American Idol may be a singing competition, but the show has also produced some amazing love stories between some of its contestants. In fact, several romances have formed thanks to Idol, including a brand new one in Season 24.
Contestants Brooks Rosser and Rae confirmed their relationship during the April 20 episode. Although Rae had already been eliminated from the competition one week earlier, she showed up to support Brooks, and they hard-launched their relationship after his Disney Night performance.
With this sweet new love story in the making, Swooon is taking a trip down memory lane and looking back at some of the past couples from the show.
Some of these relationships began during filming (in fact, Season 16 included two showmances, one of which has continued in the years since), while others came about after the stars’ journeys on American Idol ended. Scroll down for a look back at all the American Idol couples and find out which pairs are still together today.
American Idol, Season 24, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
Brooks Rosser & Rae
Status: Still together
Brooks and Rae had fans speculating about their relationship for weeks before they went public on the show. The singers are both from Maryland and spent time together in their home state before the Season 24 Live Shows began.
Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner
Status: Still Together
Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner met and fell in love over the course of American Idol Season 16. Foehner made the Top 5, while Barrett went on to place third in the competition. They announced their engagement in March 2019 and married in October of that year. They welcomed their first child in 2021. Their second child was born in 2022, followed by their third in 2024.
Catie Turner and Zach D’Onofrio
Status: Split
Catie Turner and Zach D’Onofrio were both on Season 16 of American Idol. She made it to the Top 7, while he was eliminated during Hollywood Week. The two started dating at some point after the show, and when D’Onofrio returned to audition for Season 19, Turner was there to support him.
He was once again eliminated during Hollywood Week, and the relationship ended at some point in 2021.
Katharine McPhee and David Foster
Status: Still Together
Years before they married, Katharine McPhee first met David Foster in 2006 when she was an American Idol Season 5 contestant. He was a guest mentor. They didn’t start dating until nearly a decade later. The couple, who has a 35-year age gap between then, got engaged in 2018 before getting married a year later. They welcomed their first child, a son, in 2021. They continue to collaborate professionally and make beautiful music together!
Haley Slaton and Jordan Myles
Status: Still Together
American Idol Season 20 contestant Haley Slaton met her now-husband, Jordan Myles, at the auditions. She was nearly six months pregnant at the time with her first child.
“We got married pretty quick. We just knew. We started right off the bat talking to each other, and it ended up being an everyday thing,” she told Iowa’s The Gazette. “I was already pregnant, and he stepped up to be a father, and I couldn’t thank him enough for that.”
They welcomed a son, Slaton’s first child with Myles, in 2023.
Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young
Status: Still Together
Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young didn’t meet on American Idol, but they likely never would have met without the show! DeGarmo was the runner-up of American Idol Season 3, while Young made it to the Top 7 during Season 5. They met in 2010 while appearing in Hairspray on Broadway. The couple married in 2013.
Maddie Poppe and Caleb Lee Hutchinson
Status: Split
The same season Barrett and Foehner fell in love, so did Maddie Poppe and Caleb Lee Hutchinson. Talk about a season of love!
Poppe won American Idol Season 16, while Hutchinson placed second. Hutchinson confirmed their relationship during the finale. The two singers dated for several years before splitting up. Poppe went public with her new boyfriend, Gabe Burdulis, in 2023, and they’re still going strong today.
Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini
Status: Split
It all started with Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini! The first season of American Idol came down to these two talented singers, with Clarkson walking away the champion. Fans speculated there was something romantic between them, but Clarkson didn’t reveal the truth until 2015 on Watch What Happens Live.
“We didn’t date during Idol, which everybody thought we were dating,” she revealed before adding, “We did date a little bit. Any two people who are thrown together that much … I’m just sayin.’”
It was just a fling, though, and didn’t last long.
