2025 was the year of weird celebrity matches, hatches and dispatches
2025 was when celebrities stopped being famous for nothing or concentrating on wellness, and started living big, messy, operatic lives again.
Opinion
January 2, 2026 — 11.40am
January 2, 2026 — 11.40am
Things escalated once my husband started dancing with the dog. New Year’s Eve, linking hands with Alfred the boofhead golden retriever at our neighbour Cheryl’s house. “He’s asking for it,” said one woman watching the pas de deux unfold.
She was right. Alfred, up on his hind legs, had a different dance in mind. Smiling widely, he locked onto Chris in a full-body press. Chris was laughing so hard he couldn’t break Alfred’s clinch. And thus we were walking home shortly after, so he could get changed.
Liz Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus made for one of the more memorable couplings of the year.Credit: Getty Images
That was my favourite unlikely union of the night, but not of the year. Because 2025 was when celebrities stopped being famous for nothing or concentrating on wellness, and started living big, messy, operatic lives again.
Knocking Alfred and Chris off top spot for an unexpected union is Liz Hurley and Billy Ray Cyrus. Their Easter hard launch – bunny ears, pashing – was the cultural peacock moment we didn’t know we needed. Liz’s cruise ship glamour beside Billy Ray’s frontier-town chic made every Insta shot look like a Tennessee period drama.
Meanwhile, Liz’s son Damian was the constant third wheel, looking like he was contemplating brocade for the rehearsal dinner. If this wedding happens, I want Miley singing The Climb and Hugh Grant winking while reading a poem.
The wedding we’re definitely getting is Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s. Their “surprise” proposal included the bride-to-be in Ralph Lauren sundress with perfect manicure and her tour photographer hiding in bushes. I’m tipping Taylor in strapless Vera Wang ballgown for the big day and Travis knee-deep in triplets before their first anniversary.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got engaged.
Speaking of for better or for worse, Katy Perry was shot into space in full make-up and moved on from Orlando Bloom to canoodle with Justin Trudeau on a boat. Fortunately for us, he wore the Canadian tuxedo – jeans and a bare chest. It was one Celine Dion power ballad away from a national holiday.
