In the early '70ss, Michael Douglas dated actress Brenda Vaccaro—who appeared in one of his father's movies, Once Is Not Enough. When Vaccaro was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the role in 1976, the couple attended the awards ceremony together though they had ended their relationship by then.
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A big age gap has never stopped Michael Douglas. In 1977, Douglas—then a 32-year-old actor and producer—met Diandra Mornell, a 20-year-old Georgetown student, at a party in Washington, D.C. They married shortly thereafter, and stayed together for 22 years. (Douglas's current wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones is 25 years younger—to the day.)
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Douglas began dating New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd shortly after his divorce. And Dowd was reportedly cuckoo for him. Wrote The Independent of their relationship: "Such was his impact on Maureen Dowd that The New York Times' chief Rottweiler briefly ceased her savaging of the Clinton White House, under the influence, it was said, of her lover's liberalising effect."
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Continuing his appreciation of journalists, while Douglas was dating Maureen Dowd, he was also seen about town with 20/20 anchor Elizabeth Vargas. And given his girlfriends' chosen profession, news of his two-timing soon got out.
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In addition to dating Vargas and Dowd after his divorce, Douglas also began seeing Lisa Caputo, then-first lady Hillary Clinton's press secretary--which no doubt could have made for some awkward White House press conferences.
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Life tried to imitate art for McConaughey when he met Ashley Judd, who played his wife in 1996's A Time to Kill, and began an off-screen romance. Now that he's married to Brazilian model Camila Alves, McConaughey's making an effort to stay friends with his exes. "Quite a few of my ex-girlfriends are still in our lives," he has recently said. "They are still friends of mine and now they are friends with Camila."
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In 1997, McConaughey and Sandra Bullock raised eyebrows for their awfully close friendship, which also began on the set of A Time to Kill. Though they refused to acknowledge they were dating, the pair appeared almost everywhere together for three months. "He has become a powerful force in my life," Bullock said at the time. "We have fabulous chemistry together."
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McConaughey briefly dated Tupac Shakur's ex, actress Salli Richardson, whom he took to the premiere of his movie The Wedding Planner in 2001. No wedding planner was required however—they split shortly thereafter.
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McConaughey met Penelope Cruz on the set of Sahara in 2004, and their relationship was no match for their busy work schedules. By 2006, the couple had spent so much time apart during their two-year relationship, that it seemed logical to just call it quits. "We still care about each other," McCounaughey said afterward. "We still love each other."
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Garner married Scott Foley after they met on the set of Felicity in 1998. But when the couple divorced in May 2003, Garner said it wasn't either of them—but the business itself—that was to blame. "That sounds cliché, but we really were victims of Hollywood," she said. "Everything is speeded up here—it is a fast-lane life, and if something is not working, it is considered best to end it without much thought."
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When Garner divorced Scott Foley, her Alias co-star stepped right in. Michael Vartan, who had reportedly been in love with her for a long time, began dating Garner just weeks after her split. But the couple—who both played spies on the show—were typically discreet about their year-long affair. Vartan finally put rumors to rest, saying: "She's my girlfriend. End of story." But a year later, Garner ended that story as well when started dating yet another co-star, Ben Affleck, who became her second husband.
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