40+ Forgotten Celeb Couples From the ‘80s

This article appeared in cleverclassic.com and has been published here with permission.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey Jr.

In the 1980s, Robert Downey Jr. was far from his future as the frontman in The Greatest Showman, and Marvel superhero, Iron Man. In fact, back in the 1980s, Downey Jr. was struggling with addiction issues following his rise to stardom. He met actress Sarah Jessica Parker while filming Firstborn, and the two dated for seven years.

The relationship ended because of Downey Jr's party lifestyle. SJP told People, "there was a huge amount of time spent making sure he was okay."

Madonna and Sean Penn

Married in 1985, Madonna and actor Sean Penn were a major celebrity couple of the '80s. The couple met while Madge was filming the iconic video for "Material Girl," and she dedicated her True Blue album to Penn.

It wasn't long until things went south for the "Poison Penns." Sean Penn had a bad temper, struggled with addiction, and got involved in numerous altercations. He spent 32 days in jail after beating a musician who worked with his wife. The couple split in 1989.

Tom Cruise and Cher

We'll admit to being shocked to hear that movie star Tom Cruise and musical icon Cher once dated. Interestingly, this unusual celebrity pair met at Madonna and Sean Penn's wedding, when Cruise was only 22 years old - and 16 years younger than the legendary singer.

Cruise and Cher hit it off at a White House event for dyslexia, which both stars have. The Burlesque actress has since told Oprah Winfrey that she "lived in his apartment" and "he was a shy boy." Wow!

Brad Pitt and Christina Applegate

Before there was Brangelina, before there was Brad and Jen, did you know there was Brad and Christina? In fact, this celeb coupling was more Christina and Brad, as the actress was a household name due to her role on the sitcom, Married... With Children.

Amusingly, the Dead to Me actress and the Hollywood hunk attended the MTV Movie Awards together in 1989, but they didn't leave together. Allegedly, Applegate ditched Brad for Skid Row's Sebastian Bach instead. What was going on in the '80s?

Brooke Shields and Michael Jackson

An unusual person with an intense childhood, Michael Jackson didn't exactly have conventional relationships. The Prince of Pop met actress Brooke Shields at the 1981 Academy Awards and ended up proposing to her multiple times.

From Shields' perspective, the relationship was more of a strong friendship. In fact, she told MTV it was "the most natural and easiest of friendships." The actress also told Rolling Stone that she promised she would be in Jackson's life regardless of their romantic connection.