TBT: Chris Pine and Audrina Patridge Secretly Dated During Her 'Hills' Era

Who:  Reality star and author Audrina Patridge, 37, and Emmy-nominated actor Chris Pine, 42. 

How They Met: Patridge recounted their initial meeting in her book Choices To The Hills and Back Again, and according to the reality star, Pine approached her at the ShoWest Awards in Las Vegas in 2009, where she and her Sorority Row castmates' won The Female Stars of Tomorrow. After seeing her onstage, Pine came over to Audrina's table to introduce himself. 

"Rumer [Willis] kicked me and motioned to something behind me," wrote Patridge. "Before I knew it, Chris Pine was coming up to our table to say 'hello' and that he thought I was really beautiful." She added, "I didn't really know who he was, but I did know he was hot. We exchanged numbers, and after he walked away, all of my castmates were so excited." 

Days later, the two went on their first date.

Why We Loved Them: Audrina and Chris were opposites in so many ways, but despite their differences, they were open to giving their relationship a chance. 

"He was really into jazz music and loves to read, so he had tons of books filling these huge bookcases. He played the guitar too, and liked to sing," wrote Patridge, noting, however, that he didn't like to go clubbing. "He was an introvert, and very focused on his acting," she said. "I loved to go out, and of course, was usually filming The Hills, so our lifestyles were complete opposites in that sense." Still, they tried to make it work. Patridge said they avoided Hollywood altogether and went out in Los Feliz or Silver Lake to avoid the paparazzi. 

When They Peaked: Though it was never documented, Patridge shared the details of their first date, and it included a very memorable kiss that she'll never forget. 

"We went to this Italian restaurant, and we went and got a bottle of wine. We're at the Italian restaurant, and I remember he ordered black squid pasta. I, at the time, didn't really know what that was. I remember he was eating it, and he had black on his lips when he licked them," Patridge recalled during an interview with Hollywood Raw in 2021. "He's like, 'You're so beautiful. Can I kiss you?' And I was like, 'OK.' So I kissed him with the black ink." 

As for the ink transferring to her lips, she responded, "Whatever. I didn't care. But that was—I'll never forget that. It was a great kiss."

The Breakup: After just a few months and a handful of dates together, Audrina Patridge and Chris Pine decided to call it quits. The growing tabloid attention made Pine uncomfortable — plus, their demanding schedules didn't help.

"With my filming schedule and the fact that there was no way Chris would want to be on [The Hills], I just knew that after a couple months that I couldn't date him. My life was the TV show, and there weren't enough hours in the day to do my job and find time to see him privately." Patridge added, "He was a big up-and-coming actor with demands on his time, and it didn't seem like our lives were lining up, even though we really liked each other." However, the breakup was amicable, says Patridge, revealing that she has nothing but "fond memories" of her short time with Pine.

Where They Are Now: Patridge is single at the moment, but since breaking up with Pine, she has dated singer Ryan Cabera, Gossip Girl alum Chace Crawford, and her Hills costar Justin Bobby Brescia. In 2016, she married BMX athlete Corey Bohan, and they welcomed a daughter, Kirra, that same year. The two divorced in 2018, and most recently, Patridge has been linked to actor Josh Henderson. 

When The Hills ended in 2010, Patridge got her own namesake reality show on VH1 a year later. While it only lasted only one season, she made plenty of other on-screen appearances — including Dancing with the Stars, Scary Movie 5, and, of course, The Hills: New Beginnings. Patridge also co-hosts, Was It Real? The Hills Rewatch podcast with her former castmates Brody Jenner and Frankie Delgado.

Like Patridge, Pine is also single. He recently split from actress Annabelle Wallis earlier this year after dating for four years. Not much has changed from when he dated Audrina, as Chris still likes to keep his love life private. 

Shortly after his breakup with Audrina, Chris hit it big in Hollywood with the release of Star Trek. He went on to land other major roles in Wonder Woman, Z for Zachariah, and Don't Worry Darling, which premieres this month.  

#TBT: Check in every Thursday as we throw it back to some of our favorite celebrity couples of all time.