2023's most unlikely pair: Bill Murray and Kelis

It was a summer love that got many people second-guessing. In June 2023, The Sun reported that comedic actor Bill Murray, 72, was dating one of the most well-known hip-hop artists from the turn of the millennium, Kelis, then 43.

While neither party confirmed the dating rumors, Murray was spotted standing offstage during Kelis’ concert in London, as well as at other recent shows.

Image: Children of Zeus x Kelis x Bill Murray @ChildrenOfZeus/Twitter

The Sun report quoted an unnamed source saying the pair had been “getting close for a while” after they first met in the US. They were also reportedly spotted together at a hotel in London.

Kelis is a singer/songwriter who soared to fame in the early 2000s with her mega-hit ‘Milkshake.’ In 2006, she also released the track ‘Bossy,’ which hit number 10 on the Billboard chart. In total, she’s sold 6 million albums worldwide.

Days after the story broke, Kelis was the first to comment on the issue. But she neither confirmed nor denied that she was with the ‘Ghostbusters’ star. When asked on her Instagram if she wanted to address the Murray allegations she wrote, “lol no babe, I wouldn’t bother at all.”

Image: @kelis/Instagram

While they seemed an incredibly unlikely couple, they did share one powerful life event: both had their significant others die recently.

The singer married photographer Mike Mora in 2014. They had two children. But just a year after giving birth to their second daughter, Mora revealed that he was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. He died on March 14, 2022, at age 37.

Image: @mikemorafotos/Instagram

Murray married Jennifer Butler in 1997, who was the costume designer on ‘Groundhog Day.’ They had four sons. She filed for divorce in 2008, accusing Murray of domestic violence and various addictions. In 2021, she died unexpectedly at the age of 54. In 2020, Murray also lost his brother Ed.

While the nearly 30-year age difference is striking, the two also have some other common points. Namely, they are both mega-celebrities with links to New York. Kelis was born in Harlem. Murray is from a suburb of Chicago but moved to New York City in 1974 — just five years before Kelis was born.

When Murray was just 20, and before he was famous, he was arrested and convicted for trying to smuggle 10 pounds of cannabis in his luggage. In 2007, Kelis was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for screaming at undercover officers. But she was acquitted and claimed the arrest was unlawful and a violation of her civil rights.

The hilarious actor has developed a reputation for misbehaving. Filming had to stop on his film ‘Being Mortal’ after he was accused of inappropriate misconduct towards a crew member. But that’s not the first time; Dan Aykroyd referred to him as "The Murricane" due to his mood swings.

Image: Cnbc/Youtube

In a June 2019 interview with Yahoo News, actor Richard Dreyfuss described Murray as a “drunken bully” on the set of ‘What About Bob?’ In 2021, Lucy Liu said that Murray had berated her with insults in ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and the director of the same film said Murray had headbutted him. Chevy Chase also described a physical fight he had with Murray on the set of SNL.

On the latest incident on ‘Being Mortal,’ Murray told CNBC that he was trying to be funny and didn’t mean to bother the young female staffer. He’s also said that his reputation for being hard to work with is unfair. “I only got that reputation from people I didn't like working with, or people who didn't know how to work, or what work is,” he told the Guardian in 2018.

While Kelis seemed happy in her last marriage that was cut tragically short, her first marriage to rapper Nas was notoriously tumultuous. In a 2018 interview with Hollywood Unlocked, Kelis alleged that Nas physically abused her (something that he denied in since-deleted Instagram posts, according to BBC).

At the height of her popularity, Kelis took a step back from music and studied culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu. Although she returned to music, she also released a line of sauces, a cookbook, starred in a cooking show, and released a milkshake recipe collaboration with Baileys, among other successful ventures.

In 2019, she sold her LA mansion and moved to a farm in south-west California. Part of it was to control the quality of her food, and part was to find some peace and quiet. She now shows herself working hard on the farm, tending to more than 100 animals and huge gardens, and selling hand-made products online.

Image: @kelis/Instagram

Hollywood's most unlikely couple of 2023 didn't last too long, Page Six reported. In August, by the end of the summer, they already called it quits. "Kelis and Bill were — and still are — very fond of each other but things just ran their course," someone close to the couple told the US Sun. "They hope to remain friends but also plan to get on with their lives."