The showmance has been thrust into the spotlight this week, after it was revealed that Travis Kelce’s publicist, Jack Ketosyan, had admitted to staging career-boosting faux romances for his celebrity clients before.
Kelce has furiously denied his relationship with global pop star Taylor Swift is a scam after a ‘leaked’ document revealed a strategy to announce a potential split.
While the ‘contract’ is said to be ‘entirely false and fabricated’, Ketosyan has been candid previously about the power of a fake romance, and has even admitted to staging them himself.
Featuring in an Australian podcast for Mamamia’s The Quicky in 2019, the publicist said showmances are generally put together if one has a film or something to promote or to distract from unappealing publicity like a project flop.
He admitted to staging at least two relationships during his career, having used them as a tool to distract the public from negative headlines.
While he didn’t name names, the Hollywood insider said that it’s not uncommon for stars to sign a ‘love contract’, which requires them to ‘date’ for at least a year.
For celebrity power players such as Ketosyan, who carefully craft the deals that earn both their star clients and themselves millions, the right image remains everything – and it’s a lesson Hollywood learned early on.
Delve deeper into the film industry’s archives and you’ll find the origins of the showmance in 1920s Hollywood, when anxious agents knew reputation protection was crucial.
Being anything other than heterosexual – and, ideally, married with a couple of cute kids – could be career suicide for those in the spotlight.
Studios demanded a wholesome image with extra-marital affairs and same-sex dalliances firmly on the banned list for the biggest stars.
If that meant celebrity puppet masters had to create what we now call a showmance, essentially a sham union, then agents would happily do it, with some relationships going all the way to the altar – often referred to as a ‘lavender marriage’.
Here, MailOnline looks at some of the more famous showmances in Hollywood history…
Silent films, icy marriage! When Rudolph Valentino wed Jean Acker
The first bonafide showmance? Silent film star Rudolph Valentino and actress Jean Acker wed in 1919…but rumours about Acker’s sexuality seemed founded when the couple split weeks after walking down the aisle.
The new bride reportedly locking her Italian husband nicknamed ‘The Latin Lover’ out of the marital bedroom on their first night of marriage.
Indeed, she was later rumoured to have had an affair with actress Alla Nazimova, who ran Hollywood’s glamorous Garden of Alla Hotel.
Nazimova was known to be bisexual and rumours abounded that she and fellow actresses were part of ‘sewing circles,’ a euphemism used at the time for lesbian women.
Meanwhile Valentino, whose sex appeal was such that when he died aged just 31 in 1926 – from complications relating to pleurisy, some of his more committed female fans responded to the news by killing themselves.
An obituary at the time of his death described him as being ‘ to American flappers generally almost what the Prince of Wales is to the English’.
A 26-year affair: How Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy fooled fans
In the Forties, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were the perfect couple on screen – they met on the set of Woman of the Year in 1942 and went on to star in nine films together, including Guess who’s Coming to Dinner and State of the Union.
However when the passion ignited between the idols behind the scenes too, they would embark on a secret affair that would span 26 years and see Hepburn take on the biggest role of her life, as a long-term mistress.
Tracy was already married, to wife Louise, and the couple shared two children John and Susie, an their union remained in place until the day he died, so anxious was the star not to be portrayed as an adulterer. A devout Roman Catholic, divorce was never an option.
Hepburn was an independent woman who turned down countless proposals of marriage, yet she candidly admitted that she was the submissive partner in her relationship with Tracy.
It wasn’t an obvious match: in high heels, the 5ft 7in actress was taller than Tracy, and their initial relationship was prickly. But over the course of the filming they fell in love – a love such as Hepburn had not before experienced.
‘I met him and I quivered like Jell-O,’ she remembers. ‘I think without romance, deeply felt, my life would have been incomplete. There would have been an emptiness in me.’ And this despite – or perhaps because – Spencer never said ‘I love you’.
‘I would have done anything for Spence,’ Hepburn concludes. ‘Why? It was a mystery to me.’
Their relationship had been an open secret in Hollywood for decades but some believed there was another reason they found solace in each other, both were hiding their sexualities. Tracy’s depression and addiction to drink was often put down to his harbouring a secret.
