While T-Swift and Tom Hiddleston have not been shy about their affections for each other, their Fourth of July romp in Rhode Island has prompted a bit of an eyebrow raise. Frolicking in the ocean with his new girlfriend, Tom sported a “I <3 TS” shirt and a temporary tattoo on his right arm proclaiming the same. Putting aside the fact that Loki was wearing clothes in the water (like, why?), there is a distinct lack of subtlety in this celebrity courtship that is both refreshing and gag-inducing… to the degree that conspiracy theories about the relationship’s realness are springing up left, right and center. But this isn’t the first time a celebrity has made an over-the-top declaration of love to their significant other. For more displays that elicit both fremdschämen (a German word for the embarrassment one feels when another has done something cringey) and “awwws,” read on.
1. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes: 11 years ago, an elated Tom Cruise went on Oprah to publicly declare his love for the young Dawson’s Creek star. The image of Cruise jumping repeatedly on Oprah’s couch is ingrained in our collective pop culture memory, and everything that came after that is now tabloid history. Captivated by the couch-jumping, we often forget about the fist-pumping, knee-crouching, and hysterical laughter that went on during that legendary interview. Tom Cruise went full Jerry Maguire; even the unflappable Oprah was amazed by his antics. “We’ve never seen you behave this way before!” she exclaimed several times. “The boy is gone!” (Photo via MJ Kim/Getty)
2. Robin Thicke and Paula Patton: Blurred Lines became the unexpected hit of the summer of 2013, but Thicke’s year ended with a bomb when allegations of his infidelity surfaced. Together since they were teenagers, the couple split after the news came out, but it soon became clear that Thicke was not able to move on from Patton. First, he dedicated his next album, titled Paula, to winning back his estranged spouse. Next, he bared his feelings during a BET Awards performance when he was in tears as he sang Forever Love. Thicke has admitted since that this whole display was “embarrassing.” “It hit me that I’d lost my perspective,” he said. (Photo via Chelsea Lauren/Getty)
3. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen: In that same vein, R&B crooner John Legend penned a heartfelt number in 2013 for his girlfriend — but came away with much more favorable results. When he first played “All of Me” for Teigen, the model and cookbook author reportedly cried. Chronicling his love for her “perfect imperfections” and her “smart mouth” (Teigen is famous for her witty and hold-nothing-back retorts on Twitter, as we all know), it probably became the most-played wedding song ever after its release. The couple married in 2013 — a shot of their fairy-tale wedding made it into the “All of Me” video — and now have a very cute baby. (Photo via Frazer Harrison/Getty)
4. Kaley Cuoco and Ryan Sweeting: The Big Bang star met tennis player Sweeting on a blind date, and they married just six months later on New Year’s Eve in 2013 — which she commemorated by inking her back with the Roman numerals of that date. But their whirlwind marriage came to an end just 21 months later, with the couple citing “irreconcilable differences.” What to do with ink regret then? Cuoco got it covered with a moth tattoo, saying in an Instagram post, “Note to self – do not mark your body with any future wedding dates… #under30mistakes.” (Photo via Getty)
5. Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton: This pairing perplexed and fascinated the public for the three years that their marriage lasted, and probably takes the cake for over-the-top declarations of love — and lust. Married in 2000, the two actors showed up regularly to red carpet events groping each other, making no bones about how madly in love they were. The Tomb Raider actress — fresh off her Oscar win for Girl, Interrupted — even had Thornton’s name tattooed on her arm (it’s been lasered off since), and the tabloids obsessed over the fact that both wore vials of each other’s blood around their neck. Thornton spoke about it last year to The Hollywood Reporter: “She thought it would be interesting and romantic if we took a little razorblade and sliced our flingers, smeared a little blood on these lockets and you wear it around your neck just like you wear your son or daughter’s baby hair in one.” Of this crazy period in his life, Thornton said, “That whole time was quite a whirlwind and that was, you know, an amazing time. And I’ve never been fond of it.” (Photo via Vince Bucci/Getty)
