134: When Macaulay Culkin Met Brenda Song

♡ Welcome to our first Valentine hour! ♡ This is a little different from our typical couple episodes. Every month, we’ll discuss updates on people from our ‘hall of flames’, read letters from our listeners, read love and breakup stories in the news, host polls and trivia, and share other musings related to Significant Lovers! In this January Valentine, we discuss: Significant engagements of the past year, including our very own Mel and Zach!  Rob Reiner, Frank Sinatra & Ava Gardner, and When Harry Met Sally Nancy & Jonathan of Stranger Things Trauma-bonding Kristen Stewart married!Katy Perry & Justin Trudeau?!  Significant breakups, including Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban, Sasha Farber & Jen Tran, and more Lena Dunham & Jack AntonoffLindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks Hamnet movie coming soon And more! This is a teaser for a bonus episode— the full episode is 1 hour 9 minutes long. You can listen to it in full ⁠on Patreon⁠. About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected] Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ‘fair use’ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals!In the spirit of the season, we’re celebrating the love story of two former child stars (yes, two) whose early careers included some very festive films. You obviously know Macaulay Culkin from Home Alone, but don’t sleep on Brenda Song’s early acting credits in Santa with Muscles and The Ultimate Christmas Present. Join us as we dive into how these two overcame past hardships and heartbreaks, found each other, and became one of the cutest couples around.About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected] Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ‘fair use’ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

What happens when two people who are very similar, and have the same weaknesses, fall in love? And all that’s holding them together is the love they share? Disaster. Though short-lived, the relationship between singer Frank Sinatra and actress Ava Gardner remains one of the most explosive —and enduring—unions in Hollywood history. From their scandalous affair while Sinatra was still married, through their whirlwind 1951 wedding and countless public quarrels, Frank and Ava were drawn together by passion as powerful as the forces that tore them apart. Even decades after their separation, friends said their bond never faded. And well into their golden years, Frank and Ava continued to regard the other as the great love of their life. So what went wrong? Find out in this whirlwind episode of Significant Lovers.*** This is a teaser for a bonus episode— the full episode is 1 hour 39 minutes long. You can listen to it in full ⁠on Patreon⁠. About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected].

Everyone seems to know about Pocahontas and John Smith. It’s hard not too. Between the Disney film and the famous painting that hangs in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, their love story has become a founding American legend. But what if we were to tell you that it it’s all a myth, that Pocahontas was never with John Smith at all? And that Pocahontas did marry an Englishman, but that his name was John Rolfe. Not Smith. In this episode of Significant Lovers, step four hundred years into the past to early America, and listen as we uncover the real story of Pocahontas and her second husband, John Rolfe. They were two star crossed lovers from warring nations, who spoke different languages, and believe different religions. How ever did they manage to fall in love? And was it happily ever after? Listen and find out. About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected].

