Once upon a time, a pop star and a politician fell in love. She had just been on a star-studded space trip, released a not-so-successful comeback album, and ended her relationship with a dashing actor. He, meanwhile, had just been pressured into resigning from his role as Prime Minister of Canada. A more unlikely pair was never seen. They were, one might say, star-crossed. A Romeo and Juliet of the modern age. It’s the stuff the very worst Hallmark movies are made of — and, naturally, we are all utterly obsessed.

If you haven’t yet cottoned on, I am, of course, talking about the relationship of Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau. And yes, apparently, shockingly, it appears to be a real thing. After they were photographed dining in Canada ahead of Perry’s Montreal shows in July, the unlikely pair took their romance to the seas, spending time getting close on Perry’s yacht off the coast of Santa Barbara. Perry added fuel to the rumours when, during her London show on 13 October, she responded to a fan sign, saying suggestively, “You heard I was single? That’s interesting.”

Cue flabbergasted fans everywhere. “I’m kind of obsessed with this Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau dating situation, like it’s so weird, but I’m kinda locked in,” wrote one on X. “Kinda obsessed with Katy and Justin Trudeau. I need to know how they met…” another wrote.

The people are obsessed. And who can blame them? The pop star-slash-fake-astronaut and the ex-Canadian Prime Minister. It’s just so completely wild. So wholly bizarre. So perfectly unlikely.

Of course, the phenomenon of the unlikely celebrity couple is nothing new. And nor is our obsession with it.

There are plenty of other recent examples of unlikely duos that have captured the public’s imagination.

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There was the unexpected love story of prestige actor Timothée Chalamet and reality star Kylie Jenner. There was the news of country singer Billy Rae Cyrus and model-actor Liz Hurley – not to mention the romance between Baywatch’s Pamela Anderson and Taken’s Liam Neeson.

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Then there are the couples who are not only unexpected, but who get together in the wildest of ways. Take Ariana Grande, professional pop star, and Ethan Slater, professional… SpongeBob (?)… who met on the set of Wicked and had a very theatre kid-coded romance. There was also Meryl Streep, iconic Oscar-winner and “serious” actor, and Martin Short, iconic comedian and not-so-serious actor, who were friends for literal decades before (allegedly) beginning a relationship around the time they worked together on Only Murders in the Building.