Looking back on the 2010s, there are so many celebrity relationships that defined pop culture in an unforgettable way. This was the decade that brought us two major royal weddings, the Kimye marriage (which was basically a third royal wedding), and the entire Justin-Selena-Hailey saga. But beyond those historic romances, there were innumerable celeb hookups, flings, and PDA-filled moments — some that fans were living for, and some that people would probably give anything to unsee. The most memorable celebrity makeouts of the 2010s will make you nostalgic in both good ways and cringey AFways. The world may have moved on by now, but you’ll never forget where you were when the gossip went viral.
Some of these makeout sessions happened in very public settings, like an awards show or a concert. Others were caught on camera or recorded on social media. Regardless, there’s a “can’t look, can’t look away” quality to all of them, maybe because in a way they’re so relatable? It’s funny to see your favorite stars macking on each other like no one else is watching. Celebrities, they’re just like us!
Prepare for the trip down memory lane you never knew you needed until now. You’re welcome (and I’m sorry) in advance.
Everyone dreads the Kiss Cam at sporting events. But when it narrowed in on Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel during an LA Lakers’ game, the couple decided to give the audience what they wanted. Their passionate makeout was completely on par with the silly antics fans are used to seeing from these two. This happened just a few months before their Oct. 19, 2012 wedding in Italy, where Biel wore a pink (!) gown.
Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield fell in love on-screen in the Spider-Man saga, and they also dated in real life from 2012 to 2015. On May 3, 2014, Garfield hosted Saturday Night Live, and Stone joined him for a skit where they pretended to film a kissing scene for Spider-Man. It involves… a lot of tongue. You’ve been warned.
The singer and her longtime partner, professional soccer player Gerard Piqué, shared an absolutely epic kiss backstage at the Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014, following her stage performance of the song “Empire.” Almost six years later, they’re still an item to this day.
This wasn’t exactly a full-blown makeout, but it was definitely a kiss worth remembering. Katy Perry came to support Miley Cyrus at a concert during her Bangerz tour, and Cyrus beckoned her to the edge of the stage and kissed her during the show. Apparently it was a little much for Perry, who pulled away immediately and elicited a shocked reaction from Cyrus. "I just walked up to her to give her like a friendly girly kiss, you know, as girls do," Perry later explained, "and then she like tried to move her head and go deeper and I pulled away … God knows where that tongue has been.”
The Madonna-Drake Coachella kiss was all kinds of uncomfortable. During their joint stage performance at the music festival, Madonna grabbed Drake from behind and proceeded to make out with him in front of the crowd. This was all well and good until everyone witnessed Drake’s disgusted reaction. The rapper later gushed about the kiss on IG, saying, “Don’t misinterpret my shock,” but the damage had already been done.
This makeout was staged, but it doesn’t make it any less hilarious (or cringeworthy). Parks & Recreation celebrated its series finale on Feb. 24, 2015, and the cast gathered afterwards to celebrate on Late Night with Seth Meyers. As the exit music began to play, Aubrey Plaza (who played April Ludgate) and Jim O’Heir (who played Jerry Gergich) started going at it in front of everyone. Their fellow cast members couldn’t contain their laughter.
Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor shared a super steamy moment during their AMAs performance on Nov. 22, 2015, despite their adamant assertions at the time that they were “just friends.” Puth later spoke in depth about the kiss on the JohnJay & Rich Show, saying, “Meghan is my friend […] I was like all nervous before, like how am I going to make this look real, because I’m not attracted to her in that way.” Yikes.
The now-married Biebers post frequently about their relationship on Instagram, so it’s hard to remember a time before they were publicly together. But in June 2018, back when they insisted they were nothing more than friends, TMZ spotted Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin kissing in a Brooklyn park. One month later, they were engaged, and they also gave the world the now-famous hot tub makeout photo.
Pete Davidson and Kate Beckinsale’s brief romance is perhaps best encapsulated by the photos of them kissing at a New York Rangers Game on March 3, 2019. The kiss itself was a little much, but it made for one of the best memes of the year because of Antoni Porowski, who sat beside the couple looking like he’d rather be literally anywhere else in that moment.
After cheating rumors reportedly split them up for several months in December 2018, Cardi B and Offset made their reunion quite clear at the Grammys on Feb. 10 when they sort of... licked each other on the red carpet. Twitter, unsurprisingly, had a field day.
After months of being photographed locking lips in various locations, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello got on Instagram to address fans who had been teasing them about their kissing. "We saw on Twitter you guys saying stuff about the way we're kissing, and how it looks weird, how we kiss 'like fish’ [...] We just want to show you how we really kiss," Mendes said. He and Cabello then staged a mock makeout sesh involving lots of tongue, biting, and weird lip action. It’s not something you can ever unsee once you’ve witnessed it.
Ah, the makeout that confirmed MiLiam’s split. On Aug. 10, 2019, during a vacation in Lake Como, Italy, Miley Cyrus and Kaitlynn Carter were photographed kissing. Just hours after those photos appeared, a rep for Cyrus confirmed that she and Hemsworth were officially separated. Cyrus and Carter were spotted out together multiple times over the next month, but reportedly went their separate ways in September.
Love them or hate them, these makeouts shaped the celeb dating landscape in ways that fans won't soon forget. Though not all these couples are together anymore, at one time, they were very public about their love. And you know what? I honestly can't blame them. Here's to continued horniness in the new decade... and all the awkward moments that come along with it.