We wanted to cover a couple in the fantasy world…but that’s tricky to do when our podcast is only about real-life couples! Thankfully, there is a beautiful love story behind the creator of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: the story of J.R.R. Tolkien and Edith Bratt. Tolkien and Edith’s love story began as star-crossed lovers, and their separation inspired Tolkien to write the story of Beren and Lúthien (and later Aragorn and Arwen). After years apart, they reunited, and endured Tolkien’s enlistment in World War I, which he miraculously survived.  Throughout their marriage, Tolkien scribbled away at his ‘fairy languages’ and Middle Earth tales in any free time he found. But who was Edith Tolkien? The world knows little about her, and she makes few appearances in biographies about him. But surely that doesn’t mean Tolkien cared more for elves and hanging with C.S. Lewis? ***** This is a teaser for a bonus episode— the full episode is 1 hour 49 minutes long! You can listen to it in full ⁠on Patreon⁠. About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected] Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ‘fair use’ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Stranger Things has been on for so long, Obama was president when it first aired. But it’s finally (sadly) entering its final season this November. So let’s talk about the show’s real-life couple, who have been dating for over ten years behind the scenes: Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton! Known for playing teens Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers in the 1980s, co-stars Natalia and Charlie quietly, privately dated for the first several years of their relationship, becoming slightly more open recently. As Kel learned more about Natalia and Charlie, she was struck by how different they seem from each other. Charlie’s the gregarious, silly drummer who just fell into acting. Natalia’s the shy, anxious one who’s more comfortable playing a character than talking about herself. We’ve all heard that opposites attract, but how do they make it work? Kel takes us through Charlie and Natalia’s secretive relationship (as much as we can glean as outsiders), with many mentions of Joe Keery/Djo (aka Steve Harrington). About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected] Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ‘fair use’ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Vials of blood…that’s probably your main association with Billy Bob Thorton and Angelina Jolie, right? In the spirit of spooky season, Mel tells the tale of this 2000s Gothic couple. He was a 45-year-old, late bloomer “hillbilly” from Arkansas on his fifth marriage. She was a beautiful, brooding 25-year-old Hollywood “nepo baby” on her second. All the stars aligned for these two dark and twisty social outcasts to find each other and French kiss on red carpets.  While their relationship might have evolved to be a mere footnote in the bigger Brangelina saga, this episode proves that the past IS prologue. Join us as we look back at their controversial affair featuring a scorned Laura Dern, tattoos, matching burial plots, and a flame that burned too bright for daylight.  ***** This is a teaser for a bonus episode— the full episode is 2 hours 15 minutes long! You can listen to it in full ⁠on Patreon⁠. About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected].

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s 50-year marriage is arguably Hollywood’s most enduring real-life love story. Regarded as the “Last Movie Stars” of the Golden Era, they worked together on 16 films and shared a combined 14 Academy Award nominations. A rarity in showbusiness, they somehow managed to maintain their deep chemistry and friendship all while raising a big family in Connecticut, chasing big dreams, and selling salad dressing. Of course, they weren’t perfect. Our story kicks off with a five-year affair, when Paul was still married to Jackie Witte with three babies at home. We can’t help but wonder: if someone cheats WITH you, will they inevitably always cheat ON you? We look back on Paul’s infamous line comparing Joanne to a juicy steak, his complicated psyche and battle with alcoholism, and Joanne’s struggle to balance stardom with motherhood. In an industry known for divorce, what was their secret to weathering the storms and making it last all those years? Listen and find out. ***** About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected] Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ‘fair use’ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

In this week’s Patreon episode, Kaitlyn's covering a couple that was once called “Mr. and Mrs. Brooklyn” by the New York Times in 2007: Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger. From falling in love on the set of Brokeback Mountain, to becoming first time parents a year later, Heath and Michelle’s fairy tale love story appeared to have all the makings of forever. But less than 3 years after meeting, they called it quits. What happened? Was it because of the Joker? Other women? Drugs? And would Heath and Michelle have gotten back together had Heath not tragically passed? All this and more we discuss, including the sweet, funny, and heartfelt moments that made their relationship so memorable, while also looking at how their bond continues to be remembered, or misremembered, today. This episode will surely make you want to smile, laugh, cry, and rewatch Brokeback Mountain (and probably also 10 Things I Hate About You). ***** This is a teaser for a bonus episode— the full episode is 1 hr 40 minutes long! You can listen to it in full ⁠on Patreon⁠. About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected].

In 1929, their marriage was likened to that between “an elephant and a dove.” But in the years following, their relationship would go on to prove far more complicated than their dissimilar appearances would reveal— and far more explosive. In this extra long episode of Significant Lovers, we unravel the intoxicatingly toxic relationship between Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. From first their first meeting at 16 and 36 years old, to their first marriage, to their second, their love was as vivid and as volatile as the canvases they created. This episode has it all: cannibalism, political assassinations, affairs, divorce, bisexuality, art, Communism, fashion, and much, much more. Tune in to hear why Frida once claimed Diego was one of the two greatest accidents of her life. And what was the first?About Significant LoversSignificant Lovers is a true-love podcast exploring couples throughout history and pop culture, hosted by cousins Kelly, Melissa, and Kaitlyn. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @significantlovers, listen on YouTube, and contact us at [email protected].