And Hepburn certainly had a similar label suggested for her, with reputed affairs with women through the years.
A 2018 documentary Secret History of Hollywood saw Scotty Bowers, a former escort to the stars, claiming the pair were simply good friends.
Whatever their relationship was, it endured; when Tracy died Hepburn drove close to where his funeral took place, but let the real Mrs Tracy keep up public appearances at his graveside.
The ‘Lavender marriage’ that kept Rock Hudson’s secret gay life under wraps
In the 50s, the ‘lavender marriage’ became a popular options for publicists looking to keep their star talent in the closet.
It seemed like the perfect solution for screen heartthrob Rock Hudson, who was best known for starring alongside Elizabeth Taylor in Giant (1956) and Doris Day in Pillow Talk (1959).
The star, who died aged 59 in 1985 just months after his publicist stunned the world by revealing he’d been diagnosed with AIDS, had the steamiest of double lives, with a string of handsome, often younger men, attending to his sexual desires.
However, in public, his image saw him billed as an all American Conservative who was the epitome of heterosexual masculinity.
His strapping frame and strong-jawed good looks perfectly suited a post-war demand for leading men who reflected the rugged soldiers that had dominated wartime propaganda and his agent, the ‘predatory’ Henry Wilson’ embarked upon staging a sham union to ensure nothing jeopardised his career.
When the ‘Baron of Beefcake’ married Phyllis Gates at the Biltmore Hotel in Santa Barbara in 1955, he finally silenced those who’d asked when the world’s biggest film star – and seemingly most determined bachelor boy – would finally settle down with a good woman.
The modest ceremony took place only eight days before Hudson’s 30th birthday and the pair honeymooned in the Caribbean before moving into a cottage just off LA’s desirable Sunset Strip.
Three years after they wed, they got divorced, with Gates – reportedly being lesbian or bisexual herself – later claiming that she’d known nothing of Hudson’s true sexuality.
How to get even more famous: Michael Jackson and Madonna’s ‘tongue-in-mouth kissing’ Oscars date
The blueprint for a showmance is one that has been turned to in more recent decades too.
When Madonna and Michael Jackson – then the Queen and King of Pop – attended the Oscars together in March 1991, the hype potential appeared delicious to both of them.
Madonna was in her Marilyn Monroe phase – complete with décolletage, diamonds and white fur and Jackson was in diamonds too; it was PR alchemy and made the pair even hotter property than they already were.
Madonna described it as the best date she’d ever had, and their showmance certainly distracted from her appearance in Dick Tracy, which had mixed reviews, although she went on to scoop an Oscar for Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Sooner or Later’ song from the detective film.
The star, 66, and Michael, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, went to the after-party arm in arm, and later revealed they partook in ‘tongue-in-mouth kissing’.
She told James Corden in 2016 that she guided the action with the late King of Pop, saying she ‘loosened up Michael Jackson with a glass of Chardonnay’ and then French kissed him.
She added that she made the first move too, saying: ‘Baby, I’ve been around’.
The stars who’ve opened up about being one half of a showmance
While most celebrities are obviously reluctant to say they’ve faked a relationship, some have been forthcoming in their deception.
Steve-O previously claimed his ‘fling’ with Nicole Richie in 2006 was just for publicity.
The Jackass star told The Howard Stern Show: ‘The truth is she wanted some publicity for something other than being skinny.
Nick Lachey accused Kim Kardashian of using him to launch her career, with Kim herself confessing that interest in her was sparked after they went on a single date in 2006.
When asked whether tabloid pictures of the pair marked the start of Kim’s career, the singer said: ‘That’s one way to interpret it. Let’s just say this: We went to a movie. No one followed us there.
‘Somehow, mysteriously, when we left, there were 30 photographers waiting outside.’
Kim’s stepbrother Brody Jenner was also caught up in a showmance, admitting he faked his relationship with Lauren Conrad on The Hills.
Brody confessed: ‘We never actually dated. In the beginning, we had a little kind of chemistry, and we hung out, and I think it played pretty well on screen. I think that they, the producers, really wanted us to keep that going, even though we just wanted to be friends.
