7 Celebrity Couples Who Met in Middle School

Some of Hollywood’s longest-lasting couples have known each other since middle school.

While some couples, like Drake Maye and Ann Michael Maye, fell in love immediately and have been together ever since, others, like Willie Geist and Christina Geist, were friends for years before things turned romantic.

“We were buddies first,” Willie told Hoda Kotb on Today in April 2022. “And I think even today, all these years later, that’s the foundation of our relationship is that we were always friends.”

Here are seven celebrity couples who met in middle school and ended up together as adults.

01 of 07

Drake Maye and Ann Michael Maye

Drake and his wife, Ann Michael, met in seventh grade and later became high school sweethearts.

After attending the University of North Carolina together, they got engaged in January 2025 and married six months later at the Grandfather Golf and Country Club in Linville, N.C., on June 21.

The New England Patriots quarterback later described marrying Ann Michael as “one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life” while speaking with reporters during Super Bowl LX Opening Night in February 2026.

“Good things happen when you get married, and I think that’s the case so far in my life,” he added.

The pair have joked about their early start on social media. In May 2024, Ann Michael shared some throwback photos of her and Drake on TikTok set to the tune of Taylor Swift‘s song “So High School.” In her caption, she amended the track’s title: “So middle school*.”

02 of 07

Dierks Bentley and Cassidy Bentley

Dierks Bentley and his wife, Cassidy Bentley, met in eighth grade in Arizona, the country star told The Boot in March 2016.

“It’s a pretty crazy story of just going back and forth with the right time or the wrong time, or right place, wrong time, all that stuff,” he said. “Finally, I was playing a show in Las Vegas, and opening for George Strait, and she walked on the bus. I kind of knew that that was the moment.”

Dierks eventually proposed in December 2005, and the couple eloped later that same month. In 2008, they became parents for the first time with the birth of their daughter, Evalyn. Their younger daughter, Jordan, was born in 2010, followed by son Knox in 2013.

“Probably one of the things I’m most grateful for is some of the success coming later … because it’s really nice to share it with somebody,” Dierks told The Boot. “It’s been a crazy, crazy ride.”

03 of 07

Willie Geist and Christina Geist

Willie and his wife Christina were in sixth grade when they first met in Ridgewood, N.J. The broadcast journalist later recalled their meet-cute in a September 2026 Instagram post.

“I met @ChristinaSharkeyGeist 40 years ago *today* — on September 3, 1986 — in Mr. Kaplan’s homeroom at George Washington Middle School in Ridgewood, NJ,” he wrote. “That serendipitous 6th Grade homeroom assignment has given me everything. Thank you, Mr. Kaplan!”

The pair went on to attend the same high school and the same college, and eventually tied the knot in May 2003, 17 years after they met. Following their nuptials, they welcomed daughter Lucie and son George in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

04 of 07

Thomas Rhett and Lauren Akins

Country crooner Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren Akins met as sixth graders. Years later, he told British GQ in that he “fell in love with my wife at camp when I was 11.”

“Even though the feeling was not reciprocated in the sixth grade, I already knew I was in love with her,” he recalled to the publication in June 2019. “I know that sounds unbelievable, but it’s true.”

The couple briefly dated in high school before reconnecting as adults thanks to Akins’ dad. They got married in October 2012, and went on to welcome five kids together.

In March 2026, Akins shared her best marriage advice during an appearance with Rhett on Sadie Robertson Huff‘s podcast, WHOA That’s Good.

“Learn to laugh a lot through a lot of things,” she said. “One of my best friends is like, ‘I just laugh to keep from crying.’ I do think that helps a lot of times. But I think just in marriage, I think staying best friends.”

05 of 07

Dylan Scott and Blair Robinson

Singer Dylan Scott met his wife, Blair Robinson, in seventh grade. The duo began dating in high school and had a long-distance relationship in their early 20s when Scott was launching his music career.

“She was living in Louisiana and I was in Tennessee,” he explained to Taste of Country in February 2017 while explaining how Robinson inspired his 2016 single, “My Girl.”

The couple got engaged in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in 2015 and tied the knot in May 2016. They share three kids, sons Beckett and Barron and daughter Finley.

“What I’ve learned the most is to be patient and enjoy it,” Scott told Taste of Country of married life. “Marriage is different than dating. It’s different living with somebody. Just be patient and talk through things. Keep in mind that [she’s] your best friend, and you have to treat it that way.”

06 of 07

Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra

Reality TV star couple Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra met in seventh grade, began a relationship in 2005 and learned that they were expecting a baby together when they were juniors in high school.

The couple’s journey through pregnancy, birth and the adoption process was documented on the MTV series 16 and Pregnant, and they also starred in the spinoff shows Teen Mom and Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.

In 2015, Lowell and Baltierra got married after a decade together. They went on to welcome three more kids, daughters Novalee, Vaeda and Rya, and still keep in touch with their eldest daughter, Carly.

“She’s at the age now where we’re talking to her about things like, school and sports and what boys she likes and what she wants to do for college,” Lowell told PEOPLE of Carly in August 2023. “We talk about all the things and it’s really awesome.“

07 of 07

Mookie Betts and Brianna Hammonds

MLB star Mookie Betts and his wife, Brianna Hammonds, have known each other since they were middle schoolers.

“When I finally asked her out, she said she didn’t hear me,” Betts told Ebony in December 2021. “I’m thinking, ‘You get one shot.’ I only have but so much courage, I’m pacing in my room and thinking, ‘I ain’t asking again.’ I don’t know what [made] me ask again… She said yes and my MySpace status changed.”

Years later, Betts proposed in November 2021 at a huge event he staged with all of her closest family and friends in attendance. “Winning another World Series was great, but putting a ring on my MVP is the real blessing! I am a blessed man,” he told PEOPLE after she said yes.

The couple got married in December 2021 and share two kids: daughter Kynlee and son Kaj.

“Marriage is sacred, it’s one shot and that’s it,” Hammonds told Ebony in December 2021. “I’ve always known that I loved and adored him, but I knew I wanted to be his wife when it felt weird to go a day without seeing him or talking to him.”

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