2018, for around seven months, Shawn Mendes and Hailey Baldwin reportedly dated; but many think it was all for PR. They walked the red carpet together and played coy about their romance, around the time he was promoting his album Shawn Mendes.

Emma Stone & Andrew Garfield

Emma Stone & Andrew Garfield

Okay, so this one is controversial. While many fans are convinced Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield were true lovers, many fans called out their suspicious timeline. They started dating in 2011, while filming the Spider-Man movies, and broke up right when the publicity died down for the two films in 2015.

Henry Cavill & Kaley Cuoco

Henry Cavill & Kaley Cuoco

Okay, so back in June to July 2013, Henry Cavill and Kaley Cuoco were pictured holding hands, and more. It didn’t last long, and many were convinced it was a publicity stunt since he had Man of Steel coming out, and she had The Big Gang Theory.

Steve-O & Nicole Richie

Steve-O & Nicole Richie

So, back in 2006, Steve-O and Nicole Richie were at the center of dating rumors. While brief, many wanted to know the details; which Steve-O gave years later. He claimed that their relationship was just a publicity stunt, per Metro, and that Nicole was the one who planned it. So, this was confirmed!