‘But she’s great. We had a great time. It was so easy to work with her. It was so easy to film scenes with her and do stuff and act like we were [together], because we really did enjoy each other’s company. We really liked each other, just not in that romantic way.’
YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul has form with fake romances – pretending to get married not once but twice for publicity.
In 2017 he filmed himself ‘marrying’ fellow vlogger Erika Costell in Las Vegas and released a series of married life vlogs.
Yet just three months later, Jake confessed it was all a sham, admitting: ‘We’re not even actually dating. It’s like the WWE. People know that’s fake, and it’s one of the biggest things of entertainment.’
Two years later, Jake pulled the same stunt with another YouTuber, ‘marrying’ Tana Mongeau in Vegas.
He later confessed: ‘We all do things sometimes. And sometimes you end up getting fake married. So I’ll leave it at that.’
Sometimes, just being romantically linked to a star is enough to do the trick.
When Rihanna was still a rising star, rumours circulated that she was having an affair with her protégé Jay Z.
While this turned out to be false, it’s said to have caused the rapper to separate from wife Beyonce for a year.
When reports of the split surfaced, Rihanna’s former publicist was forced to issue a public apology and admitted he had started the rumour himself.
‘The pr stunt that I did was out of desperation to help break Pon de Replay,’ he said in his statement. ‘It was reckless and I didn’t think it was going to work. I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick.’
Not everyone agrees to a showmance, however.
Pageant queen Amy Willerton previously claimed that TOWIE star Joey Essex asked her to have a fake relationship with him while they were contestants on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! in 2013.
She revealed: ‘To be honest that was a horrible experience. If someone says to you, “Hey, let’s be in a fake relationship!” You’re like, “No, that’s not what I want!” I didn’t even know that kind of thing went on.’
The subject of fake relationships has come up again as Travis and Taylor fans question their romance.
On Tuesday, Travis’ representatives were forced to deny that they have plans to split later this month after a document written on the headed paper of his US PR company was spread online.
The paperwork which appears to have been created by Los Angeles-based firm Full Scope, reveals a strategy to make their split, and says the date for an announcement is September 28.
It also outlines a supposed plan to release an official statement at the end of this month – three days ‘post-break up’ to ‘allow the initial media frenzy to settle and ensure clarity’.
It adds that the announcement will be ‘gracious, respectful and stress mutual respect.
Laying out what the statement would say, they write: ‘Example: Travis and Taylor have decided to part ways after careful consideration. They both value and respect each other’s personal lives and appreciate your respect for privacy during this time.
‘They are both committed to their careers and personal growth. They remain friends and wish each other the best.’
The paperwork also states that the announcement would focus on Travis’ ‘personal growth’ by framing the breakup as a ‘natural part of life.’ It also will highlight his commitment to his career and his ongoing achievements in the sports industry.’
They also plan to send it to major media outlets with a press release to ensure ‘broad coverage.’
However, a spokesman for Full Scope insisted that they were ‘entirely false and fabricated and were not created, issued or authorised by this agency’.
The representative also said they have called in lawyers – though they are not expected to find the culprit.
‘We have engaged our legal team to initiate proceedings against the individuals or entities responsible for the unlawful and injurious forgery of documents,’ they said.
Not all fans believe the statement – which was first shared on Reddit.
One follower of the social media platform pointed out that it ‘reads like a high school assignment’ while another said it appeared to look like it had been created by ‘chat gtp.’
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Taylor didn’t respond when asked if she wanted to comment on the split.
Taylor and Tom Hiddleston were accused of being in a ‘showmance’ to avert attention away from her breakup with Calvin Harris back in 2016.
They dated briefly, for around three months, before calling it quits in September 2016.
After months of speculation, the pair went ‘public’ with their romance on September 24 last year when Taylor took Travis’ invitation to watch him play for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Love Story star was photographed in the stands with his mother and sources revealed later that it was her first time meeting his family, and it ‘went well.’
Afterwards, the pair were filmed leaving the game, marking the first video of them together.
