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The Met Gala is famous for its exclusive guest list, extravagant outfits and themed exhibitions, which dictate the dress code for the evening.
It’s also an opportunity for celebrities to debut relationships on the famous Met steps. Though, if history is a reliable indicator, they may want to hold off on that practice due to the “Met Gala curse.” Here’s what it is and the celebrities it has affected.
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What is the Met Gala curse?
The curse refers to the superstitious belief that bad luck can follow couples who debut their relationships at the Met Gala.
History has fuelled this notion, as several high-profile couples who have appeared together at the Met later called it quits or experienced other troubles in their relationships.
Whom has it impacted?
The list is quite long, via Cosmopolitan, and dates back more than 20 years. It includes everyone from Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhaal, who attended together in 2003, to Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson, who attended in 2022. Here’s a look at the couples with a Canadian connection.
Selena Gomez and The Weeknd; attended in 2017
Selena Gomez and Scarborough’s The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, started dating around January 2017 and attended the Met Gala together in May of that year.
The relationship was not to last, however, and they split later in the year, around October.
The breakup was reportedly amicable, with sources suggesting that their busy schedules and the challenges of a long-distance relationship were contributing factors. After the split, The Weeknd briefly rekindled his relationship with model Bella Hadid, while Selena Gomez was seen spending time with her ex (and another Canadian) Justin Bieber.
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Hailey Bieber and Shawn Mendes; attended in 2018
Model Hailey Bieber (then Hailey Baldwin) was rumoured to be dating Shawn Mendes of Pickering, Ont., when they attended the Meta Gala together in May 2018, but the relationship was never confirmed and fizzled out shortly after.
Hailey Bieber was seen with Justin Bieber just a few months later, and the couple were engaged by July 2018 before marrying later in the year.
Mendes, for his part, has said that he and Hailey were just friends.
Grimes and Elon Musk; attended in 2018
One of the more surprising celebrity couples in recent memory, the world’s richest man and Vancouver’s Grimes, whose real name is Claire Boucher, made their debut as a couple at the Met Gala in May 2018.
They reportedly met over a shared interest in artificial intelligence and later had two children together. Their first child, a son named X Æ A-Xii (originally named X Æ A-12 but renamed due to California’s naming laws), was born in May 2020. Their second child, a daughter named Exa Dark Sideræl Musk, was born via surrogate in December 2021.
Their relationship has been on and off, with Grimes tweeting in 2022 that they were “semi-separated” but remained on good terms and were actively co-parenting their children. The nature of their relationship seems to be quite fluid and non-traditional. Musk has eleven children with three women.
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